Meeting of the group at the Petrozavodsk railway station (according to the arrival time of train No. 018 from Moscow).
We meet in Petrozavodsk under the spire of the railway station and go for breakfast.
We get to know other tour participants better.
We get on the bus – it takes a little more than an hour to drive.
In the ancient village of Gorka, we are greeted by instructors – brave funny guys. They help you choose the equipment: overalls, waterproof shoes, balaclava, helmet, gloves.
We go through the briefing and go out on the ice of Lake Onega, the second largest lake in Europe.
Millions of years ago, a glacier passed through these places, leaving us with an amazingly beautiful landscape.
We accelerate and feel incredible freedom, conquering the icy expanses.
Ancient Karelian villages are scattered all over the Zaonezhye – the northern part of the lake, indented by bays and elongated shores. Most villages are deserted, but wooden chapels and churches still tower over the area, steadfastly preserving history.
We drive into the village of Pegrema, an example of the wooden architecture of Zaonezhye. No well-trodden paths, no smoke from chimneys. The inhabitants left it 50 years ago. Roofs collapsed in huge two-storey houses, and only the chapel of Varlaam Khutynsky from the 1770s was preserved intact thanks to caring people.
We're having a picnic. The instructors prepare a red fish for us on a log, while conducting a master class. We drink tea and help ourselves to cloudberry jam.
We continue on our way, following the recreation center.
We are staying in a guest house located on the shore of Lake Onega, 1 km away. from the world-famous monument of Russian wooden architecture "Kizhi", the village of Yersnevo.
We have dinner and go to the hot Karelian bathhouse.
Distance: 100 km on snowmobiles.