EN ROUTE FOR MOSCOW - Chapter 3

We sailed for Mandrogi that night and had our  first experience of locks. During the welcome cocktail we were informed that there would be more than 8 on our trip but quite often at night. But when we boarded the ship there was a ceremony where we had to pick up a small piece of bread and dunk it into a little salt. A welcome custom and a nice one too. 

The following morning so the 4th day, the MS Surikov (by now I could remember the name) moored in Mandrogi on the river Svir. This was a traditional Russian village constructed to attract tourists. Despite the fact that this is not that this is a tourist trap and not representative of the country, I did enjoy the visit. It has old wooden houses and cobbled streets. We could watch craft demonstrations and shop.

 

Which way would you go?

There is a squirrel in there

Yes, it is Poutine in 2001

 But of course after the barbecue lunch Pierrette and I went off to see the Vodka museum. If I remember rightly this was the first time Pierrette had ever drunk vodka and a couple of shots of different varieties left smiles on our faces. The bottles were beautiful and I purchased one for our aperitif along the way

Singing at the barbaque lunch

The Vodka Museum

No, it's not me!

Pierrette admiring the bottles

Which one will we buy?

A little tasting will do no harm

Even doll vodka bottles

Quite a big shot of vodka

Preparing our "dose"

We then returned to the ship and continued the cruise with our first real lock and perhaps the only one I saw (with the exception  of one during the night with a lot of clanking to wake us up.) You'll experience the locks in the next chapter...