Day 53-54, 464 & 534 km.

We started early in the morning and were heading north. The route started with tarmac but alternated soon with larger gravel parts. The trip to Aldan was uneventful with a lunch break at a nice roadhouse. It took a while to find a B&B in Aldan – nearly everything was fully booked. We found a place that reminded me of the hospital in Yuktali…

After Aldan we made our way to Yakutsk. The Lena river is huge/wide in this area – amazing how small it was at lake Baikal. In order to get to Yakutsk you need to cross the Lena river. The ferries directly depart from the sandy beach/shore were excavators each day build fresh ramps for the next ferry. Yakutsk is the capital of the Sakha Republic and the major port on the Lena river and has a population of  approximately 280.000. Yakutsk is responsible for a fifth of the world’s production of diamonds.

Our pre-booked B&B didn’t exist at the given address. While discussing/searching for an alternative we stumbled upon a member of the local biker club who guided us to their club house. It turned out that they just have space for two – Hans and I decided to stay at the Polar hotel in the city centre.