Where to stand with a tent on the white sea. Where is the White Sea located? And here is a short summary of the trip

Our summer trip in 2014 from Moscow to the White Sea was by car, but we consider it to be a river trip, because all the ancient routes in these parts went along the rivers, and only then land routes and human settlements appeared - close to the banks of large and small northern rivers. In this note, I want to turn over some of the pages of our memories concerning the fate and beauty of various rivers, streams, lakes and, of course, the White Sea.

So, the first point of the journey is the city of Totma, and the first Sukhona River. The Sukhona is the largest river in the Vologda region, originating in Lake Kubenskoye. It connects the Central Russian regions with the White Sea and the Arctic Ocean. A hundred years ago, the Sukhona and Dvina were the main roads of the Russian North - the key trade fairways and trajectories of winter fish carts.

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The name "Sukhona" or "Sukhana" can be translated as "easily overcome". Such a name-nickname could arise due to the presence of numerous fords. A similar version of the name comes from the word "dry", that is, the presence of shallow areas on the river that create problems for navigation.

The Sukhona has an interesting feature - sometimes during high water it flows in the opposite direction. This is due to the fact that its tributaries, opening up early from ice, raise the level of the river, so that it briefly becomes higher than that of Lake Kubenskoye, which is still ice-bound.

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Land Totma can rightfully be considered a "seaport". And all because in the XVIII century the inhabitants of Totma and its environs played a decisive role in the development of the Pacific Islands, Alaska and the western coast of the North American continent. The path along the rivers to the Pacific Ocean was not very easy - through the Urals and Siberia - to Okhotsk. From there, sailors headed for the Aleutians and Alaska. In 2005, a monument to explorers and sailors was erected on the central square of Totma: a ship with a sail in the form of a panorama of the city.

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From the road bridge across the Sukhona open views of the entire ensemble of totem temples-brigantines, as if floating above the green waves. These slender and elegant churches were built at the end of the 18th century with the "surplus of capital" of local sailor merchants who returned from fishing expeditions to the Pacific coast of North America. On American lands Totma hunted black foxes - this is how this animal appeared on the coat of arms of the city, which has never been found in our forests.

In total, hundreds of rivers, streams and thousands of streams flow into the Sukhona River. A small river flows in Totma, the left tributary of the Sukhona. Its funny name - Pesya Denga, comes from the distorted Finno-Ugric Pes-Edenga - a sandy river, and has nothing to do with money.

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The first chronicle mention of Totma dates back to 1137. True, at that time the settlement was located fifteen kilometers downstream of the Sukhona. The name Todma or Totma comes from the Finno-Ugric - "swampy land". In the same place, the Staraya Totma River flows into the Sukhona. The definition of the "Old" river was received after the transfer of the city to a new, more successful place near Usolye. Staraya Totma originates at the confluence of the Ileza and Votcha rivers in the Babushkinsky district of the Vologda region.

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The rivers there that feed the Sukhona are very picturesque and winding. And the villages on their banks are so joyful and good. We got to the village of Timanova Gora - in the very outback of the Vologda region. There were doubts - was life preserved in such distant corners? But after the next hill, a very pleasant picture opened up to us: on the next and surrounding hillocks, a fairly large and quite inhabited village freely spread out. The river Keptur winds intricately between the village houses. Outside the village, she continues her run to Sukhona, pouring into the waters of the already mentioned Ileza.

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About 80 kilometers from the city of Veliky Ustyug there is one unusual village on the banks of the Sukhona - Opoka. And this place is unique with its 70-meter striped rocks. Closer to its mouth (near Veliky Ustyug, the river flows into the Northern Dvina), the Sukhona suddenly changes its meek character to a sharp mountain disposition. Rifts and rapids begin, the channel abruptly changes direction several times, and the current accelerates to 5 m/sec.

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Gradually biting into the thickness of ancient Permian and Quaternary deposits, the river exposed a 70-meter layer of red clay, white gypsum, and other mineral rocks, which are hundreds of millions of years old. And all this exposed “construction” captivates with its correct, and in some places even ideal, geometric shapes and a restrained, but expressive palette. A dense northern forest turns green on the rocks above.

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Veliky Ustyug is an ancient merchant city in the Russian North. Now it is known as the patrimony of Santa Claus. The name of the city itself - Ust-Yug - hints at the fact that it is located near the mouth of the Yug River. By the way, in the ancient Permian language the word "south" meant "river". In fact, the current city stands on the Sukhona.

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The original settlement was found on the opposite bank of the river - on a hill called Mount Gleden, from which it was good to "look around" the surroundings. However, in the XV century, that ancient fortification, the predecessor of modern Veliky Ustyug, was finally abandoned. Later, on the site of the old town, the Trinity-Gleden Monastery was erected. Near it, near the village of Morozovitsa, the rivers Sukhona and Yug merge, forming a "double river" - the Dvina. This fact is well played out on the city coat of arms: the patron of the city - Aquarius - tilting two jugs, merges water jets from them (symbolizing the South and Sukhona) into one stream - the Dvina.

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In Veliky Ustyug, the most important trade routes to the West, North and East converged - they went mainly along the rivers Sukhona, Northern Dvina, South and Vychegda. Bread, lard, flax, matting, and hemp were brought to Siberia from central Russia. They returned from Siberia with valuable furs. As a result, in the 17th century, Veliky Ustyug turned into a prosperous merchant town.

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In the section between Veliky Ustyug and Kotlas, the Dvina is referred to as the Lesser Northern Dvina. And only after the merger with Vychegda does it become the Northern Dvina. By the way, at the confluence of the Vychegda, it carries more water than the Dvina.

Vychegda, or Ezhva in the Komi language, means "meadow water" or "meadow river", that is, a river with grassy banks, or a river flowing among damp meadows. It is these landscapes that surround Vychegda for most of the current. The length of the river is 1130 km.

In the old days, Vychegda was a busy waterway - the epic northern route from Europe beyond the Urals to Asia.

On the Vychegda River, we took a ferry to Solvychegodsk, one of the smallest cities in Russia, on the periphery of the Arkhangelsk region, where it neighbors the Vologda and Kirov regions and the Komi Republic.

Following the ancient animals that once trodden the path to the lickers - salty springs, people came here. The settlement Usolie was born at the salt spring, or, in the Komi language - Sov-dor - "at the salt", and then the name was transformed into Salt Vychegodskaya.

Nearby, across the road - Salt Lake, formed by the water of the source.

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Since the 16th century, Solvychegodsk has been considered the family estate of Russian industrialists, merchants and philanthropists - the Stroganovs. In those days, Solvychegodsk was a major center of salt production and one of the outposts from which the development of the Urals and Siberia began.

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The automobile route from Kotlas to Arkhangelsk runs along the channel of the Northern Dvina.

First, between Kotlas and Dvinsky Bereznik, you will have to drive along the regional road, and then, all the way to Arkhangelsk, along the M8 Kholmogory federal highway. Although, judging by the map, the river runs somewhere nearby all the time, its blue ribbon is only occasionally visible from the road. But even during the preparation of the route, I tried to find places where I could take a break and admire the expanses of the river.

