The Arctic Aboard the Professor Multinovsky
I found the Professor Multinovsky lying alongside the main quay in Keflavik in Iceland. Built in 1982 in Finland for the Russians, she was originally designed as a meteorological survey ship with an ice strengthened hull, although her unofficial activities included the odd bit of spying. Still with a Russian crew, she is now on permanent charter to a Danish company. We were due to sail on a 10 day trip to Scoresby Sound on the east coast of Greenland. 
My cabin, with twin bunk beds, was clean with an en-suite bathroom and shower, a small desk, chair, padded bench and plenty of electrical sockets. The first to arrive I spent a few minutes exploring the ship. Bar come sitting room, dining room, lecture theatre and plenty of deck space. We sailed at six in a strengthening wind and driving rain. 
The crossing to Greenland was scheduled to last 2 days but with a force 8 gale gusting 10, heavy seas and rain we arrived half a day late. On the first night only two out of 48 remained at dinner, the rest having succumbed to the pitching roll of the boat. Into the protected waters of Scoresby Sound and the sea fell flat calm. 
4 zodiacs sped us ashore for a 2 hour hike up a low hill, our progress hampered by a fresh fall of snow and the view obliterated by low cloud. Our excellent and highly knowledgeable guides on hand to explain the geography, geology and wildlife. Back on board and we moved on. The following day we woke to clear blue skies. The snow covered slopes of the fjord beautiful in the sunlight. Huge icebergs drifted by, their reflection dancing in the flat calm water. This time the zodiacs took us between the icebergs, sometimes cutting through a thin layer of ice already beginning to form on the surface of the sea. At a distance they are beautiful. Close to and one appreciates the sheer size of them, some towering 50 – 100ft into the air. How old was that ice that had begun life on a glacier somewhere in the middle of Greenland? 1,000, 10,000 years? Who knows. Once again we landed and this time came within 50 yards of a musk ox, the indigenous, shaggy, bison like creature that roams the coastal regions. 
After two more days of shore excursions and icebergs we arrived at Ittoqqortoormiit, the tiny settlement of 500 people that receives food twice a year by ship. We walked through the brightly painted houses, dog sleighs lying in the snow, the odd animal skin drying in the breeze and wondered what had prompted Ejnar Mikkelsen to establish such a remote community in 1925. The journey back to Iceland was equally rough however 8 days on board had accustomed the majority to roll of the boat, allowing the lectures and meals to proceed with an almost full quota of participants. Would I do it again? Absolutely I would, but you have to like boats to obtain full enjoyment and these icebreakers have very much an expeditionary feel rather than being on a luxurious cruise.
North to Solovki in the White Sea of Russia
The 5½ hour journey from St Petersburg east to Petrozavodsk on the shores of Lake Onega was definitely a mistake. I think our driver was bent on setting a new land speed record, but for whatever reason we spent most of the drive on the wrong side of the road. The train would have been a far better option. After a night in a pe  rfectly respectable hotel, we took a rockette or hydrofoil across the smooth waters of the lake to the island of Kizhi which houses perhaps Russia’s most photographed church, the Church of the Transfiguration. Built entirely of wood and without the use of nails, it is every bit as interesting and romantic as the photographs. We spent 3 hours wandering around the island in blazing sunshine before returning to the city and embarking on the 7 hour train ride north to Kem on the White Sea 100 miles west of Archangel. The hotel here is not one for the guide books. From Kem, another, rather slower, boat made the 2½ hour crossing to Solov  ki. First chronicled in the 15th century as a retreat and place of prayer and solitude, the original small church grew into what was to become one of the most important monasteries in Tsarist Russia, housing, at its peak, over 600 monks. Curiously, due to its strategic position, the monastery was fortified and even adopted the role of prison for dissolute monks and priests. In 1920, following the revolution, it was closed, and between 1923 and 1939 it served as the first, and probably most infamous, gulag in Russia. Today the monastery is in the early stages of restoration. Around 40 monks have established themselves and slowly, slowly it is coming to life, although the echoes of prison are not far away. Surrounding the massive structure is a small village of perhaps 1,000 residents, its place in Russian history emphasised by the fact that an early engraving is depicted on the 500 Rouble note. Stayin  g a in a surprisingly comfortable hotel, we spent 3 days being guided around, wandering through the old churches and cathedrals, at all times conscious of the fact that for 16 years they had housed tens of thousands of prisoners in simply appalling conditions. The island is quite big, heavily forested and dotted with over 500 lakes of varying sizes which are inter-connected by a man made canal system. On the second morning we took a small boat and rowed a 2 mile route drenched by the end in typically changeable weather. In winter you can go by helicopter, and visit other islands on skidoos across the frozen sea. Should you go? For anyone with an interest in Russian history it should be high up the list.
