31 Aug 2015

Final Busy Days

This is the last day of August and also the last day of our third Wrangel Island expedition for 2015. The sun is shining in a cloudless blue sky for our current expeditioners to disembark this morning, although some will accompany us south on the Jewel of the Russian Far East voyage to view the changing seasons as we make our way to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
 
The last few days of this expedition have been very busy as we made landing after landing. We had a great run south from Wrangel and spent a magnificent day in Kolyuchin Inlet. Although the breeding season has finished and many of the birds were leaving for warmer climes, there were still good numbers of migratory waders, geese and divers around. We also had a rewarding time visiting a walrus haul-out at nearby Kolyuchin Island where our Zodiacs provided much entertainment for the curious animals. Later we walked overland to a vantage point above the haul-out for another perspective. A big swell rolling onto the beach at the village of Uelen prevented us landing there, so we visited our friends at Lavrentiya instead for an emotional and enlightening cultural afternoon.

Yesterday as we sailed across the Gulf of Anadyr in near perfect conditions we reviewed all we had accomplished and learnt during the voyage and reflected on how this magical region has affected us all.