Well, today is a pretty quiet day. It is a day to catch up on things, get organised and prepare for the next leg of our trip. We have a bit of a lay-in and then have a lazy breakfast down in the cafe. By then it is already 11 AM, so it is time to pack up our bags as we will be transferring to the same home stay we stayed at when we arrived. At noon we check-out and head downstairs to wait for our ride. We, along with the other three passengers, Penny, Alan and Annie, sit outside in the sun enjoying a cup of tea. It is a great day and look up at the volcano that are new friends are climbing and wish them well. At least they have ideal weather for the climb.
Around 1:30 PM we get our ride to our home stay. As it is the place we stayed at before, we felt right at home. I decide to stay here for the rest of the day to take care of the laundry and to write my journal. Need to catch up for all the missed days. Jacqui heads back to meet up with the rest of the people at the hotel to have lunch and then go shopping in town. She has a fun time checking out the local markets.
So, my afternoon is spent sitting at the daughters desk working on my laptop, with the occasional interruption from Svetlana's giggling daughter and her friends trying to ask me questions in Russian and broken English. They were, in the end, able to ask for my age. I also acted like a typical Russian housewife and went and hung our laundry on the communal line. It was a very nice, sunny and breezy day, so the clothes dried quickly. In the early evening, one more guest arrived and we spent some time chatting about our respective trips.
Jacqui comes back from her shopping around 8:30 PM. Lena, the translator brings her back and we say our goodbyes to her. Jacqui has purchased some personal items and some snacks. Svetlana has cooked up another great meal, so the three of us sit down at the small table in the kitchen for dinner. We have some meat cutlets, rice, and a potato and meat salad, accompanied by the usual bread and salad.
Then it is time to pack and sort our our bags. We want to put as much into our checked bags in order to minimise our hand luggage, but we do not want to exceed our combined 40 kg luggage allowance. We are ready for bed by 11 PM.