Tomasz, Bartosz and Filip. That is how guys looked at the finish.
In May I wrote the post Long Walk Plus Expedition: Walking up the Lena River from Yakutsk… to Calcutta, India about three Polish students, Tomasz Grzywaczewski, Bartosz Malinowski, Filip Drozdz, whom I met in Yakutsk and who said they were planning to repeat the famous escape from Yakutsk-based Gulag to British India depicted later in Slavomir Rawicz’s memory book “The Long Walk.”
There was a dialogue between us. I wrote,
These young Poles asked me, “Have you heard about Slavomir Rawicz’s The Long Walk?” I said, “Sure. It’s a real story about the Polish prisoner, who escaped from Gulag and walked southward to India.” And they were like, “Yeah, but you know what?! Its author says that it was him, who escaped to British India, but in reality the depicted character appeared to be another Pole, who lives now in the UK in poverty. A true hero is Witold Glinski. He didn’t earn anything from the book revenues, because he is very modest and unpretentious, and the publishing house was too authoritative to convince him to keep silence.”
Further, three guys, Tomasz Grzywaczewski, Bartosz Malinowski, and Filip Drozdz, started disclosing all the truth. Finally, they said they wanted to make the documentary and share the truth with the whole world by making the Long Walk Plus Expedition.
In October Polish guys finished the Long Walk Plus Expedition in Calcutta. Read more…
The Polish Long Walk Plus Expedition. The start. Up the Lena River from Yakutsk to Ust Kut
“..Long Walk Plus Expedition has just started! Two weeks ago we set out from Yakutsk to Olekmnisk. Since that time we have dozens of adventures but what’s the most important we met extremely a lot of wonderful people. Every place we visited we were welcome with great hospitality. We traveled by bus, car, motor boats and at last on foot,” writes Tomasz Grzywaczewski, an expedition cameraman, in today’s travel note especially for AskYakutia.com.
Okey, let’s start the story from its very beginning. Two and a half weeks ago three Polish guys appeared in Yakutsk. They were hosted in the city’s Catholic church and were accompanied by Valentina Shimanskaya, chairman of Yakutsk Polish community. Certainly, our ways crossed, and these young Poles asked me, “Have you heard about the book Slavomir Rawicz’s The Long Walk?” I said, “Sure. It’s a real story about the Polish prisoner, who escaped from Gulag and walked southward to India.” And they were like, “Yeah, but you know what?! Its author says that it was him, who escaped to British India, but in reality the depicted character appeared to be another Pole, who lives now in the UK in poverty. A true hero is Witold Glinski. He didn’t earn anything from the book revenues, because he is very modest and unpretentious, and the publishing house was too authoritative to convince him to keep silence.”
Read more…
The journey along the Lena River from its head evokes much travelers’ interest. Reasons vary. Recently I received another request, but from the U.S. this time. An Orthodox priest wrote:
“I want to travel by river to Yakutsk, June 2010 for a sabbatical project because early Orthodox missionaries to Alaska took this route in 1794. Where is the best location to catch a ferry or the hydrofoil on the Lena? I don’t have to recreate the entire journey. Should I take the BAM to Ust’-Kut and then go by river?”
My answer repeated some previous posts partly, however, I decided to add this reply to the existing data base as well. Read more…
Maybe, it’s a little bit late at this point. Navigation on the Lena River, that usually lasts from early June till late September, is coming to the end. However, I think the following info will appear to be useful in the future.
I found out two alternative ways of traveling the Lena River on parts Ust-Kut – Lensk and Olekminsk – Yakutsk. Read more…
At long last, I managed to get 2009 Summer Hydrofoil Vessels Timetable for those, who expressed the strong wish to travel along the Lena River from Ust-Kut to Yakutsk. This is a long voyage, I need to warn you. Read more…
Further, please, find the list of distances between republic’s towns and Yakutsk: Read more…
In Yakutia we have a sort of long distance taxi drivers, who are ready to give you a ride from Yakutsk to any settlement within the republic for certain price, sure, if there are roads to your destinations. Further find current rates. Read more…
