Here we were deep the historic heart of Russia, the city of Samara to be precise, walking along a grand promenade on the shore of the Volga River. It is said to be the longest promenade in Europe. Two weeks earlier I had been in the far east Russian city of Vladivostok looking out over the Sea of Japan. The distance in-between over which the trusty Comanche had flown in a little under two weeks, amounted to a staggering 3,000 NM (6,000 km). To put that distance in perspective, it is almost one and a half times across the mainland USA and we were still inside Russia, while sublimely conscious the Ukraine boarder was only a couple or so hours flying further to the west..!
The late afternoon temperature hovered in the mid-twenties, just perfect for walking as attested to by a constant parade of well attired locals. Many walked arm-in-arm, some with small dogs. There were families, laughing and smiling. Altogether the scene appeared serenely normal. Meanwhile, I was haunted by the memorable refrains of an embedded song. My mind momentarily wandered. “Yo, heave ho…as we walk along the shore..!” It was the stirring and well known traditional Russian song of the Volga Boatmen, sung by burlaps or barge-haulers, on the Volga River.
Widely regarded as the national river of Russia, the Volga served as an important meeting place during the middle ages for various Eurasian cultures, and before then it had been a penetrative route for Viking conquests. Quite understandable when this significant water-way, navigable for more than 2,000 miles, connects Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea. And meeting people had also bought us to the shores of the Volga River.
Samara is the home of AeroVolga, a niche designer and manufacturer of a range of single and multi-engine amphibian aircraft. During the summer of 2018, three of their aeroplanes successfully completed a 45-day Northern Polar global circumnavigation. In the spirit of aviation adventurers, we were generously welcomed and hosted. We even stood symbolically side-by-side looking out across the Volga River as the sun set on the western horizon.
It is a long way to fly across Russia
Walking the promenade beside the Volga
A bronze rendition of Ilya Repin’s famous painting Barge Haulers on the Volga
Sunset across the Volga
The AeroVolga Polar circumnavigation team
Baz, Bob with the AeroVolga management team
Fantastic
ReplyDeleteA ripping good read! Following with great interest and cheering from the Scottish sidelines, regards John ten Have
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