There is not much to say about today. The weather was crappy, windy and dusty when we woke, and during the day rain arrived and made for a miserable day of driving. For most of the day we followed the southern shore of Lake Baikal but did not really see much of the lake as the railway occupies the prime real estate next to the lake shore for the entire length of the coast. Also today the road was crappy. Most of the length was paved road that has been patched over and over again but with some sections that have simply fallen apart and it is now a combination of gravel and broken pavement. Our new strategy for bad roads is simply go slow enough that it is not too tough on the vehicle and its occupants.


Good places to pull off the road were scarce today so at the end of the day we chose a small parking area that had anough space for us and maybe two other vehicles.


While we were having dinner a German overland vehicle came past and stopped for a short chat. It was an older Mercedes truck carrying a pair of adults, 3 children and a dog. They were on a 4 month round trip from Germany through Russia to Mongolia and home. This is the first group of overlanders we have so far seen.