4. 19 June to 21 June 2011 - Astrakhan, Russia

It was late in the day when we arrived in Astrakhan, which is situated not so much on the Caspian Sea, but on the Volga River where it becomes the Volga Delta and empties its contents into the Caspian. We spent the first night in an intriguing little hotel run by a mother and daughter who were an absolute delight. We had thought it was no longer operating when we first arrived - doors locked, no lights - but eventually a young man came and opened up, eager to have us stay. We were the only guests that night and the mother and daughter arrived to serve us a delicious freshly cooked Russian meal (soup with meat dumplings and potato followed by a little round salad of strips of red and yellow capsicum, cabbage, carrot and tomato with a tasty dressing) all in the quaint restaurant downstairs, shrouded in curtains and elaborate decor. By the time we left we had managed to converse a great deal with them both in Russian and some English. The daughter had learnt English at school and was studying medicine at the local university. Her father was a doctor. The following morning the mother waved us a friendly goodbye.

Probably the most treasured experience when travelling is to be invited into someone's home, which was exactly our next experience in Astrakhan. It happened completely by chance.

Having left our little hotel, we were stopped at lights when a Russian man with his wife and daughter pulled up alongside and wanted to chat, wondering were we really from Australia? We pulled over beside them, and so started our Russian family experience with Alex, Irina and Julia, their 15 year old daughter. Alex asked could he help us at all and when we asked about camping they all agreed we could camp in their garden! They wanted to show us around first, so we met them a short time later outside the city's Kremlin and they looked after us for the rest of the day.

Alex had built their house on the bank of the Volga River a few kilometres south of Astrakhan. It was still a work in progress, but a fabulous house with a garden which he obviously cherished with apple, apricot and cherry trees, grapevines, and beautiful vegetables, as well as flower beds. We just managed to squeeze our vehicle in through the back gate, park next to his treasured old lorry and open up the camper in between the branches of the trees. Their hospitality was boundlessly generous - magnificent afternoon tea, the kind offer of the use of their shower gratefully accepted, and an evening meal prepared by Irina. Julia was studying English (as well as Turkish) at school and Alex spoke a little, so with hit and miss Russian and English, and the help of phone dictionaries, we managed superbly. We also met Julia's school friend who stayed for dinner, and afterwards some family friends called by with their two young daughters, so there were lots of laughs, sharing of stories and 'cheers' and 'chin-chins' and toasts to international friends over Alex's home-made wine. No trace of a headache the next morning when we thanked them with a little gift from home, only to have them insist we accept a gift also from them.

We could never have imagined a better way to finish this part of our Russian journey. Some days were definitely challenging, with the uncertainty of suitable overnight stops, as well as a few police checks and encounters which really tested our language skills. But Olga, thanks for your Russian lessons! They have certainly enhanced our Russian experience and made it more enjoyable and manageable. And we have found the people very helpful and friendly at all times.

We now leave Russia to travel into Kazakhstan, a whole new experience, but they do speak Russian as well as their Kazakh language, and perhaps some English at times. So more Russian practice coming up!