Valentin Popov, owner of Tower Lodge Outfitters, is a motivated guide who shuns the role of a back-slapping host.
When introduced, Popov declined a handshake, preoccupied with reattaching a severed finger tip he had hacked off with a machete.
“Keeps it clean,”
he said, when using an unorthodox antiseptic method of urinating on his injured finger and rewrapping it with black electrical tape.
Author's summary: Meet Valentin Popov, a unique guide.