Our Camping Adventure

So we just got home from our little camping trip, and it was an adventure to say the least. After eating and packing yesterday we hoped on a trolley to the bus station. From there we bought tickets and got on a bus out of the city to Ilmen, the huge lake that the river that runs through Novgorod starts from. It really is a big lake, you can't see the other side, but it is very shallow. The deepest parts of the lake are only about 4 meters deep. When we got off the bus we had to walk for about half of an hour or 45 minutes. It was really hot and we were carrying heavy backpacks, a bag of food, mats, our tent...it felt like forever. Then we got to the lake and it was worth it. We met up with Kostya, who organized the trip. I saw organized because it wasn't just a camping trip at the lake. He actually set up that a bunch of people would bike to the lake to camp, but also spend the day picking up some of the TONS of garbage that trippers leave there in the summer. So even though we didn't bike, we did pick up some garbage to help out the environment. Then we spent some quality time at the beach, mostly wading and sunbathing. Lena made an awesome sandcastle too ;-) Then we headed back to camp and had some food. We spent most of the afternoon just lying in the sun and hanging out. We spent some time by the fire and I was so tired that I headed to bed a little after 10. I know it was really early but we didn't really know anyone there and I was legitmately tired. I had fallen asleep but around 11:30 maybe, I was awoken by a rousing rendition of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" from the crowd still sitting by the fire. That wouldn't have been that wierd except I'm in Russia. Anyway, I started laughing which woke Lena up and we were talking, I guess sort of loudly, in English of course, and someone outside was like "English! An American! We want you come and share our fire and speak us Engligh". Since I was awake I obliged. There were about 6 people who wanted to hear my English, only 3 of whom really were confident enough to speak English to me. One of whom, Sergei, I must mention because had absolutely gentlemanly manners and was very nice to talk with (and he had a great smile!) Anyway, it was nice to meet yet more Novgorodians who speak English! I will have so many Russian friends by the end of the trip!

Anyway, I went to bed around 1:30 am but I did not sleep well at all. I was really cold all night and couldn't get comfortable. I did not feel good when I woke up this morning. My body was achy, my throat was VERY sore (still is) and I was freezing even though Lena was frolicking around outside in her bathing suit. I spent more of the morning just resting and dozing. Around 1 I started feeling a little better and forced myself to eat something. Then we broke camp, packed up and heading to the beach, since it was on the way to the bus stop. We waded and little and put the finishing touches on our suntans :-) The beach was really nice. The sand was smooth and clean and the water warm. After a tiny nap we headed to the bus stop and only had to wait for about 15 minutes for the bus. When we got back to Novgorod we hoped onto a trolley and headed home. It was a fun little adventure but Lena and I are pretty tired. We need some showers to get all the sand off. We are thinking about eating some pilmeni for dinner (I missed smetana while we were away...lol) and the broth will feel good on my throat which is still very sore. Then I just feel like vegging on the couch and watching a movie (probably Harry Potter in Russian) or maybe reading while Lena works on her belt. A quiet evening :-) Plans for something fun with Colin for tomorrow and then back to the internship of course. Another very fun weekend!