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Approximately 200 kilometers from Arkhangelsk, between the villages of Zvoz and Pochtovoye, on both sides of the river, one can see extremely interesting and beautiful gypsum banks. Where we stopped, the river bank is flat and as if lined with snow-white gypsum slabs. Sometimes it seems that this is not a natural landscape, but the remains of a man-made embankment. The opposite bank of the river is steep, overgrown with forest. The cliff is formed from layers of red-colored clays and white-pink gypsum.

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Further, on the way to Arkhangelsk, we deviated from the M8 highway to the side and visited the Holy Trinity Anthony-Siysky Monastery. The monastery is located in a forest area on a cape surrounded by the Big Mikhailovsky Lake. The monastery was founded in 1520 by St. Anthony. Boyar Fedor Nikitich Romanov, the father of the future first Russian tsar of the Romanov dynasty, once languished in prison here.

Journey along the southern coast of the White Sea.
Report on a kayak trip in the White Sea
(Kolezhma village, Belomorsk region).

Preamble

This trip across the White Sea took place in hot August 2010.
Instead of the planned two-week trip of a thousand kilometers to the south (to Akhtuba), we went the same distance to the north, and only for one week. Such a sharp change in the route was due to the intense heat: on Akhtuba, the daytime temperature was about +40, in Moscow +35, and on the White Sea only +28.
Therefore, when it was already unrealistic to delay the vacation further, two days before departure, we decided to go north instead of the south. We did not regret this later, because. on Akhtuba for another month it was + 40 + 42 .....

We are the Mikhailov family: father, mother and two children:

Before that, we already swam both with children (in Akhtuba in 2009 and in the Moscow region), and without them (Akhtuba-2008, Baikal-2000, etc.).
For us, hiking is a joint vacation that takes into account the interests of all family members.
We swam on a light and reliable, albeit slow-moving inflatable kayak "Pike-4".
Swimming along the southern coast of the White Sea allowed us to both swim and go in for tourism and sports, and even with the whole family.

Kayak route: Kolezhma village - Krasnaya Shchelya - Myagostrov - Kolezhma village. Just 70 kilometers.
For our entire short five-day route, we swam 70 kilometers, i.e. On average, we walked 10-15 kilometers per day.
The small distance was due to the circular route (from the village of Kolezma and back), as well as the fact that it was really possible to swim only at high tide, i.e. no more than 3-5 hours a day. And there were very few good places to park.

Route by car: Moscow region - Vologda city - Petrozavodsk city - Belomorsk city - Sumsky Posad village - Kolezhma village (the same way back).
Just 1300 kilometers one way.
On the way back we followed the same route.

Route selection

For the wife and children, this change was positioned as follows: instead of stewing in one's own juice, as last year on Akhtuba, to cool off from the 35-degree Moscow heat on the Arctic Ocean. More specifically, he meant a small piece of the Arctic Ocean - the White Sea, or quite already in detail, its extreme southern part. Accordingly, instead of traveling a thousand kilometers to the south, we gathered a thousand kilometers to the north.

We expected to cool off from the Moscow heat, take a break from the smell of burning peat bogs near Moscow, ground and underground transport in Moscow, office and home air conditioners and, first of all, from a huge number of people (more than 10 million, however ...).
The kids liked the idea of ​​cooling in the north rather than further overheating in the south. They also easily accepted the change of trip from the Black Sea to the White Sea region, because. They did not see the White Sea and did not even hear about the storms and winds blowing in the summer, as well as about the ice that fetters all our northern seas in winter.
And they certainly did not hear anything about the typical temperature in August at + 10-15 with a predominance of rain and wind. No one told them about the catamarans, which are blown away by the wind for a hundred kilometers to the sea, until they are accidentally picked up by a rescue boat (or not picked up).

Ambula.

Part 1: Short packs and a long road to the North

Shortly before travel
On July 30, 2010, the night before departure, it took me just 3 astronomical hours to get from Moscow to our dacha in the south of the Moscow region. The time was only 11 pm.
In total, having arrived at the dacha at 11 pm, I inspected the state of the fees. The condition was not simple: things were thrown into one room and occupied all its corners. It was necessary to check whether everything was collected, something else to collect, and then put everything in backpacks and bags.

Prior to that, I spent 2-3 weeks buying bells and whistles that could further improve our trip with the whole family: a full HD video camera weighing 300 grams (!!!), a camera, their batteries, cases, memory cards for them. Photo and video equipment, of course, complicate the journey itself, but they create the illusion that on long winter evenings, children and grandchildren, as well as a number of relatives, will happily chew on the small details of our trip (unfortunately, this has not happened to us yet).

At the request of the wife and children, the following expenses were also incurred:
- 4-person tent Saleva (although we already had a 3-person tent);
- inflatable rugs (from the point of view of an experienced tourist, this is blasphemy, but it's nice to sleep);
- a huge amount of crackers and sweets (during the previous trip, the children ate them in large quantities);
- Also, 1.5 bags of food were purchased in "Auchan", which could additionally brighten up our trip.
Although, of course, that's not the point. Experienced tourists manage three times less food - ideally a handful of rice for a day's journey, like real Asians.
On the contrary, we bought half a kilo of potatoes for each day of the trip. This potato would shock an experienced tourist who is used to pouring cereal into the nose of a kayak, drilling out tablespoons to lighten the weight and, of course, not taking forks another opera).

We, like many others who have gone camping with children, have been surprised each time by the ability of young children to eat more than a grown man rowing 8 hours a day. Some mothers explain this by a young growing organism, fathers - by stomach worms. And certainly not a single Chukchi would have planned an additional 10 crackers and 20 sweets for every day of the trip with his son, not counting the adult food ration.
Let's get back to the evening of the day before leaving for the trip. By one o'clock in the morning we more or less managed to collect things, dropping them side by side into the dressing room, where they lay for a while until our departure at 7 o'clock in the morning.

Day one: July 31, 2010 - Moscow region road - Shimka river
On the first day of the trip, we managed to get up only at 7 o'clock in the morning, in just 1.5 hours we packed up and left by car on a difficult journey from the south of the Moscow region to the extreme (for a Muscovite) North.
At the same time, it turned out that getting up at 7.00 was unusual for children who had relaxed at the dacha.

Let's omit the terrible details of the journey through the Moscow region, such as: thirty-five-degree heat, continuous smoke from burning peat bogs; a huge number of people wandering along the roads and traveling in cars without air conditioning; money-hungry cops near Moscow; numerous traffic jams and mysterious road signs.

Fast forward to the first big city along the way of our journey. It was Yaroslavl. It surprised even experienced auto travelers in Russia (I'm talking about us): the M8 federal highway, which runs through the entire city, was closed for repairs, several side streets were also closed, which road signs recommended for driving to Murmansk. The auto navigator developed by Garmin also made its contribution, which included the thoughts of the best cartographers of the Russian Federation and their idea of ​​Russia, its cities and streets. Garmin strongly advised us to drive through lanes that ended in a dead end or, for a change, a no-travel sign.
The Dutch developers of this navigator did not disdain recommendations of cyclic routes, after we ran into the "brick", Garmin recommended driving back 3-4 streets and driving under the "brick" for the second time. Having fought like this with a device that is not native to a Russian person, we turned in the direction we considered necessary and nevertheless left the city mentioned above. In addition to the nerves, we spent 40 minutes of daylight hours on extra loops around the city.

