Russian people love soup. Particularly here at a camp in the wilderness, hot soup was a god send. Nastcha treated us with variety of soups with vegetables and, of course, reindeer meat.

Reindeer made a big part of our dining and we were not just delighted but even surprised - by the firm yet moist texture. Steaks with sprinkle of salt was gorgeous but it was the burgers that shocked us!

Little Misa, inadvertently as always, cried out loud ''Yummier than Mummy's!''. Well, ahh, , , no, not that Sayuri is a bad cook. But this one indeed was the best.

Population of arctic char is healthy and, at times, anglers catch more chars than graylings, they say. It all depends on the natural elements. Big school run up the river when water gets high, and their activity generally rises when the water cools down. In late September chars could actively feed in the shallow runs, becoming more accessible for the flyfishermen. Though fishing and camping in blizzard is hard on us humans.

Anyway, I too have managed the task at last!

By the time we joined again Misa was already engaged in her creative activity - using a rock as a canvass, Andrey and Dima as her assistants.

Temperature was 6c in the morning climbing up to 10c on most days during our stay. Chilly when windy but we should not complain. In July when it warms up to 20c, there are billions of mosquitoes to choke you up - if not so much as to suck you up.

Day4, again we decided to go upstream, but on the opposite bank. Dima had to paddle up in a Kayak to ferry us across the pool. Our little Misa enjoyed the privilege of a free ride.

You can buy reindeer meat in some meat shops in cities. But they are often meat of mature, adult deer. Up here deep in Nenets, they eat young calf whose meat is soft and does not have a smell at all.

Dima and Andrey are true Russian bushmen. We could only admire their skills with knifes - and with the big angry axes!

- Next

Char, not surprisingly, has a meat similar to salmon and very tasty. But grayling, oh, grayling, we never knew they are such fine fish to eat. Not remarkable once heated, but when eaten raw, just marinated overnight, tasted amazing!!

As we walked up the canyon we saw them far down below. The presence of a little red dot gave the landscape a good accent.

She also caught a handsome grayling of 50cm. We caught about a dozen fish above 45cm between the three of us for the week, this was the only one that hit the magic number 50 though.

Meanwhile little Misa's creative pursuit also met its completion. Pls. place the pointer on the pic.

Yes, it was a Char! Sayuri's second capture was a fish of a bright silver body. Absolutely fresh fish coming straight up from the Arctic ocean. Sure fights hard!

And finally, my turn did come!
An arctic char took my shrimp fly.
Ah yes, in orange, 5cm long!

Now let me talk about the gourmet delights.

Cooking in a camp kitchen cannot be easy, where you only have a couple gas stoves. But Nastcha, a lovely young lady was truly a gifted chef - she was able to entertain us with simple yet delicious meals different every evening.