Khakusy Jakusi

Tompa, Russia

Khakusy (an isolated hot-spring turbaza (holiday camp) is an hour by speed boat east of southeast across from Serverobaykal’sk on the wilder and unpopulated eastern shores. And it’s here that geothermal activity* pushes heated water up to the surface. Russians come for their medicinal bathing, their tonics, the hot spring green mosses applied to their arthritic knees and a man-like female masseur at the ready. I decided after a couple of hours alternating between the super hot pools amd the cooler ones that my pack-carrying back needed the gift of a massage. And this man-lady was good. I returned very chilled across the lake in the speed boat. Although, the boat’s occupants were a ittle irate as I was late. I blame the masseur.

* Yergeny tells me that Lake Baikal has daily micro-tremors. With the deep central submerged valley of the lake slowly spreading and moving the BAM engineers knew to build the soviet-style apartment blocks with earthquake proof design incorporated.