The trip from Shchelyayur was long – we left at about 2:00, and didn’t get there until about 11:00, as rain and bad weather slowed us down – we were also traveling against the river’s current. A driver picked us up, and took us towards a house where we were greeted by friends of Natasha’s family, and treated to a midnight feast. Natasha’s father, who now works for Luk Oil, used to manage the collective farm up in Mutni Materik, and this is where Natasha grew up. It’s a difficult life style. There is no plumbing, so all bathrooms are outhouses (though some are connected to homes, others you have to trudge outside), and you bathe in a "bagna," which is a mix of a sauna and a bath house. The bagna was traditionally once a week, and often became a ritual accompanied by large amount of vodka and relaxation. They do have electricity, though we were told that it would be turned off for much of the summer to do repairs. Only a few people have cars, and those who do have tough four wheel drive jeep like vehicles since the roads are all rutted dirt roads, often muddy. Since the village isn’t connected to anywhere else by road, most people simply walk where they’re going, or have small motorcycles. The first photo is a picture of the feast: me, Slava, Natasha’s mom, and Slava’s wife Tanya. The second photo is a close up of a traditional Komi dish – fish baked in dough. When the feast ended at around 2:00, the driver was totally sloshed, and as he skidded along steep hills on muddy roads to the shore for us to go back to the boat, Tanya especially was scared that he was going to crash. I figured that at 12 MPH, perhaps the worst that would happen is we’d have to get out in the mud and push. But we got there OK – though the driver still wanted to drink with us, and it took a few more shots of vodka and some persistence to send him on his way! Oh, if you come up to the far north, besides being prepared for vodka, be prepared for mosquitos. They are extremely dense (much worse than anywhere in Maine), and they feasted on me that night.