Travel on the Mighty Volga

The past few days we have been traveling on the mighty Volga River. Passing by towns and villages, farms and forests we are seeing a land that contrasts sharply with bustling Moscow. It feels like we are seeing the Russia of the great novels.

We pass through Stalin era locks and canals as we move through the countryside. I can't help but wonder how many lives were lost in their construction.

Wednesday we visited the town of Uglich a small dusty place with a rich and proud history. It was interesting to hear our local guide lament the demise of the Soviet era as she proudly pointed out the many statues of Lenin that remain in her town. While she proudly toured us through the churches of her town she failed to mention the Soviet efforts to tear them down and suppress religion.

Thursday we visited Yaroslavl, a town of 600,000 that was the Russian capital several centuries ago when the Poles captured Moscow. This was a town with a 1000 year history.

We will soon be traveling through the Rybinsk Reservoir on our way to Goritsi. All our stops have been fascinating but I will leave it to Wikipedia to provide more history of the ancient cities and towns I mention.

From time to time big homes dot the shoreline. We wonder if they are primary homes or summer escapes as we are just hours from Moscow. In any case, they are far from the little dachas described in early Russian literature.

The sky is a clear blue, free of clouds. The land is flat on all sides.

Knowing that land hides centuries of history I wonder what secrets the next stretch of shoreline conceals.

Ahh, the mind can wander.