http://transformsiberia.com Lifting the veil on a once forbidden place to reveal the beauty and warmth of her people. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:49:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://0.gravatar.com/blavatar/283de5b38d900ecf740db19017decb30?s=96&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png http://transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/2013/06/11/steppe-dancers/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/06/11/steppe-dancers/#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:20:50 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=3110 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/06/11/steppe-dancers/feed/ 2 Alex and Yulia The girls have a laugh, possibly at my expense. :) Steppe Dancer 3 Steppe dancer 1 steppe dancer 2 Steppe Dancer 4 I love this shot, where you can see their tenny-runners under their outfits. http://transformsiberia.com/2013/06/11/horseracinginsiberia/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/06/11/horseracinginsiberia/#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 06:56:51 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=3106 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/06/11/horseracinginsiberia/feed/ 0 Alex and Yulia Practicing a tradition over 1,000 years old. This horse is rarin' to run. Proper racing stripes. Determined Firecracker (the girl, not the horse) winning her second gold. She is the definition of determination. Otkhon-Zhargal recieves a lama's blessing on her win. Proud papa stands by as "Firecracker" speaks to a local news crew. http://transformsiberia.com/2013/05/16/flourishing-flowers-flowering-fountains/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/05/16/flourishing-flowers-flowering-fountains/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 14:27:27 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=3059 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/05/16/flourishing-flowers-flowering-fountains/feed/ 4 Alex and Yulia 20130516-223325.jpg 20130516-223456.jpg 20130516-223539.jpg 20130516-223634.jpg 20130516-223812.jpg 20130516-223903.jpg 20130516-223953.jpg 20130516-224057.jpg 20130516-224154.jpg http://transformsiberia.com/2013/05/02/hotcake-hustle-maslenitsa/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/05/02/hotcake-hustle-maslenitsa/#comments Fri, 03 May 2013 01:29:34 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=3047 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/05/02/hotcake-hustle-maslenitsa/feed/ 7 Alex and Yulia Circling revelers revel at the culmination of "Butter Week". DO bears walk the streets of Siberia? Think you can handle the ladies? They don't mess around. Not only do they race their pancakes . . . If you drop that 30 kg weight on your head? You are out till next Maslenitsa. These bunnies are FIRED UP to be here! Ahhh, the sweet sweet sounds of saber dancing. Dancing with 3 and a half feet of sharp spinning steel? Man, that is EASY! The Cossacks came to Buryatia, and now we have Buryat Cossacks. Kickin' it Cossack style! The weapons that won the East. Crazy Russians scrumming for pole position. This fella is bold, cause it was COOOOLD! He topped out through naked determination. The slivers are worth it if the prize is. Lady Maslenitsa being carried to her demise. Adios to winter! Even if it remains another month. http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/13/wild-weekly-photo-challenge-clouds/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/13/wild-weekly-photo-challenge-clouds/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2013 07:38:37 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=2958 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/13/wild-weekly-photo-challenge-clouds/feed/ 11 Alex and Yulia A blue khadak finds temporary rest under the eternal blue sky of Mongolia. Chopping Baikal ice for camp fire tea, always and essential in wintertide and sumertime alike. Clouds and stars compete over the vast frozen basin of Lake Baikal in March. Yes, one of those tents is mine! Golden Buddha stands under a lovely sky in Zaisun, Ulaanbaatar. When I first came to Siberia, this seen from Universitetski, the region where I lived, seemed to me the edge of the earth. Ice skaters revel in the chill, next to the historical icebreaker "Angara" on the Angara river, Irkutsk. A frosty day in the capital of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude. (-40 C). Sunset on Soviet Square, Ulan-Ude. Genghis Khan sits enthroned on Sukhbaatar Square in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar. A gloaming sky over the ancient capital Urga, now Ulaanbaatar. The Angara River Embankment in Irkutsk, a place for people to stroll and chat. Older than the Old West, it's the Ancient East, Terelj, Mongolia. Orthodox churches bid farewell to the sun in Irktutsk. Many churches in Irkutsk were built by the fortunes of Tea Merchants. http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/07/baikals-ice-crucible/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/07/baikals-ice-crucible/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 01:28:28 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=2898 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/07/baikals-ice-crucible/feed/ 20 Alex and Yulia 25 million years old according to Scientific estimates, she looks as pretty as a princess! Marius slept under the cold stars and next to a warm fire. I doubt he was warm though. Kesha was always on point, and saw to it we got fed well. Here he gathers ice for tea. Just off Olkhon's Eastern shores fault action thrusts huge ice slabs up for admiration. Sasha and Vanya wave at you, and give some perspective to this ice jumble. The magnificence of this blue ice is . . . magnificent! Ready for our second go at Baikal's ice box. How easy it is to pull a sledge on naked ice. The wind carved snow cover on the lake. Preparing for our last night on Baikal. It was North Pole like. Babylonian star catalogues list Orion as "The Heavenly Shepherd". The Shepherd tends to our shivery encampment. The only way to conquer hummocks is by force! Another team hits the hummocks. A stop for tea and . . . Ibuprofen. In the Fatherland they make it pink. A wood burning stove and a bunk bed. Spoiled rotten. http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/06/a-long-haul-for-olkhon/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/06/a-long-haul-for-olkhon/#comments Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:28:58 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=2863 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/04/06/a-long-haul-for-olkhon/feed/ 6 Alex and Yulia Relishing the glow of a warm blaze after a cold hard day of trekking. Having cleared the first ice hummock field along the eastern shore, we get underway. The Holy Nose Peninsula stands watch over our northern flank. Sunsets and sunrises over a mirror of ice are wonderful to behold. Time to set up camp for the night! A pleasantly lit freezing wasteland! I was so busy photographing to glow of the burner and headlamps in the steam of the kitchen, I nearly missed dinner, and had to scrape my portion from the bottom of the cooking pail. Day 2: the push to Olkhon. Eyes on the prize. L to R: Timur, Oleg, Sergei (Expedition Commander), and Sanya. Valera sports an ice mustache. A brief respite before lunch. Keeping blisters at bay Misha changes socks before lunch. Hot soup is ready and in your belly almost simultaneously. Kesha and Vanya shovel their soup. Lunch break on a mile deep trench of water. The Island of mystery draws closer step by step. Our path leads to Olkhon. The sun has set, and we've a pull ahead of us yet! The campfire and stars burn through the cold of Olkhon Island. Our tiny valley home on the island. This campfire made the 60 mile trans-Baikal trek worth it. Share a laugh with us! The fool moon smiles on us. Expedition members prepare for a long winter's night. http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/22/a-trek-across-baikal/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/22/a-trek-across-baikal/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:38:59 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=2852 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/22/a-trek-across-baikal/feed/ 4 Alex and Yulia The Angara is the only river that flows from Lake Baikal. Over three hundred flow in! Due to her currents, no matter how cold it be, the Angara does not freeze over for some way down river. Frozen Baikal http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/22/diana-of-the-orphans/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/22/diana-of-the-orphans/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:46:55 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=2848 Continue reading →]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/22/diana-of-the-orphans/feed/ 3 Alex and Yulia Lovely Diana. http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/20/bunnies-in-black-white/ http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/20/bunnies-in-black-white/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:53:56 +0000 transformsiberia.com http://transformsiberia.com/?p=2834 ]]> http://transformsiberia.com/2013/03/20/bunnies-in-black-white/feed/ 3 Alex and Yulia Bunnies in Siberia. Watching Bunnies. Bus Bunnies. Bunny Hop. Excited Bunnies. Bunny Salute. Bundled Bunnies.