NEAR KHAMONTOVO, LENINGRAD REGION, RUSSIA–Last night we had our last group dinner (shashlyk — essentially shish kebab — and delicious brown bread) and lively conversation (most of which I missed, of course, but still enjoyed). There were over a dozen toasts, my favorite being “to ideas”. This went on until about 1:30 a.m.
Nikolai, Sergei and Andrei packed up and left in the morning for the long drive back to Moscow. Andrey and I then sorted out our notes and specimens and did some last fieldwork in the local area. Since we arrived by train and Nikolai left with the car, we were confined to sites we could walk to from the field house. The weather is now spectacular, very warm and without a cloud in the sky. A good time to be a field geologist. (Not that every time isn’t a good time, but some are better than others!) Tomorrow afternoon we leave on the 4:00 p.m. train to Volkhov with a connection to St. Petersburg.
Lynna River as it meets the Syas near the field house.
