21 Jul 2016

Ship Surrounded by Whales in Chukotka

The first few days of this new expedition have been very busy as we are explore the region of Chukotka.  Few people know where Chukotka is and even fewer have had the opportunity to share in its rich and wonderful natural and cultural history.  There is a saying in this part of the world that “God is a long way up there, but Moscow is even further away”. It is the most eastern and the most remote region in Russia. It is also where Russia’s day begins as it is the first part of Russia to see the sun each day.  

We set out from the town of Anadyr three days ago.  The first two days we focused on the cultural history and visited the town of Egvekinot.  This town was established in 1946 to accommodate political prisoners who were tasked with building a road into a tin mine at Iultin, today it is a modern administrative town for the region. It is a a town on the edge of the tundra, whereas the village of Konergino which we visited yesterday is a reindeer herding village in the tundra. There is a big difference between the two.  The villagers of Konergino welcomed us with song, dance and food and there were presentations on the history and practice of reindeer herding. It was a remarkable and very meaningful meeting and exchange of cultures.

We sailed from there into the Gulf of Anadyr where dinner was postponed due to a visit by no less than sixty humpback whales that surrounded the ship while we watched in awe.  Yet another amazing experience!  To top it off we were then visited by twenty orca to provide quite a finish to an incredible day.  

Our experiences on this expedition so far only highlight the rich diversity of this little known, little visited and beautiful part of the world.

Photo: R.Russ