1738: Jewel of the Russian Far East 04 Sept 2017
Day 1: Monday 4 September
Anadyr
Our trip from Chukotka to Kamchatka started in Anadyr, the main town and administrative center of the Chukotka Region (Autonomous District of the Russian Federation). Most of us flew from Moscow or Nome, while some were already onboard from the previous trip. Our ship the Professor Khromov spent the day at the pier on the Anadyr Estuary, on the opposite side of the river from the town. The crew and the staff welcomed us onboard with tea and scones and we made ourselves comfortable and familiar with the ship. From the outside decks we could watch special guests: Beluga Whales and Largha (spotted) Seals fishing alongside the ship in a strong current! They gave us a nice show, some of them, including young belugas with their mums swimming quite close to the ship. Around 4:00pm we all gathered in the lecture room for an introduction to the staff followed by a safety briefing given by our expedition leader, Samuel Blanc, and a briefing about life onboard Professor Khromov given by our Hotel Manager, Helen Ahern. Around 5pm we set sail and cruised in the Anadyr Gulf for most of the night, going north towards Kresta Bay, our first stop of the voyage.
Day 2: Tuesday 5 September
Egvekinot
We awoke in Kresta Bay, approaching the town of Egvekinot, which suddenly appeared through the mist and rain. From a distance we could see the Orthodox Church, standing proudly with white walls and golden domes, together with brightly coloured apartment blocks, incongruous with the makeshift wooden boat sheds strung out along the waterfront. Egvekinot was founded in 1946 as a port to supply materials for building the Lultin mining complex, where tin and tungsten had been discovered. Political prisoners were brought there to build the port and settlement and a 200km road to the Lultin mine. Many of them died under the hard working conditions and the harsh climate, and were buried on the spot, on the road bed. Some of the survivors stayed there when the Gulag stopped after Stalin’s death and never returned west again.
We disembarked after breakfast on a beach bordered by fishermen’s huts. From there we split into two groups. One group took a six-wheeled truck along the prisoner-built road to go to the polar circle about 40 minutes to the north, and the others went to visit the museum. We were all back onboard for lunch and swapped around activities for the afternoon. The museum was informative: we learned about the expedition of Vitus Bering, the arrival of the Cossacks in Chukotka as well as more recent history. Another interesting topic was World War II: the Soviets did not have enough airplanes for the battle on the Western Front, so Stalin agreed upon a transfer of hundreds of planes from the US. Refueling Airbases had to be built in the shortest possible time. Russian pilots took the planes across the Bering Strait and had to find the Uëlkal airport without proper maps. More than 40 planes crashed on the Russian side during this operation and 117 pilots died. Egvekinot has erected a monument for these people, a huge white pyramid from a distance, representing the wings of an airplane, with a golden star on top. The naturalistic exhibition on the second floor contained a small mineral collection, stuffed animals and a good collection of archaeological items of Chukchi and Eskimo history. People arrived in Chukotka around 20-25,000 years ago, co-existing at that time with mammoths and woolly rhinos. The Bering land bridge made it possible for humans and mammoths to migrate from one continent to the other.
At the latitude of the Arctic Circle, a metal arc had been erected, partly built with the remains of the steel grids from the airstrip in Uëlkal, one of the many airbases for the ‘land-lease’ operations during World War II. Three stone houses also stood along the road. Built by prisoners, they housed the officials and the armed guards during the construction of the road and mine. We photographed each other stepping over the Arctic Circle and under the archway, then spread into the adjacent hills and tundra to enjoy the willows, mountain avens, and search for the last flowering plants.
Back on board we all attended a practical lifeboat drill before sailing for our next destination. Before dinner we sighted a few Humpback Whales in Kresta Bay.
Day 3: Wednesday 6 September
Preobrazheniya Bay and at Sea
During the night we sailed north-east, instead of directly south as planned. As explained by Samuel our expedition leader, this was to avoid a low pressure system which would have prevented us from doing anything at Bukhta Gavriila, our next destination on the program. Early in the morning we arrived at Preobrazheniya Bay, where we went Zodiac cruising under an impressive bird cliff, home during the summer months to thousands of breeding seabirds. Looking up we could see thousands of birds flying, looking like mosquitos. Despite the swell, we managed to get close to some of the rocks where the birds were standing or sitting, finishing their breeding season. We had good views of Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common and Brünnich Guillemots, Tufted and Horned Puffins together with Northern Fulmars, Pelagic Cormorants, Vega and Glaucous Gulls. Some of us even had a glimpse of two Orcas, before they disappeared along the cliffs. The landscape and geology itself was worth the visit, with rock formation looking like the towers of a castle.
Then we went across the bay to land at a Chukchi fishing and marine mammal hunting camp. There we met local fishermen with their two dogs. Most of us went for a walk in the tundra, enjoying the sun and the view. Some had good views of an Arctic Ground Squirrel foraging not far from the camp. Back into the Zodiacs we cruised along another bird cliff before going back to the ship.
The afternoon was spent at sea, heading south to our next destination, Bukhta Gavriila. A good number of Short-tailed and Sooty Shearwaters were sighted from the bridge. A lecture was given by Agnès, one of our guides, about some of the birds that we had seen in the morning: the ‘Alcids of the North Pacific’. This bird family brings together puffins and guillemots, as well as auklets and murrelets. We learned about their main characteristics and some aspects of their biology, as well as how to recognize them.
Today we farewelled Chukotka, as we sailed towards the Kamchatka coast where we will do our first activity tomorrow morning.
