We were most fortunate to have the opportunity to send and receive e-mail from our hotel in Irkutsk. What began as a simple mechanism for keeping a small group of relatives and friends updated on our trip quickly became much more. It became a genuine lifeline for us. Each day we would send a new message at about 8 p.m. Irkutsk time, filled with news and observations from that day's adventure. It somehow made us feel connected to our home. Then, just after noon the next day we would anxiously descend upon the Business Center to pick up any new messages. It was a highlight of our day!

Not having expected to construct such a chronicle, we built a relatively small mailing list. Now we would like to share the messages with all of our friends. We hope you enjoy them!