However, let's return to our road from Vologda to Lake Onega.
In European terms, we have done a good deed between the Vologda Oblast and the Republic of Karelia. Having found one of the extremely few places where you can get off the road to the river, we stopped there for the night. By the way, having passed Lake Onega for a 300 km drive near the lake, we did not find such places, although it is possible that local residents know such places.
Having driven down a forty-degree broken dirt slope to the Shimka River, I asked the children to collect numerous bottles, cans, as well as socks left by someone in one pile. An hour later, I did the job myself, collecting a dozen plastic bottles and the like, which I successfully burned late at night.

Day two: August 1 - the road of the Shimka river - the village of Kolezhma
Waking up in the morning, we rejoiced at the ducks floating on the river and the fog hovering beautifully over the river. We got together within an hour. Our car successfully overcame a forty-degree dirt slope with separate stones and ruts from other cars.
Then for 4 hours we reached the northern tip of Lake Onega, where "Father Onufry surveyed the surroundings of Lake Onega and surveyed the naked Olga." We planned to call here on the first day of the trip, it would be only 900 kilometers from the place of our start.

However, we rolled freely parallel to the White Sea-Baltic Canal, and further along the road along Lake Onega. At about 2 o'clock we reached the southern tip of Lake Onega, where we planned to spend the night yesterday.

Algorithms for alternating good and completely disgusting roads, even by Russian standards, have remained mysterious to us.
The northern tip of Lake Onega completely surprised us with gravel roads that alternated with bad asphalt with large potholes. It seems that in some places the federal highway was bombed with cluster bombs.

We were pleasantly surprised by the absence of traffic cops, although they hardly had anyone to catch for speeding on gravel roads. About 300 kilometers to the city of Belomorsk, we drove quite tolerably along asphalt roads. Closer to the city, a view of the White Sea-Baltic Canal was periodically opened. We were pleasantly pleased with the unhindered passage through the canal locks to the city of Belomorsk. The city surprised with its smallness, the abundance of "lying cops" on the streets, the absence of signs warning about them. We also did not find a gas station with 95 gasoline.

After Belomorsk, the GPS-navigator stubbornly drove us to the ferry crossing to Sumy Posad. Instead of a ferry, we found only a few piles in the middle of the channel. As it turned out later, the crossing had already been closed for several years. Luckily, we found a slab road that allowed us to get across the canal to the other side. Then we were surprised at the terrible quality of the surface and hoped to meet immediately after the lock the road with an asphalt surface to the village of Sumsky Posad, which was promised by the official road map of Russia. Having met only a rocky road covered with rubble mixed with dust and logs, we were unpleasantly surprised. This road went 30 km to Sumy Posad, where we planned to leave the car.
At first we were driving at a speed of 20 km an hour, our SUV was shaking a lot, after several cars overtook us in clouds of dust, we increased the speed to 40 km. Shaking became significantly less. The air conditioner helped a lot, because. the dust over the road did not have time to settle.

Even before the village of Sumsky Posad, we tried to collect fresh water in local rivers, but each time we were stopped by its slightly brown color, similar to weakly brewed tea. Then we thought that this water should not be drunk. As it turned out later, the water was very good for the area. Arriving only at ten o'clock in the evening to the village of Sumsky Posad, we tried to drive our car to the sea, hoping to spend the night there. In accordance with our map of the Republic of Karelia, two roads went along the Suma River from Sumsky Posad to the sea. Not finding these roads, we asked the local natives. They laughed and said that these roads never existed.

A trustworthy resident of the village, to whom we turned with a question, skillfully told us about local roads, and also said that today he celebrates the Day of the Railwayman.
As a Sumy resident explained to us, you can get to the White Sea by rafting 5 kilometers along the fast river Suma. He also said that there were no rapids there, although tourists on catamarans standing near the river believed that they were. According to our sailing directions, there are rapids and a dam on the river.
A local resident offered us an alternative to swimming with children on a turbulent river - drive 25 km along a dirt road to the last settlement on this road, the village of Konezma. The road from Belomorsk ends here (ie from the west).

From the north, instead of roads, there is only the White Sea. From the south - five hundred kilometers of swamps and rivers, incl. stormy river Konezma. From the east to the nearest road to Arkhangelsk, 200 kilometers of swamps and taiga. The only communication here from west to east is the peripheral railway, along which a passenger train passes once a day, and an electric train half an hour before it. We could not figure out why they were going almost at the same time. Unless the first train checks the tracks.
To complete the picture, we also talked with water tourists standing by the river on rafting catamarans, who had already passed their route and were waiting for the train.

It was already ten o'clock in the evening, but thanks to the white nights it was still light.
We decided to still try to get to the seashore and, crossing ourselves (who was baptized), we drove 25 km along a country road to the village of Kolezma - the last settlement along this road. We drove quite nervously, the time was about 11 pm, it was getting dark before our eyes. The road with a dirt surface, small stones and dust, intricately meandered in a pine forest.
We were afraid that it would get completely dark and that it would be complete madness to drive along such a road at night. However, when we arrived half an hour before midnight to the village of Konezma, it was still not completely dark. We tried to drive to the left of the river, where the White Sea was already visible. When we reached the end of the road, we saw only village houses nearby.

There was no parking space for the night. However, two sober people in camouflage clothes, who were very fortunate to be nearby, expertly told us how to move to the other side of the Kolezhma River, where there is where to put a tent and a car.
Having made a couple of difficult turns, we drove straight to the sea. According to our feelings, for 50 km along the sea, this was the only place where it was possible to drive ashore by car. And even then we drove under a barrier opened by someone across the only path.
We remembered the last kilometer of the road for a long time - one and a half meter cliffs, a winding sandy bulk road, owls flying in front of the headlights of the car, as well as the sound of the sea surf.

Somewhere after midnight we went to the seashore. Sleepy children fell out of the car and marveled at the sea waves and numerous boulders, the tops of which protruded from the water. While we were putting up a tent and cooking food on a fire, fifty mosquitoes fell on each of us, then it seemed to us a bit too much.
Having quickly boiled the brownish water from the Kolezhma River and fried the White Sea sausages, completely exhausted, but satisfied, at 2 o’clock we went to bed.

Part 2: Southern coast of the White Sea

Day three: August 2 - Swimming from the village of Kolezma to the algae processing plant (the place "Red Shchelya")
When we woke up, instead of the sea, we found boulders and silt, as well as sticks stuck in the silt. In addition to them, a kilometer from the shore at the bottom of the sea, a ship with a displacement of 10 tons lay on its side. We could see a kilometer-long bay, which was 2/3 left without water. The boulders grew by a metre. The water receded by 200-300 meters, exposing the silty shallow bottom of the sea. We saw this for the first time. Even before the trip to the White Sea, we heard about large ebb tides, but we never saw them live. Our children happily ran along the bottom of the dry sea, but we came to our senses after yesterday's trip and waited for the tide.

