Once West and Jeff made the turn on River Right in Yaroslavl, it was difficult for me to tell them how far that theyhad to go to meet my contact, Valentina, in Yaroslavl. From that point on, it's just a wait-and-see approach on my end with some finger-crossing that they find who they are looking for. So, during my conversation with West and jeff tonight, I asked if they had trouble finding the kayak club. I was told there was no way they could have missed it. The boathouse was massive. They described it as eight buildings in a square with a courtyard-type in the middle. Each building housed about 200 boats (I am assuming kayaks). West and Jeff spoke, impressively, of how organzied and clean the buildings were. The paddling community of Yaroslavl obviously takes pride in how they handle and store their boats. There were about 30 kayakers out practicing this evening (youing and old). Several of the younger kids spoke English and helped get the boats out of the water and into the boathouse for safe, overnight storage.
West and Jeff had to try about five different restaurants before they found one they could get dinner in. Three or so didn't have an English menu or anyone that could speak English. One was really not quite the type of business establishment they had in mind...Jeff was real sorry he walked into the wrong room, and the last one had a somewhat English menu with some English-speaking employees.
In the morning, they are heading to Fed Ex to mail some things back here, pictures, videos and such. They will also send back some gear they aren't using and that's just taking up space. In addition, they are sending back some Hazlenut M & M's that a friend from Missouri said is a must-try. She was right.
The days are getting much longer. The sun comes up a little after 4 a.m. and sets around 10 p.m. They are going to start a little later in the mornings, after it warms up a little and then paddle later when it's the warmest. Tomorrow, I will start working on setting up contacts farther downriver to assist where our team needs it. I've loaded a few more pictures in the photo gallery and, once I receive the Fed Ex package, will download a lot more.
I'm open to help with any contacts, if anyone knows someone. Please let me know.
Thanks!--Barbara
