Strong stereotypes and Baikal oxes

We are in Irkutsk, a city in Siberia, where we are picked up by an overweight man in his fifties.

"Ah, this man is probably the person that will bring us to our guide who will hike with us along the Baikal Lake for the coming three days", I say to Mark. But soon we find out that this man IS our guide. We wonder what we have to expect from him. When he walks in front of us it seems he drags a little with his leg. And his backpack is so huge, it looks like a hundred kilos.

However, he does look seasoned and determined, a tough Siberian man.

He must be, if you can carry such a heavy load on your back for three days.... we hope for the best. For him and for us.

The evening before we start our hike we stay in Bolshoe Goloustnoe, a tiny fisherman village on the shore of the huge Baikal Lake. Sergei opens his impressive backpack. First he puts a bottle of vodka on the table, followed by all kinds of food of which he creates a delicious meal. We are astonished. After the vodka some red wine follows and we fear for the next day, but we also do not want to ruin this first remarkable night with our hospitable guide.

The next day we start our journey with a hangover and heavy legs. Sergei doesn't seem to be bothered by anything. He is in a good mood, chats with us and above all, hikes on a deadly pace. With that heavy backpack. We have difficulty keeping up with him..

The views of the lake are beautiful and we realize we have an amazing guide. Before we know it, we walk the last kilometer on the last day of our hiking adventure. The 60 kilometers were gone before we knew it and we have enjoyed it deeply.

Our insights? Sergei really is a cool dude, as strong as an ox and who practically shared everuthing with us. Who created every meal into a food fest full of cookies, bread, eggs, muesli, salad, Baikal vodka, red wine, tomatoes, potatoes and so on. Who took care of us and our safety and who was very open-minded and shared a lot of his personal life. That made us feel we were hiking with a friend we haven't seen in a long time, catching up.

Feeling like a million dollar after completing this intense trekking, I realised one thing: it is much more interesting to stay curious and figure out what people do what they do, than judging them based on so little I know from a person. Like I did with my assumptions at the very beginning of this trip. In my mind I appologize, I walk towards him, thank him deeply and give him a hug. Like old friends.