The Coast of Libya and Egypt
Leptis Magna, Sabratha, and Cyrene are some of the most evocative and tantalising names in the history of antiquity. Combine them with Siwa and Alexandria in Egypt and you have the makings of a fascinating journey. I flew with my eldest son (a classicist and therefore translator of all inscriptions Greek and Latin) to Libya at the end of August in order to explore this portion of the north African coast.  We spent the first 2 days in Tripoli, the ancient site of Oea, the third of the three Tripolitanian cities staying at the very comfortable Corinthia Bab Hotel. From there we explored Sabratha and Leptis Magna with Yousef, the most charming, knowledgeable and amusing guide I have experienced for a long time. Both these sites are spectacular and perhaps even more so as only a fraction of what lies there has been uncovered. Established around 300 BC, enriched by Rome, destroyed by an earthquake in 365AD, recycled by the Byzantines, ignored by the Arabs, covered by sand and eventually excavated in the 30s by the Italians - little has been done since. Following the coast we drove to Benghazi with nights in Zliten and Ajdabiya on the way. From Benghazi we explored Tulmaytha, a Ptolemaic port with the largest Roman cistern in North Africa and then to Susa to explore the Greek ruins of Apollonia and Cyrene, the latter arguably being the most beautiful site in Libya. A further night in Tobruk, which has nothing to recommend it, and another 2 hour drive took us to the border. Chaos rained, customs officials trying to check minibuses piled high with luggage, bicycles, children and carpets. We drove east for an hour or so and then turned south driving 200 miles across flat desert, a 360 horizon punctuated by the odd herd of camels. After 5 hours the landscape suddenly changed to dry river beds and eroded hills. Quite abruptly the road dropped through the desert floor and lying in front of us was the fabled oasis of Siwa with its lakes, date palms and olive groves. Famous for its oracle which was consulted by Alexander the Great in 331BC (the temple is still there), and for the Persian army which vanished in the desert when they set out to destroy it, the oasis sits right on the edge of the Sahara. We stayed in the Adrere Amellal Hotel on the shores of the lake. B  uilt entirely of local materials, without electricity and only serving food that is grown locally, it is a remarkable example of sustainable tourism. The conservative and traditional Berber town is a joy and a wonderful place to people watch. Another 8 hour drive via the battlefield and museum of El Alamein and we arrived in Alexandria. Stayed in the Cecil which was, in its time, one of the grand hotels of the city. 12 days of people, sites and sand - we returned home enriched.
Lake Baikal and Irkutsk
 A five hour flight and a five hour time change is a shock to the system, but the very comfortable Sun Hotel was a surprising light at the end of the tunnel. Irkutsk is a huge city now, but the centre has some interesting churches and old quarters of 19th century wooden houses. The Volkonsky Museum is a must, but the Trubetskoy museum is just an attempt to capitalise on Decembrist popularity. The drive to Baikal took us an hour plus a stop en-route at the Ethnographic museum, which, we discovered, is pretty much a repetition of what you find in Ulan Ude and not quite as good. If time is tight give it a miss. On the coast, Listvyanka is a tiny village with little to do, but the Baikal museum is an encyclopaedia of lake superlatives. We stayed at the Terema Hotel, privately run and reminiscent of a Swiss chalet, but much more atmospheric is Derevinka. Wonderful views, home cooking, comfortable, simple but clean. A five hour drive via Irkutsk and a ferry crossing took us to Olkhon Island. There is only one place to stay, run by the ex Soviet Union table tennis champion, but he does not tell you that until after you have played him. Its pretty basic but fairly clean by Russian standards. The island itself is the party capital of Siberia in July and August, but for our visit in October there were few people there. The only interesting time to go is for the Buryat festival in June, but otherwise it is not really worth the journey except to say you have been there. The day train from Irkutsk to Ulan Ude was visually wonderful and took 7 hours, stopping at every station round the southern end of the lake where crowds of women tried to sell us the ubiquitous Omul, the trout like fish of Baikal. Hot smoked, cold smoked, fresh, cold, hot - you name it they had it - delicious. Ulan Ude has an equally impressive hotel, boasts the largest head of Lenin (complete with Mongolian eyes), a huge outdoor ethnographic museum (ignore the zoo which is criminal) a good Buryat restaurant nearby and a recently renovated and excellent historical museum. Following the Angara River out of town we came to Tarbagatai, an Old Believer's village, and UNESCO Heritage centre. An interesting day and delicious home cooked lunch.  Also visited the Ivolginsk Datsan, the Buddhist monastery, rebuilt, on Stalin's instructions, after the last War. For those with time - travel on to Chita where the best Decembrist museum is housed in an 19th century wooden church, but that is another story. For more information on the Baikal area, please click through here.
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