Having sailed only about seven kilometers, we met with a large wave for our kayak, and, seeing several huge, but empty sheds and a bay near them, we moored there. With interest we examined the huge sheds. In one of them it was completely empty, in the other lay dried seaweed collected from the bottom of the sea. The third shed was locked with a barn lock.
Algae of medium degree of dryness also lay on the pier.

A couple of times a guy with an ax and a radio turned on passed us. Then two guys appeared on the pier. At first, they wallowed in seaweed, then putting seaweed on their heads, they began to fight. One fighter was with a working Druzhba chainsaw, the other was armed with a long scythe. As a result of the duel, friendship won (this is not about a chainsaw) and the lads went back to the hut.

After some time, three guys went out of the hut to the pier, began to take out the algae from the sheds and lay them out on the boards of the pier. Half an hour later we realized what had happened. A motorboat moored to the pier with civilly dressed so-called. "non-wild" (or "organized") tourists. They were wearing shorts, cameras and sunglasses. Noisily, they got out onto the pier, clicked the shutters of cameras against the background of algae and worked with video cameras. They also noisily entered the seaweed shed, then returned back to the pier, sometimes looking askance at us as if they were local wild people. Soon they boarded the boat and drove off in the opposite direction. We made an assumption that the algae harvesting business, which was put on a grand scale in the Soviet Union, degenerated into a niche business, where the algae harvesting process itself was occasionally shown to tourists, due to which it somehow pays off.

Our children ran with great joy along the shallow seashore.


Immediately behind the first trees, a stone cliff began, which went up at 30 degrees. The rock was covered with moss, cracks and pine trees growing right on the rocks. The forest in no way resembled the Moscow Region, as well as other forests that we had seen before.

Day four: August 3 - Swimming from the algae factory to the Bezymyannaya River (after Maniostrov Island)"
The workers of the local algae factory told us that the Iron Gate Strait, along which we wanted to sail between the mainland and the island of Maniostrov, cannot be passed at low tide at all (although, probably, this is not entirely true for our kayak). They recommended passing it from east to west at high tide. At the beginning of the tide, a powerful current forms from west to east. The strait is called the "Iron Gate", because. there, because of the strong currents, many ships sank there.

On this day, we sailed for us not so late - at one o'clock in the afternoon. At this time, the tide reached its maximum point. We sailed without incident to the Iron Gate Strait. The coast, even for the first time, did not please with diversity - a stunted pine-birch forest, a low coast and a huge number of boulders. There were practically no beautiful places for parking, so that you could still swim.

Right at the beginning of the strait, as it was drawn on our map of Karelia, a small river flows into the sea, where we planned to get water for 2 days of sailing. We already carried water containers with us, which were empty plastic 2-liter bottles from our favorite Ochakovsky kvass. We brought four bottles with us and collected 5 more bottles on the seashore. We also took a Tatonka water tank with us, but it gave multiple leaks on previous trips. We did not use Tatonk, but burned it on the last day of the trip.
Plastic bottles from kvass proved to be both more reliable and more convenient. However, they also repeated the fate of a special water container - on the last day of the trip, we burned them too.
If not for GPS, our hopes of finding fresh water would vanish like a fog. Only thanks to the navigator and the "Roads of Russia" map built into it, we found the only source of water for tens of kilometers along the coast. It was a tiny cape and the bed of a stream, completely invisible from the sea.

Having walked 20 meters up the bed of the stream, we found a swamp with dark water covered with a film of some swamp muck. The water was the color of strong brewed tea. The previous time we took water in the Konezma River and already knew that in all local rivers the water is like tea. The locals say that the swamps make the water what we saw.

It should be noted that we sailed in a year of terrible heat, when in Moscow it was +35+40, and on the White Sea +27+30. Having collected the aforementioned brick water, we calmly passed the Iron Gate Strait. Having sailed another ten kilometers, we found a more or less appropriate place for our kayak. It was a small bay with a small sandy beach that our children liked. Soon the tide began to ebb, gradually 30 meters of the seabed opened before us.

We already knew that you need to catch local fish on the worms that live on the seabed. Especially for the capture of sea worms, we took a sapper shovel. After having fun with her for about 15 minutes, we really managed to dig up worms. Before that, we found a number of descriptions on the Internet about how to fish in the White Sea. Most of these descriptions noted that one of the important conditions for success in fishing is the capture of worms. The worms that we came across were 5-10 cm long, although they write that they reach 30 cm. It is recommended to drip a shovel between the entrance and exit of the worm into the mink, while there is a chance to catch the owner of this mink.
The worms we dug up looked even more creepy than their freshwater brothers. With jokes and jokes, having picked up a dozen worms, we carried our light kayak to the water and set off to catch local fish. We were going to anchor the kayak and fish from a depth of 5-7 meters. However, a terrible thing happened: the rope that traveled with the kayak was not in it. We had an emergency 2-meter line, with which we managed to get up at a depth of 2 meters.

After reading the recommendations about fishing in the White Sea, we were almost sure that there would be worms, and there would be fish.
However, having fished in one, second, third place, it turned out that there was a worm, but no fish. We caught on a spinning rod, to which a lure and 2 hooks with worms were attached (although this is the recommended tackle for catching cod from a depth of 30 meters). We also fished with a regular float rod. The result of fishing on both gear was the same: we did not catch anything.

Day five: August 4 - Swimming near Myagostovo
In fact, we already had a circular route from the village of Kolezhma (where we left our car) and back to the same village. Accordingly, on this day we decided to sail a little more towards Sumy Posad in order to get clean, tasty water in the two rivers indicated on our map. However, even with the help of GSP, we did not find one river.
However, it was possible to find the mouth of another river. Remembering the experience of the previous collection of water, we were afraid to find puddles with brown water. However, personal inspection showed that this rivulet dried up completely. After going upstream for about a kilometer, I found many paths and animal tracks, which were well imprinted on the already dried clay (probably there was a swamp here a month ago). Most of the large footprints looked like those of an elk. In one place, an adult bear definitely passed.

At that time, we did not yet know that many vipers live on the White Sea, especially in coastal swamps, and I calmly walked barefoot in only slippers. Finding ourselves without water, we decided to swim another 10 kilometers to Myagostrov, where there should have been another river.

We sailed through the strait between the islands of Manikostrov and Shchelye to the only small river on the big island of Myagostrov.
The strait between the islands turned out to be difficult to pass even on our kayak and at full tide. The whimsically curved passage was littered with boulders, which, even at full tide, could be seen as anti-ship mines that had floated to the surface. It is unlikely that you can go through these places on a motorboat, unless of course you are a kamikaze.

Having passed the strait between the islands, we saw a very small rocky island. This island towered above the water like a fortress, with walls of cracked rock, trees growing on top. The children immediately nicknamed it "Buyan Island". And we liked it, since almost all the islands were flat as a table.
But we did not have drinking water and we sailed further to Myagostov through a 4-kilometer strait. On our six meter kayak, we had a hard time dealing with the high side waves. According to the map, the only rivulet was located next to the hut to which we were heading.

