30 Jul 2014
Village Concert
We made a rare landing on Cape Dezhnev, the north-eastern point of the Eurasian continent and also the closest point to Alaska. It is often difficult to land on this rocky cape but we got everybody ashore and the fog (which is a regular feature in this area) lifted, giving us great views. In the afternoon we were welcomed by the people of Uelen village, a site where people have lived for over 2,000 years. Many of the 700 village inhabitants are marine hunters who rely predominantly on the hunting of Gray Whales and Walrus, while others are ivory carvers. We visited the Uelen Museum and the local school and were entertained by the local ensemble with traditional music and dance on the beach.
Yesterday we visited Kolyuchin Island which lies between the Siberian coast and Wrangel Island and is the site of a former Polar Research Station. There are some incredible ‘bird cliffs’ there where we managed to get very close to Puffins and Guillemots. Later in the day we accompanied local Chukchi hunters as they stalked Pacific Walrus which were hauled out in large numbers on the shore. We are now headed for Wrangel Island and should arrive there tonight.
We have already completed four landings on this expedition and have a fifth planned for this afternoon at Uelen Village. After visiting the historic…READ MORE
Our first Wrangel Island Expedition of 2014 enjoyed reasonable weather conditions as we got underway from the Port of Anadyr a couple of days ago. Af…READ MORE
We are now at the port of Evigkinot topping up our fresh water after a successful time at the International Beringia games. Heritage Expeditions was …READ MORE