Siberia
Cycling across a pass, I came to a cafe. A gigantic man,
the owner it seemed, promptly led me back outside. He had
two bears locked up in a cage, and kept them there as an
‘attraction’. The bears hungrily gobbled candy given to them
by their keeper. As if asking for more, the bears’ paws
extended and grasped my arm. Thanks to them my fleece
stank of bear shit and urine. But they seemed content with
the sweets that the man was only too happy to give them.
“Where did you get the bears from?” I asked.
He pointed to somewhere behind the cafe. He seemed to be
enraptured with his bears, but it was no joke as far as I was
concerned. The fact that there were bears wandering around
this neighbourhood meant that I could be killed while camping.
This attraction held no fascination for me whatsoever.
On the subject of wild animals, I had come across a dead
wolf on the road earlier.
I really didn’t need this sort of scare. Subsequently, I
decided to be extremely careful about where I camped
otherwise I would have been unable to sleep. I made sure that
any leftover food was disposed of a long way away from
where I slept. I also made sure there were no big rocks left
lying around the tent, as I imagined these, too, might be used
as weapons by other vicious two-legged animals. Namely
people.
(from "Against the Wind" - Poolbeg Press)