Having swum up to the shore about a hundred meters, we saw an elk (there were no horns), which looked at us with even greater surprise. After standing in front of us for about 5 minutes, the moose cow snorted, turned around and went into the forest. Perhaps mosquitoes and heat, unusual for this place and time, drove her to the seashore. Vika and I were pleasantly surprised by this event. The children showed little interest in watching a wild animal like in a zoo or on TV. They were more amused by playing with floating algae than they had been hanging out for a couple of days.

Having sailed with the help of the GSP to the only river marked on the island, we rowed about 20 meters in a kayak along the river bed, flooded with sea water at high tide. The channel was not wide, we hardly squeezed through there in a kayak. Reeds swayed nearby, the water was clear and transparent, clearly sea. I got out of the kayak along a high reed, after forty meters the sea water ran out, a brown-brown slush began. The width of the river narrowed to thirty centimeters ...
And, oh miracle! After walking another fifteen meters along this slush into the depths of the island, we managed to find several stagnant puddles with stagnant water with the color of strongly brewed tea. From above, the puddles were covered with some kind of crust, apparently consisting of bacteria living in this water and their metabolic products. It also reminded me of frog skin. Of course, in the Moscow region, no one gives a name to such half-meter streams and does not consider them rivers.

Having collected twenty liters of this brown-colored water in different-sized plastic bottles, I returned to the kayak with the air of a hunter who had obtained food for the whole family.
Having swum back about fifteen meters, we again swam into the sea. The fast phase of low tide had not yet begun, and there was no need to drag an extra fifty meters along the muddy bottom of the sea. Having sailed a little along the coast, we swam up to the hut. There was nothing in the hut except a pack of salt, toilet paper and bare wooden bunks. Raspberries grew near the hut. However, it was strange to see in the raspberries next to the obviously abandoned hut, fresh breaches, around which there were no ripe berries. In the Caucasus, I have already met bears in raspberries, so we did not collect raspberries for a long time.

Having sailed from the hut, we hoped to find a place to spend the night on this island. The coast of the island was visible 10 km ahead. But we saw only a low rocky shore, overgrown with grass, immediately turning into a forest. There were no beaches to be seen either. Despite the protests of Victoria, our forward sailor, we returned to the return course to the strait between two neighboring islands.

Having sailed 4 km in the opposite direction, we found an excellent parking lot on a small nameless island, which we called "Buyan Island". The island is located right at the exit from the strait, it was 40 meters wide and 200 meters long, very similar to a rocky pimple that grew out of the sea. It was all gray rocks topped with pine trees. The only parking place was on the opposite side of the island from the strait.

Children enthusiastically ran along the plates going into the water, collecting shells and the remains of crabs. There were also jellyfish. We did not find only starfish, about which kayakers traveling along the White Sea wrote with enthusiasm.

Day six: August 5 - swimming Myagostrov - rocks near the algae plant
It was a pity, but the next morning we went further, because. We didn't have water for one more night. Having sailed from our island, we sawed for a long time around the island of Manikostrov. Having rounded it, with difficulty (apparently against the tidal current) we passed the strait with the island of Berezovets on our small kayak.

Then we entered the Iron Gate Strait, which we crossed with great difficulty due to the strong tidal current.
While the parents struggled to swim against the tidal current in the Iron Gates, the children were pulled off by pulling seaweed from the bottom. Having crossed the strait, we again found a rivulet, in which we had already taken water before. The first time we thought it was terrible water quality. But now this brown liquid, covered with an iridescent film on top, seemed to us to be quite high-quality fresh water.

While I was traversing a couple of hundred meters barefoot along the swamp for water, Anya, having bathed in the sea, found a disgusting-looking snake skin. Fortunately, her former owner was not around. Subsequently, we were told that this was the skin of a viper, of which there are many on coastal stones. It is not clear that these snakes drank during a 2-month drought, except that moisture from local frogs and mice could save them. The mice, judging by the blueberries they ate and the purple pellets on the stones, also solved the problem with the lack of water.

A kilometer from the coast, we saw something like a black ball, periodically plunging under the water. Perhaps it was a seal, because when we got to this ball, there was nothing there.
We got up on a high rocky peninsula, not far from the Krasnoshchelsky algae plant. With difficulty we found a small place for our tent right on the rocks. Taking into account the heat that has been standing for 2 months, we also decided to make a fire among the stone slabs.

One man in waders said he was a firefighter's assistant checking fires, while another said he was from Ivanteevka and spent his holidays there. I remembered that for 20 years I have had a badge "Society for the fight against drug addiction and prostitution", but I did not talk about it.
After talking for about five minutes about the weather and the forest burning nearby, we parted ways. Finally, the peasants laughed at our net, which, due to the ebb tide, was almost without water.

When the motorboat with the same fishermen drove up again half an hour later, we expected something pleasant. Indeed, they brought us a camping teapot filled with flounder. There were about ten live flounders the size of a man's palm. Having released them into a small puddle on the rocks, we watched with delight as all the fish turned over with their white belly down, becoming completely invisible against the background of the rocks.
We left the flounder until the morning, selecting 5-6 things for fish soup and frying, and put the rest in a puddle in the stones, which, at full tide, connected with the sea. It is interesting that even in our net, half standing above the water, a single flounder also got into it.

Like the rest of the coast, the pine forest was full of blueberries, but even more mosquitoes. And not seeing a single snake on the rocks, we, tired and satisfied, went to bed.

Day seven: August 6 - sailing to the village of Kolezhma and the beginning of the road home
Waking up in the morning, we saw that half of the flounders, which we launched into the puddle, had sailed into the sea. Of the rest, we boiled the fish soup and fried it in breadcrumbs. The flounder turned out to be quite good in taste, which was spoiled only by the fact that we were counting on at least a three-kilogram cod, caught with our own hands.

Even at full tide, we hardly entered the mouth of the Kolezhma River, with difficulty maneuvering between the stones. And lo and behold, we saw our "gray mouse" - a well-proven Honda CRV family SUV.
Having unloaded ashore directly in front of the car, we again saw the old man, at whose house we left the car. Last time, he did not take money for the parking of the car. This time we offered stew, which we also easily refused.

Part 3: Long road back

Day seven (continued): August 6 - the village of Kolezhma - the White Sea-Baltic Canal
After half a day sailing in the White Sea and deflated the kayak, we boarded our car. This time, without much adventure, we drove 30 km to Sumy Posad.
Closer to the village, we saw a burning forest, a fire engine, hoses near the road, tired men on the side of the road. The forest burned out over several square kilometers.
The fire was put out by emergency personnel. Huge thanks to them for their hard work!

Having reached Belomorsk another 30-ku, we bought sausages for the evening in a shop and went to look for a place to spend the night.
We found an absolutely pleasant parking place on the banks of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. Having moved sideways from the asphalt road from Belomorsk, we drove a little along a steep thirty-degree slope and stood on the bank of the canal near a picturesque bay overlooking a huge expanse of fresh and tasty water.

