Ghost Town

Thursday July 22th

Gena, who had driven us home the previous night, had offered to pick us up in the early afternoon for an excursion to see a remote town he know of called Kovda, which is apparently fast becoming a ghost town.

It was originally established as a result of a British logging company that had since ceased operating. There seemed to be no public transport links to the area, so the only way to get there was by car.

Once again we got off to a fairly late start. We arrived at the dying town just after 16:30.

16:37 The town is virtually deserted, yet just as I am about to have my photo taken, the one resident decides to walk in front of the camera...

Time to go and investigate the old church - made entirely of wood, without the use of nails. Just like in Suzdal, only this one isn't in a museum. It has, however, ceased to be used - presumably since the date indicated on the headstone in the cemetary which indicated that it marked the grave of the last priest.

Natasha and Lena at the entrance. It looks like the builders didn't spend too much time working on the stairs.

The bell tower at the end of the building. Everything was pretty securely locked, so we couldn't explore inside.

16:54 - Lena having a rest on the front lawn of the church.

and a close up..

17:03 - Gena at the door of a functioning store - we were amazed to find that the town still had one.

Lena about to go in and buy the heaviest item in the store. She emerged with a 'chougounok', a traditional Russian pot for use in an oven, that looked (and felt) like it was made of cast iron.

And since we were all being photographed at the store...

At 18:10, emerging from a tour of the most densely populated part of town - the cemetary. Appart from the headstones in various stages of disrepair, there was a plentiful supply of mosquitoes, a few pockets of ripe berries, and some plants whose branches were of the type used for beating the dirt out of people in a traditional Russian banya.

At 18:28, as we prepare to leave the village, we come across a nice photo opportunity. I was told that this was not a grave, but marker for fishermen, placed at the highest point in the village.