We’ve flown over enough trees in the last few days to reforest half of South America. Nothing but dense forest, streams and lakes for endless hours. There is still snow in the highlands, and except for the occasional logging road, we fly from airport to airport with barely a man-made object in between. To keep ourselves amused, we compete to spot animals or find the most interesting landscapes. The photo of Happy Face Tundra is a leading contender. The insects in this part of the world are huge, needing a significant fraction of a horsepower to fly, with at least that much energy left over for biting. During flight we see them streaking towards our heli like little missiles.
Before our trip, we heard reports about flooding in Siberia, but nothing could prepare us for what we saw in Lensk. The city is completely destroyed, with wooden houses tossed about like matchboxes. The river has receded, but the town is still empty.
At the northern tip of Lake Baikal is tiny city called Nizheangarsk, or Nizhy for short. The only aircraft based in Nizhy’s airport is a Russian MI-8 helicopter built in the 70’s. Dimitry, the pilot of the MI-8 is waiting for us when we arrived, and within a few minutes has me strapped into his copilot’s seat. I think he just wants to show me around, but to my surprise, Dimitry starts flipping dozens of switches as part of an incredibly complicated start up procedure. The helicopter comes to life with all kinds of strange lights and sounds. The only switch I dare touch turns on a little plastic fan in the corner of the cockpit. I need air.
On the fourth attempt, the engines finally start. Dimitry smiles and looks relaxed, so apparently ignition on the fourth try is normal. Slowly he lifts the huge beast into the air. The shaking is so violent that in my helicopter I would now be performing emergency procedures. Just as I am getting excited thinking that we might buzz around the lake a bit, Dimitry gently sets the helicopter back on the ground and shuts down the engines. Apparently, he has not obtained a flight permit for the day. But at least, he says defiantly, Moscow cannot prevent him from hovering.