Day eight: August 7 - the Belomorkanal road - the Shimka river
The next morning we left at 11-12 o'clock and took the path we had taken from Moscow (via Medvezhyegorsk and Vologda).
We could also go via St. Petersburg, but we wanted to spend the night at our former camp on the Shimka River. Having traveled all day along Lake Onega, we again did not see the lake itself. The road surface has not improved either. Only when it began to get dark, we drove up to the intersection of our road with the Kema River, into which the Shimka flows.

Having driven along a dirt road along the Kema about five kilometers along the river, we found many places for parking. However, they were all already occupied, mostly by bearded men in jeeps. If someone thought about Chechens with machine guns, then in vain, the bearded men were clearly of a Slavic appearance, with a large number of women and children.
In Moscow, such bearded men are rare, but on the way to the White Sea, we saw a lot of off-road cars with Moscow numbers and with backpacks on the top trunk. Often a trailer with a boat or a boat was driving behind the jeeps.

Day nine: August 8 - the road of the Shimka river - Moscow
In the morning we tried to leave early, around 8 am. Indeed, at 8.30 we managed to do it. With a later departure, we obviously did not have time to get home before midnight, and I had to be at work the next day.

The road through Vologda and Yaroslavl was not easy. However, we took into account the lessons of the previous trip and spent less time and nerves on the passage of cities. As we approached Moscow, the air temperature gradually increased to 35 degrees, the amount of smoke in the air also increased, as did the number of cars and people.
It was hot and smoky in the suburbs, in the Voskresensk area, a fire was burning right along the road. There were no firefighters in sight. Smoking motorists are clearly not out of the habit of throwing cigarette butts through the car window.

We got to the cottage by 10 am. Visibility in the area near Moscow Bronnitsy was 100-200 meters, but most drivers did not slow down. Even after the scene of the accident with three cars flying into a ditch and an ambulance standing nearby, where something was being loaded, most of the drivers passing by did not slow down. They overtook an ambulance that was traveling at a speed of 90 km/h.

The closer to Moscow, the more bestial driving manners had to be observed. On long-distance routes and in small towns, almost all drivers behave on the road much more correctly in relation to others.
On the Moscow Ring Road, once again, the fools were unpleasantly surprised, tacking in the stream of cars at a speed of 150 km / h, not bothering to warn other drivers by turning on the turning lights. My experience of visiting half of the countries of Europe said that such a bestial driving style would please blacks there, who for some reason are not slowed down by the police. In reality, the police [in Europe] successfully stop almost all such bestial trips. Self-respecting white Europeans behave on the road (and off it) quite correctly.

I arrived in Moscow at 2 am, got out of the car and immediately sprained my leg, fortunately not much. At the same time, it turned out that after 15 hours of driving a car over the past 24 hours, I began to walk badly, with difficulty maintaining my balance. There was no strength to move the legs.

It was not hot outside, 25 degrees, although it was smoky, like near a fire. In short, it was a hot week of vacation.

And here is a short summary of the trip:

1. We found few places for kayaking on the southern coast of the White Sea. We can recommend the beginning and end of the trip in the village of Kolezhma, but getting to it is not easy.
   You still need to be able to get to the seashore from Belomorsk to Sumsky Posad: the only dirt path runs at a distance of 2-10 km from the sea. We could not go by car to the sea;
2. You can try to start rafting from the village of Sumsky Posad. It is 40 kilometers from Belomorsk along a good dirt road (although it is marked as asphalt on the map). However, there are still 4 kilometers to the sea along a stormy river with rapids. There are no roads along the river, which are marked on the maps as "ground" for the last 10 years ... Ie. returning from the sea to Sumy Posad is not easy, although the local people on motorboats at full tide swim out to sea and return back;
3. Local residents and tourists scared us from the GIMS (which require numbers on all ships, including catamarans and kayaks), firefighters (there was a drought and fires, for being in the forest with matches threatened a fine of 3 tr.), fish protection (and without there are no nets swimming there), etc. There are especially many such parasites in the area of ​​the city of Belomorsk. They also get to Sumsky Posad, but they don’t get to Kolezhma yet, apparently they are too small or they don’t have enough gasoline;
4. It is necessary to take with you containers for drinking water, with a supply of a day for 2.
   In dry (and especially very dry and hot) weather, a water filter is highly desirable. There are very few rivers with fresh water (one kilometer per 10 coasts), in a drought half of them dry up completely, and in the rest the water was completely brown, like Lipton tea. However, in the presence of rains, fresh water can be collected from puddles on the rocks;
5. There are few good parking places - one kilometer per 10 coasts. The coast is mostly low, the taiga immediately approaches it, there are very few rivers. There may be vipers on the shore. Pleasant parking places can be found on small rocky islands, but in dry weather there may be no fresh water at all. Accordingly, it will be unpleasant to get stuck for a couple of days due to a storm, without a supply of water;
6. There were a lot of mosquitoes in early August. They took off towards evening. About a hundred mosquitoes flew near the net from each of our inner tents. Even experienced hikers got on their nerves;
7. Children (6 and 9 years old) successfully completed the route. However, they already had experience of kayaking. But it is risky to take smaller children with you;
8. In August, the White Sea is usually not hot, but in early August 2010 the air temperature was +25+30, the water was also warm for swimming;
9. It is very difficult to drive a car across Russia 1300 kilometers there and the same amount back.
   Roads marked as asphalt periodically turned into gravel (especially in the Republic of Karelia, and from the city of Belomorsk and further to the east, there was also no asphalt). There are no bypass roads around many cities. On the highways, especially closer to Moscow, there are no places to rest, and the forests near the road are heavily polluted.
   Our average speed from Moscow through Vologda was only 40-50 km/h (taking into account small stops along the way), although we tried to drive at a speed of 100-110 km/h;
10. It makes no sense to go from Moscow to the White Sea for a week (unless, of course, you are seasoned Soviet autotourists). Of the 9 days, we spent exactly half on the road. By train, you can get there faster - in 36 hours.
    However, the direct cost of traveling by own car was equal to the cost of gasoline and amounted to 5 tr. The cost of traveling by train would have been about 30-40 tr for us, and even with good tickets it was possible to buy only 3 weeks before the trip;
11. In the case when the GPS navigator suggests routes that differ from those recommended by road signs (for example, the direction of a detour on a road being repaired), it is better to trust the signs, GPS can lead to a dead end in the middle of nowhere.

Journey to the White Sea- obviously not a standard voyage, suitable for those who are tired of trivial places of rest and for whom the uniqueness of history and sights comes first.

Travel price and travel conditions to the White Sea

• THE DIFFERENCE OF THE WHITE SEA REGION WITH THE CENTER IN TIME - Moscow time.
• WHEN IS IT BETTER TO GO TO THE WHITE SEA -
• HOW TO GET THERE - From Moscow to Petrozavodsk: train - from 1000 RUR. From Petrozavodsk to Belomorsk: train - from 600 RUR. The cost of the tour along the chosen route from Belomorsk is from 13000 RUR.
• TRANSPORT ON THE ROAD - The cost of a non-stop transfer in the direction of Belomorsk - Moscow - from 1200 RUR. Other transportation along the described route is included in the price of the tour.
• WEATHER OF THE BELOMORSKY REGION - The temperature in June is not higher than +15 °С. The water temperature in the White Sea is not higher than +15...+16 °С.
• DURATION OF THE TRIP TO THE WHITE SEA – 9 days
• ACCOMMODATION - The cost of staying in hotels in Petrozavodsk: s-d / d-t - from 800-1200 / 600-1400 RUR. Accommodation in other places of the described route is already included in the cost of the trip.

