Page 51 - Сахалину с любовью : литературный сборник

StBear-nard

Spring is beautiful in Sakhalin. The places where we
skied only recently, we now discover on mountainbikes. It is
unbelievable how nature explodes when most of the snow
has melted. It is like a fast forward movie, from day to day
you see plants grow fast out of the ground. So, lots to enjoy
if you don’t mind muddy slopes. Some people like hiking.
But caution is necessary this time of year for hungry brown
bears that wake up from hibernation. We did not encounter a
bear in Sakhalin before, but some people did, one saw a bear
during a trip on his mountainbike. Some people use bear
bells or just make a lot of noise. A friend of mine told me a
very interesting way to keep the bears occupied, if she
would encounter one. “I just throw a pot of honey to them”,
she said. “Of course you need to unscrew it first.
With this story still fresh in my memory we jumped
on our bikes on a lovely evening. After 20 minutes we had
to pass a small river. It was not too difficult but you needed
all your attention because of the rocks in the river. I was all
concentration and tried to maneuver through the water. From
one corner of my eye though, I saw something big and hairy
approaching in a jumping fashion from the forest. It flashed
through my mind: “Oops I forgot the honey!” Suddenly I
could not breathe and I felt my heart beating vigorously in
my throat. My scream came out without a sound… I think I
was never this scared and I don’t remember if I had my eyes
open or closed, but the only thing I saw was a huge
tongue……Not of a brown bear but of a young playful St.
Bernards dog who had pushed me on the ground with great
enthusiasm!

Сенбернар

Сахалину – с любовью 49