Cruise along the Volga from the city of N. (day four)
Day 4 (also known as the last day).
This is the end of our cruise. For many, it will probably be ridiculous to call four days of our trip a cruise. But it sounds so solid and cool: CRUISE! But we are satisfied. Everything turned out perfectly, the weather did not let us down, the organization was excellent, the guides were pros, the fellow travelers were wonderful. We learned a lot of interesting things from neighbors for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All avid travelers. It was interesting to listen to the neighbors' stories about Asia and Africa (a family from Nizhny Novgorod). A girl from Moscow, a lover of steamboat holidays, advised where else one could swim close and interesting. A young man, also a Muscovite, a fan of steamships, beautiful landscapes - a photographer (of course, an amateur). He could run anywhere to take beautiful photos. Take a picture of the sunset, waiting for the most convenient angle. And in the morning getting up sooooo early to capture the sunrise (worthy of great respect). And young guys (those who are in castles, our countrymen), erudite, well-read, inquisitive. And many more interesting people with whom I had a chance to talk on the journey. And there was even a young family with a very small child, still in a stroller, but already a traveler. It's great that parents from this age teach the little one to travel and see the beautiful and interesting.
But arrival in N. N. at 15:00. A whole day ahead. We are not in a hurry today. The sun shines directly into the eye (ha ha), but I don’t want to get up at all. But there are still plenty of activities throughout the day. We leave for breakfast, a little sad that everything ends. But for myself I understand that another day would be good. More. . . I don't know?
This is such a wonderful morning of the fourth day.
During breakfast we discuss our journey.
This is how the setting for lunch and dinner looked every time. It's a shame this is ending. We'll have to cook while laziness, but we'll get involved.
The restaurant greeted us so smartly, and, of course, champagne.
After breakfast, we go to photograph the ship and what has not yet been recorded for the history and memories of the journey. It’s still cool on the deck, so we take blankets (carefully left for cool weather in each cabin) and go to bask in the May sun.
Beautiful, quiet and simple, I want to admire.
Hall and apparatus for hand disinfection. An invitation to a restaurant and a reminder: "Don't forget to sanitize your hands. "
The reception desk and on the right is the door leading down to our cabin.
Here we were given badges, keys and counted when we came back from excursions. In each city where there were excursions, a photographer went with us and captured interesting moments during the excursions. And every day a photo (or rather, a photo collage) was hung out in the lobby, and everyone could order a photo they liked by writing down the number of the photo and the cabin (of course, for a fee). This time they did not order, all the photos in which I was (and there were quite a few of them) were a repetition of the photos taken by us. And I wanted something unusual and interesting.
We didn't go in for fitness, but we had to try to spin at least a bicycle (everything should be tried). We go to the solarium, sunbathe (and again haa-haa).
Honestly, we pedaled several times.
We sunbathed just like that. And the family from Siberia even undressed. This made us feel a little colder.
And now the locks are getting closer to home. When we sailed there, the locks were at night, we did not see them. Not the first time, but still interesting. We entered the lock and see: the steamer “Ilya Repin” is intensively catching up with us and masterfully enters the lock. We exchanged greetings with the Repin travelers. And the mystery began. Quickly otshluzovavshis, at full speed continue the path.
We are already in the locks, and the day is getting warmer and brighter.
They don't let you get bored - the program "Your next cruise" begins. Today, Infoflot is presenting its foreign destinations. And plays a certificate for a 20% discount on overseas cruises. The certificate is drawn only among those present and registered in the conference room.
It was interesting to hear what and how they would offer. I read about foreign cruises on TP and other sites. I looked, thought, as if I imagine what how much. But I still went to listen, fellow travelers persuaded to register. Well, in general, as always.
The sun beckoned to the deck. And we (the steamboat) got so excited that with “terrible” speed we caught up with “Konstantin Korotkov” waiting for us in the next locks. And we entered the lock without delay, greeted the travelers of the Korotkov, and received such a weak answer. Well, "Korotkov" is a cool four-deck ship, we are also "cool", but we have three decks (the status is lower by a whole deck). But our people are friendly and contact.
And, of course, you can't do without a master class. Today is a master class on drawing a mandala. Still the same young teacher. I don't know anything about this at all. Brief information was announced, but somehow it was completely incomprehensible. But creativity still began. The only thing I understood: the mandala expresses the inner world of a person at the time of drawing. Problems, doubts, worries - all this should have been shown in the drawing. Everyone got to work. Sitting. I try to think and somehow express my problems. And I understand that at the moment there are no problems. EVERYTHING IS WELL (And thoughts: “I will come, there will be problems at home and at work”). But somehow I managed to tune in and everything started to work out. And so it turned out to be fascinating and interesting.
We are trying to figure it out together. There were several tables with students. And from the conversations I realized that many people are interested in it.
And again, the Internet to help me.
Mandala is the name of a geometric pattern. This drawing is a geometric matrix. If the word "mandala" is translated, it means a circle or a circle. Each drawing in the mandala, all figures and ornaments are arranged symmetrically to each other. That is, you repeat each piece of the pattern in a circle, starting and ending the circle. Mandala is able to establish harmony between man and nature. Each drawing accumulates human energy. A mandala is always a color image (there was not enough time for color). She is a symbol that can help a person get closer to what he wants. It works by meditation while coloring and setting the mind in a positive way.
This is a mandala (photo from the Internet).
It can be of different types.
It has several subspecies: for fulfilling desires, attracting money, for happiness, etc. It turned out to be very exciting and interesting. Indeed, it is written on the Internet that this is a kind of meditation.
Starting from the center of the circle, you repeat any signs that are the same for this circle. And when you start making the next circle or adding some figures or lines in this one (also in a circle), everything changes before your eyes, and you see a completely different pattern. Indeed, all this is like meditation. When I looked on the Internet, it turned out that my mandala looked like a drawing for the fulfillment of desires. There is also the meaning of colors in the mandala.
In the East, this drawing is recognized by Buddhists and Hindus. They see in the image not just a drawing, but a real object of worship, which with all its beauty and depth symbolizes the Universe and the cosmos. Well, yes, I looked on the Internet: it really fascinates. Probably, those who traveled to these countries came across the image of a mandala. While we were meditating here, it was time for lunch. It was such a pity to throw a drawing that had already begun to turn out. Moving to the restaurant, we meditated a little more on the deck, then went for lunch.
And navigation is gaining momentum, a lot of freight transport is already coming across. And here is "A. S. Popov” is waiting for its first flight. And this means that we are sailing and quite close to home.
In four days he will set off on a flight. Modernized to work with foreigners.
Sun and warmth, and the city looks completely different.
As if he is enjoying our arrival.
And the city welcomes us joyfully, sunny and cheerful. That's all, we go ashore, say goodbye to fellow travelers. And then... Workdays and pleasant memories of the cruise. But there are still two weeks of vacation ahead, and it pleases. Summer is just starting!! !
P. S. The summer was sooooo sad. It's cold, damp, we can only hope for the best. . .