Most recently, I published reports about a trip to.
After the first visit to the park in 2014, I was amazed by the beauty of the nature of the Arkhangelsk region, as well as the presence of a large number of architectural monuments of past centuries.
I decided to study the material in more detail ... So I got the idea to drive to the White Sea along the Onega River.

Once upon a time, a large land route passed through these places, which connected the coastal regions of the White Sea with the center of Rus'. Saturated shipping traffic was on the Onega River, it connected the Volga with the sea. Life here was in full swing: cities and villages were located on the banks, temples were built and trade was going on. Since then, from the point of view of life and life of people there, little has changed ...

The road to the southern coast of the White Sea from St. Petersburg is interesting, in places (to put it mildly) not of very high quality and rich in sights. My route looked something like this:

Small turnarounds and drive-ins are not shown, and unpaved roads are highlighted in orange

Throughout its length in the Leningrad, Vologda, Arkhangelsk regions and the Republic of Karelia, in picturesque and secluded places, there are beautiful villages and unique monuments of antiquity.

I start along the Murmansk highway and turn towards Vytegra near Lodeynoye Pole. Near the town of Podporozhye there are a number of unique objects that are combined into the so-called "Wooden Ring".

On the border of the Leningrad and Vologda regions, the road becomes unpaved. In dry weather, it is quite possible to ride on it (if shaking does not scare you). In rainy weather, it turns into a real hell, or rather into a swamp. Dirt covers all the cars in a dense layer, trucks “fold” on the slopes, overtaking is allowed in principle, but practically impossible or extreme, the speed is 20-40 km / h. The dirty mess absorbs the "Lada" by almost a third, and holes "the size of Kamaz" are hiding in the puddles. In two words - an exciting attraction!

Before Vytegra I pass the village of Paltoga. There are two churches right next to the road. Wooden - Theophany of the Lord (1733) and stone - the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign" (1810). Together they form the inactive temple complex of the Paltog churchyard.

You can make a stop, walk through the ruins and see how they are restoring (so far only) a monument of wooden architecture.

At the entrance to the city of Vytegra, the dead roadside is better than the main road. Interestingly, the mayor of this small town in the Vologda region (if it exists) often travels there? I pass the gateway, and outside the city is already the cherished "federal". Accelerate as much as you have enough conscience ... and money :)

Somewhere on the left hand remains a geological monument of nature - Mount Andoma, towering 85 meters above Lake Onega. But I don't have time to go there. Before reaching Pudozha, I turn to the Samina River.

On its banks is the village of Saminsky Pogost, the tallest building of which is the Church of Elijah the Prophet (approx. 1700).

More recently, the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God stood nearby. Now it lies side by side in the form of separate fragments - a sad sight. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever... every year there are fewer and fewer such unique monuments.

Time goes to sunset, evening fishing begins on a wooden bridge.

The dogs, smelling a stranger, are trying to drive me away from the Vologda land, and the village kids, standing dumbfounded by the road, follow me with their eyes.

Taking a course in Pudozh to Kargopol, and making a stop on the Vodla River,

I ended up in the Karelian villages of Ust-Reka and Pogost.

They are located on Lake Kolodozero. On the cape you can see the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Even being wooden, it seems somehow modern. And this impression is not deceptive. Time of construction 21st century.

The sun has gone below the horizon. The incomplete moon periodically peeks out from behind the clouds. The sound of fish splashing in the lake.

Bathhouses and sheds are gradually disappearing into the fog, and the village youth on motorcycles, apparently, drove to the "discach".

The rest of the residents are getting ready for bed. But I have plans to get to the Arkhangelsk region - there are some 15 kilometers left. At the border of the regions, asphalt is replaced by a serpentine primer - it's good that I already know the road.

Passing the turn to Morshchikhinskaya, the impressions of the visit pop up in my head. A year has passed since then, but it seems like it was yesterday. On the opposite bank of the Lekshmozero, the already familiar silhouette of the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul is visible.

After some time, I turn onto an overgrown forest road, in the dark I check the map several times. Another 5 kilometers through fog-covered fields and dense forests and above the treetops appeared a wooden giant.

There is no one around for many kilometers... In the twilight of the night, surrounded by fog, stands the ghost of Sreteno-Mikhailovskaya Church. An impressive and mystical spectacle that takes your breath away.

Once there was a village here, and now it is the Krasnaya Lyaga tract, next to which there are a dozen more abandoned villages. I wonder how long this magnificent monument will stand in such an environment?

After a couple of hours, I already meet the dawn near Kargopol in the village of Saunino. The sun barely breaks through the clouds of a cyclone approaching from the south.

The only path along the pond is surrounded by tall grass covered with dew. I make my way along it to find a good point for shooting, because on the opposite bank there is Saunino's business card - the Church of St. John Chrysostom (1665).

I also have the village of Oshevenskoye in my plans, so I won’t stay here for a long time, but rather I’ll compete in speed on a dirt road with a atmospheric front.

But more on that in the next part...

2013 was a good year for us. We visited the White Seas. We saw Black Sea dolphins and White Sea seals. They ate Black Sea crabs and White Sea cod. The north of the European part of Russia never ceases to delight us with its landscapes.

UAZ Patriot crew:
Eduard (captain, driver, mechanic)
Tatyana (driver, navigator, chief engineer)
Valeriy Vasilyevich (observer, chef)
Taiga (security service, Karelian-Finnish Laika)

Vehicle: UAZ Patriot (UAZ-3163)
year of issue: 2012
engine: ZMZ-409.10
volume: 2.7 l
power: 128 hp
equipment: Limited

Friends asked: "Where are you going on vacation?".
Answered: "On the sea."
“The sea is big. Where specifically?
"To Pongoma."
"To Palestine?"
"No. This is the White Sea.
“White? Where is it?"

Upon learning that in Russia, interest disappeared. And the north beckons us again. And, like, we decided to go along the already known route and stop for the night in already familiar places.

We managed to leave the Moscow region only at 6 pm, huge traffic jams, we left for half a day. Before dark, we managed to get to Lake Pleshcheyevo (Yaroslavl region), where we stopped for the night.

Our companion on this trip - Valery Vasilievich - traveled all over the country, but never got to the Karelian north. We fill in the gaps.

I suddenly discovered that I had forgotten all the maps of Karelia at home. You will have to navigate by signs and GPS.

We slowly have breakfast, get ready and head for Sheksna, where we were again met by hospitable friends. As well as the invariably delicious lunch of the craftswoman Nastya, dinner and a cozy bed.

From Sheksna we went to Pudozh through the city of Kirillov and a new bridge across the Sheksna river.

We saved two hours compared to when we were ferryed. We got up for the night near Pudozh before dark. Such an event is very rare for us.

