Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
glance before moving on. I watched curiously as they went ten metres and doubled
back. Again they passed me without saying a word. By the time Chris came back
they had walked by three or four times. As I bit into a fresh
pryaniki
they plucked
up enough courage to approach.
'Excuse me, boys, do you mind if I ask where you are from?' the older of the
two asked, nervously.
'Of course we don't mind! We're from Australia and we're going to China,' I
replied.
'Oh, you poor boys, aren't you cold? How about some hot mushroom soup, how
does that sound?' she enquired.
I looked at Chris, whose eyes suddenly lit up. A smile cut across his red chaffed
skin.
———
We followed our hosts into a sleepy little cottage. The warm air hit me like a wall
making my face and eyes tingle. We were ushered to a table and, for the first time
in a week, I removed my beanie and tried to bring some dexterity to my fingers. I
felt like a lump of butter melting in the sun.
It made me realise that for what seemed like an eternity, the cold had dominated
our lives. There wasn't a moment when it hadn't been a source of anxiety or pain.
The only time we had been warm was in the sleeping bags at night.
The older woman introduced herself as Tatyana. 'Here you are boys, eat up!'
she demanded, placing a bowl of mushroom soup before me.
Without hesitation, I plunged in my spoon. The hot liquid ran down my throat
to fill my stomach as if it were an internal hot-water bottle. As the heat radiated
and thawed me, the feeling was nothing short of divine. But this rare opportunity
to relax didn't last long.
Almost immediately, my toes began to throb and sting with the rush of blood
pumping through my limbs. I stopped short of finishing the soup and ever so subtly
slid my socks off under the table.
A large purple blister, the size of a big bulbous marble, was hanging off the end
of the big toe on my left foot. There was a similar blister on my right foot, only
pale white in colour. They looked lifeless and artificial, like light bulbs screwed
onto my feet; I could only feel my big toes from the first joint. Somehow, it didn't
register that they were part of me. Then I wanted to throw up.