Russia2015

what do do now: Get passports

• [This link] tells how to get a passport.
• Click [this link] for the Passport Application.
• Gilroy Post Office and Morgan Hill City Clerk handle passport applications

Program: Trail to First Class, plus orienteering
We will prepare a program for two scenarios - a big turnout (two and a half days with "patrols" of 8, then do it again for another group) and a small turnout (more skills, same kids the whole time). In the big turnout scenario, we would need an interpreter
This will be for ages 11-18.

interested (current e-mail distribution):

• Kevin
• Aidan, mom
• Alberto, dad
• Cameron, dad
• Samantha, Brendan, mom
• Rob
• Mason
• Dominic, Valentino, dad

rough itinerary:

• Day 1: fly to Moscow. get on train to Voronezh.
• Day 2: Voronezh
• Day 10: train from Voronezh to Moscow in afternoon
• Day 11: OR train from Voronezh to Moscow in early morning
• Day 12: see Moscow
• Day 13: fly home

Questions (and if there are any answers, they are italicized):

• Will we be able to exchange currency? There are ATMs, but advise your bank ahead of time.
• How will we cook our meals? We cannot transport cooking gear.
• Will they be able to accomodate dietary restrictions (such as no wheat)?
• When we sightsee, will our property be secure in the camp?
• Does anyone know how to put a fundraiser together (like a dinner and raffle)?
• How will we take showers and wash clothes?

9/4/2014 e-mail from our contact:

My translator and I met with the director for the Boy and Girl Scouts in Russia yesterday. I was surprised to learn that they have a Boy and Girl Scouts organization in Russia. On her office wall, is a 1910 poster of the founder of BSA, I think it was Daniel Carter Beard. Anyway, she is very excited about having our Gilroy scouts, and their parents, come to Voronezh next summer and camp for about 10 days with the scouts of Russia in the forest outside of Voronezh. She told me that scouts from Russia travel all over the world to attend Jamborees. The following are her ideas:

1. She will get tourist visas from the Russian Embassy in San Francisco for all the scouts, and their parents, who want to visit Russia next summer.
2. She will provide all the food for the scouts, and their parents, during the approximately 10 days of camping in the forest near Voronezh for about $200 per person.
3. She will work with her colleagues in Moscow to arrange a special day or two of activities in Moscow for our scouts and their parents.
4. She will get passes from the city which will allow the scouts, and their parents, into all the museums, galleries, theaters, etc. for free.
And as I wrote to you before, I have arranged with my friends in the Russian Army, to provide transportation, via buses, with soldier escorts, from the train station, to the camping grounds and all around the city, at no charge to our scouts and their parents, during their visit.
The Russian Army has also promised me to loan the scouts, their tents, camping and cooking gear for as long as the scouts and their parents are in Voronezh, at no charge to us.
...I hope to be home in Gilroy by the first week in October and I will bring my Russian translator with me so that together, we can answer any questions that the scouts and their parents may have.
Lastly, I am enclosing my estimates for the cost of each person coming to Voronezh next summer on this trip of friendship to Russia.
Estimated costs of Boy and Girl Scouts trip to Voronezh, Russia - July 2015. Please note: These estimates were made in July 2014 using plane fares advertised over the internet and can change in the next year. I recommend the following trip because in the years that I have traveled to Ukraine and Russia since 2002, this is the cheapest, simplest and most convenient trip. Please try to travel together, in one large group because that will make it easier for me to schedule your pick up and transfers from the airport to the train station. The following is a possible schedule, which may change according to the plans of the Boy and Girl Scouts of Voronezh, Russia.
1. San Jose Airport to Los Angeles, (LAX) via Alaska Airlines round trip ticket costs $200 per person. Several flights leave in the morning.
2. Round trip plane ticket from LAX, Los Angeles, CA to VKO, Vnukovo International airport in Moscow via Transaero Airlines flight # 558 costs $1100 per person. The flight leaves LAX at 4:00 pm and arrives (the next day) in Moscow at 2:40 pm.
3. Bus transfer from airport to train station; about $20 per person.
4. Buy snacks and water for overnight train ride; about $20 per person.
5. Train leaves Moscow at 9:15 pm and arrives in Voronezh at 9:15 am. Four people to a cabin, costs $99 per person, including bedding for sleeping.
6. The Russian army will provide the bus, and the escorts, at no charge to you, in a token of friendship and welcome, to pick you up at the train station and take you to camp grounds for your welcome and orientation. The Russian army will also help the scouts erect tents that are on loan from the Russian Army. Soldiers from the Russian Army will then loan their camping cooking equipment to the scouts to prepare their meals.
7. Ten days of camping with Scouts from Voronezh; about $200 for food and bottled water per person.
8. Day trip to visit museums, churches, and possible ballet, theater or opera in the evening via Russian Army buses and escorts, at no charge to you.
9. Day trip on Peter the great’s ship down the river, at no charge to you.
10. Day of remembrance and community service to Sandy Ravine War II Memorial and clean up the garbage with the help of the Russian Army.
11. Goodbye at camp ground and Russian Army bus takes you to Train station.
12. Buy snacks and water for train trip; about $20 per person.
13. Take overnight train from Voronezh to Moscow. Arrive in Moscow at 9:15 am. Transfer from train station, about $20 per person, to flats that house four people each for about $190 a night per flat.
14. Spend the day in Moscow and one night in Moscow. Food in Moscow for one day and one night, about $50 per person. Transfer from flat to Vnukovo Airport about $20 per person. Fly home to Gilroy, CA.
SUMMARY OF COST, per person, estimated in July 2014, using info available:
1. Per person, round trip plane fare from San Jose to Moscow…$1300
2. Transfer from Moscow airport to train station…about $25 per person.
3. Train tickets from Moscow to Voronezh and back…$200 per person.
4. Snacks and water from Moscow to Voronezh and back…$40 per person.
5. Tickets for museums, theater or ballet and ride on Peter the Great’s replica ship, no charge; gift from Boy and Girl Scouts of Voronezh.
6. Cost of food for 10 days of camping with the Boy and Girl Scouts of Voronezh, Russia: $200 per person.
7. Transfer from train station to Moscow flat…about $25 per person.
8. One night in Moscow flat, sleeps four, $50 per person.
9. Food for one day and one night in Moscow…about $50 per person.
10. Transfer from Moscow flat to airport…about $25 per person.
11. Cost of translators: $100 per family.
... $1900 estimated, per person for 14 days in Russia, plus cost for translators ($100 per family).