Valery Vasilyevich continued to wonder how we found places suitable for overnight stays so quickly.

In Medvezhyegorsk, they decided to fill in a 20 liter canister in case there are no gas stations closer to the north. Places that are still unknown to us.

The canister was full of holes. I had to urgently buy a new one and pour gasoline on the lawn in a safe place. By the way, an interesting observation. At a TNK gas station in Medvezhyegorsk, a canister cost 1,300 rubles, and after 100 km along the highway at a TNK gas station in the village of Pushnoy, the same canister cost already 900 rubles.

Medvezhyegorsk is a small town with many speed bumps. Already eight pieces are in a row. For what? The answer is obvious: there is a prison in the city. The main road runs exactly along a three-meter fence with barbed wire and observation towers.

On the navigator we saw Lake Shuezero. From the road 2 km. But turning off the road, they realized that it was not possible to get to the coast. The road dissolves into an old clearing.

And we, without thinking twice, set up a camp for the night right there in the clearing.

Taiga spent the whole night tirelessly patrolling the object entrusted to her.

Homebody-computer Valery Vasilyevich suddenly declared that traveling is better than sitting at home. But there is still a lot of malware left in his head.

Kem. Everyone remembers: “Kemska volost! Me, me! Kemska volost!”? ((c) "Ivan Vasilyevich is changing his profession"). But some members of our team (and many other respected citizens) until now believed that this was a fictitious name.

The water from the Kem column is yellowish in color.

Such Kem in the center.

On the shores of the White Sea, it is no longer Kem, but the village of Rabocheostrovsk, the former name of Kem-Pristan.

Tides reach 1-1.5 meters in height

Not far from Kemi, granite is being mined. The depth of the quarry is not less than ten meters.

Near the city of Kem there is a village Sokol. Its attraction is the Su-15 jet aircraft visible from the road.

"A true lover and connoisseur of relaxation," Valery Vasilievich, sadly looked at the White Sea from the Kemsky pier. He had already tasted the water on his tongue—salty. He touched the stones with his hands - real ones. He was already imbued with the sea air and the environment.

“Well, well…” he turned to us with a sigh. “I looked at the sea. I'm over it. Now let's go to your swamps. I don't think I'll ever come here again."

We almost burst into tears from such grief: “What swamp are you talking about, Valery Vasilyevich? We are going to the White Sea. Are you not coming with us?"

“How about the White Sea? Are you not on lakes / rivers / streams and other swamps? He stubbornly did not understand us.

“Valery Vasilyevich, when we invited you on a trip to the White Sea, we meant the White Sea.”

Valery Vasilyevich was delighted. He will see the sea on this trip!

He has not only viruses in his head, but also cockroaches.

We turn towards Kuzyoma.

But we are not 38 km, but 46 km to the village of Pongoma. All these 46 km hard grader. But with the presence of living creatures.

The village of Pongoma is located right on the shore of the White Sea, at the mouth of the river of the same name.

A well-worn road passes through the village and leads directly to the coast. In September, places with good entrances were already occupied by tourists like us, who came from the Moscow region. We went to the very end of this road and found a beautiful clearing, where we settled down comfortably.

All the time spent at sea, the weather pleased with the blue sky and the warm sun, unique sunsets and sunrises.

As soon as we arrived, the neighbors came over to meet us. They said that fish are caught only with nets. “Don’t even think about fishing rod or spinning. Useless occupation. And if you spot a seal, hit it. This is the instruction of the locals, because seals steal fish from nets!” These are nature lovers. We once saw a seal through a spyglass. Admired. And to beat, it was not even in my thoughts.

12 (Thursday) — 14 (Saturday) September 2013

We decided that there was nothing to listen to those fishermen. It is forbidden to catch nets, and not in a sporting way. You need to try other ways. Waiting for the tide. Low tide, by the way, on the White Sea happens twice a day with a frequency of 12 hours and 15 minutes. At low tide, a sandworm was dug up on a sandbank (a sea worm, cod is well caught on it).

We waited for the tide and went fishing.

We went fishing twice. First time during the day. Not very successful. And the second time when it started to get dark. We would go at another time, but you need to catch only during high tide, otherwise it will not bite. And in the evening it bites better.

The tackle is very simple. We take a spinning rod and a small lure, we used a spinner. We replace the tee with a single hook (a lot breaks down with a tee). We plant the sandworm in the same way as the earthworm. And we calmly catch cod on the White Sea, as well as bream on the Volga. If you choose the right place, the result will not keep you waiting.

Along the way, a goby / sea bass / something else is called there. In a word, sea rotan. They didn’t eat rotans, worms come across in them and, compared with cod, there were few of them.

In one short trip, we slowly caught fish, filling a large frying pan.

Freshly fried cod, of course, is incomparable to store-bought.

Neighbors, by the way, caught the same amount with nets. At the same time, they went far beyond the horizon in a motor boat, and we caught 200 meters from the shore from a kayak. Therefore, we recommend fishing on a hook. It is not difficult.

Taiga kept watch all day long.

The watch is relentless and vigilant.

Valery Vasilievich watched the ebb and flow. He was so amazed by this phenomenon that he got up almost before sunrise and sat on a stone by the sea until our very rise, watching the water level.

And we went sailing, collecting shiksha, lingonberries, blueberries and Swedish turf on the nearest islands.

Oddly enough, but four days was enough for us to live in one place. The soul missed the pike lakes, so we decided to give up on Ondozero Lake. It is nearby - 250 km towards the house.

For the first time in all days, the morning sea gave us fog.

There is something in the White Sea that attracts, makes tourists come back here again and again. If you decide on such a trip, then, for sure, you will want to visit here more than once.

We did not get to Lake Ondozero. There was no map, they were guided by my memory and GPS. According to GPS there is always a way. On foot. But there are difficulties in the car, and we turned a little before the right turn.

The road led to an unknown lake. Later it turned out that this is Lake Khargo.

The road ended in a wonderful clearing, where it was decided to set up camp.

An excellent path leads from the clearing to the lake, convenient enough for local conditions to launch a boat.

16 (Monday) — 18 (Wednesday) September 2013

Every day Valery Vasilievich went for mushrooms and berries. Berries in Karelia are huge, picking, it's hard to stop. Mostly lingonberries grow. One berry is more beautiful than the other, and all are large and sweet. Before leaving, we collected two buckets.

Blueberries are also found, but it is in this place that they are much less. Our main collector in full glory.

Now about fishing.

Nothing was caught on the bait for bread. The lake itself is very shallow. In the middle, the depth rarely reaches two meters. Mostly perch are caught on a small spinner. Sometimes a pike is enough. On average, out of ten casts, there will be eight hooks. Lost three spinners. Despite this, the fish ate. Smoked perches were especially delicious. Pikes went to the ear.

We're going home.

Don't forget to keep clean.

And never rush. You are waiting at home!

Travel expenses:

Kilometer: 3479 km
Gasoline: 459 l
Average consumption: 13.2 l / 100 km. We will assume that it was 13.5 l / 100 km
Money for gasoline: 14,322 rubles.
Nothing broke, but the scratches continue to add up.