Astrakhan

West and Jeff arrived in the city of Astrakhan, Russia today after paddling 51.3 miles. The river is making the boys a little homesick. It has the same appearance as the rivers in Texas, especially the Tivoli area. Very lush, green and beautiful.

They will stay about a day and a half in Astrakhan. On Monday, they are required to get a permit to go farther down river. We have learned, in order to enter certain areas of Russia, permission has to be granted and permits issued. The permit office will have theirs ready on Monday. In the meantime, they are being hosted by the Procosta company. They were met on the river, taken to the hotel and boats were stored by members of Procosta. In addition, they have been provided with a person, Natalia, that will take them on a tour of the city, help with translation, pick up needed supplies and so forth to assist them in the final city before the finish. On behalf of Anatoli, with Procosta, West and Jeff will be escorted by his boats the rest of the way down river. In addition, his boats will bring them back after reaching the Caspian Sea. We are very grateful for them reaching out and assisting us with the final leg of our journey.

West has said the Astrakhan is a very beautiful city. The streets are clean, the city it lit up and the promenade is very nice leading down to the river. He will give us more information and pictures once he is able to charge up all of his electronics, get them backed up and downloaded.

--Barbara