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Day 4: Thursday 7 September
Bukhta Gavriila and Pika River
When arriving this morning at Bukhta Gavriila (named after one of Bering’s ships ‘Sviatoi Gavriil’, St Gabriel) we could feel the southerly swell, still remaining from the storm of the previous day. A scout boat went to check a beach on the southern part of the bay, and reported that a landing was possible there. When all ashore, we split into groups and went for a walk on the beach and in the tundra. A few of us climbed on a ridge towards a peak to get views above the bay while others walked further inland to see commanding views of the river mouth, a huge lagoon and out across the bay. The tundra was starting to get its beautiful red, orange and yellow autumn colours, now and again lightened by a ray of sun, while a few flowers were still blooming. We enjoyed the berries (crowberries, blueberries, lingonberries…) and found mushrooms as well. We saw and heard some birds flying over the tundra (Sandhill Cranes, Bean Geese, Red-throated Divers) and swimming on a pond were Northern Pintails and Greater Scaups. An Arctic Ground Squirrel was giving alarm calls and eating in patches of grass close by.
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
During lunch time the crew moved the vessel to Pika River, traditionally a good place for walruses. There was a strong swell there and from the ship we could see waves coming ashore and washing the beach which was usually used as a haul out place by the walrus. The staff looked carefully from the bridge at any place where walrus could have come ashore to rest, but due to the waves, the coast was inaccessible for them. We could see a few in the water looking at us from a distance but unfortunately none on shore. However, as the ship was turning to start to make its way south again, a pod of Orcas was spotted! We rushed to the outside decks and the bridge as the Orcas were swimming in our direction. Some of them came very close to the ship, triggering off exclamations and many clicks of cameras. What a show! For a good half hour we watched different individuals, in small groups or alone, popping up or swimming on a beautiful blue sea as the sun came out. There were large males with their impressive high fins, females and even a baby. One individual was very distinctive as its dorsal fin had been completely severed, something not usual to see. We were certainly rewarded by this Orca sighting, a great wildlife encounter!
The remainder of the afternoon was spent at sea, enjoying the sun and the birds around the ship, but also Liya’s lecture on Marine Mammals of the North Pacific. Liya gave us an insight into the cetaceans (Baleen Whales like the Humpback and Gray Whales, toothed whales like the Killer and Beluga Whales) and the pinnipeds (true and eared seals like the Northern Fur Seal and Steller’s Sea Lion); all animals that we had either already encountered or were likely to encounter during the trip. In fact a few Gray and Humpback Whales were seen from the bridge just before dinner.
As the sun went down in the evening, the clear sky became orange, revealing the shape of the mountains. Later the moon was reflected in the sea. Around 10:30pm, while most of us had retired to bed, we heard Samuel’s voice on the P.A.: an aurora borealis had appeared above the horizon on starboard! What a beautiful day! And night!
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Day 5: Friday 8 September
Bukhta Pavla
We had an early wake up call this morning by Samuel on the PA at 6am encouraging us to get on deck to enjoy the splendid sunrise as we were entering Pavla Bay (which translates as ‘Paul Bay’ for Bering’ ship St Paul). Indeed it was a spectacular arrival. We were rewarded amply with the sight of rocky headlands, mountains and a sea lit golden in the morning sun.
After breakfast we were offered two alternatives, a walk to a lake or a Zodiac cruise in the bay. The ‘walking group’ went out first, being dropped by Zodiacs on a southern beach of the bay. The hikers went up hill, enjoying weather, tundra and views. The trail went along a fast-flowing mountain creek towards a deep blue lake which was probably the most photographed object of the morning. Some of us even went for a swim in it! Others enjoyed contemplating the view or taking pictures of flowers. On the way down we stopped to pick blueberries and crowberries before returning to the beach. The remaining explorers used the Zodiacs to cruise the fiord and explore its shorelines. We had nice encounters with Harlequin Ducks, Horned Puffins, Pelagic Cormorants and Largha Seals. But the most spectacular one was probably our first brown bear of the trip! He was swimming across the bay when sighted. We followed him quietly and from a distance so as not to scare him and to avoid him changing direction and spending energy swimming in the other direction. He eventually got ashore and stood there for a few seconds looking at us, almost posing for us. Then he disappeared into the bush and went up a slope, where we could see him a little later again up in the tundra. He stopped again to look at us, before going higher and sitting down to eat rowan berries.
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Once all were back on board, we enjoyed lunch and the ship departed for our next destination, due to arrive the following morning. So the afternoon was spent at sea and a lecture program organized. This was the occasion to learn about Vitus Bering and the Exploration of the North Pacific. Vitus Bering led two great expeditions which aimed to discover and delimit the northern and eastern borders of the Russian Empire. During the first one, which lasted from 1725 to 1730, the St Gabriel was built in Kamchatka. She sailed through the Bering Strait and parts of Kamchatka’s eastern coast was explored and charted. The second expedition was named the Great Northern Expedition and lasted 9 years (1733 to 1742). It was one of the most ambitious expeditions ever mounted, involving about 10,000 people and costing billions in today’s money! Parts of the northern coast of Siberia were explored, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy was founded (the name Petropavlovsk come from ‘Piotr’ for St Peter and ‘Pavel’ for St Paul, the two ships of the expedition) and the coast of Alaska reached. The St Peterwas wrecked in the Commander Islands, where Bering died and was buried, together with other members of the expedition. So the main island was given its name, and the two islands were named on behalf of the Commander Vitus Bering.
Later in the afternoon we were invited again to the lecture room for a recap and briefing about our first days of the expedition and the next to come. Tatiana talked about the indigenous peoples of Chukotka and Kamchatka, Chris about Short-tailed Shearwaters and some plants that we had seen, and Agnès about the Arctic Ground Squirrel. Then Samuel talked about the weather of the past days, the forecast for the next days, and why we had changed some of our plans. He showed us how to read the weather maps that he receives onboard and why such an expedition needed to be flexible and always have Plans A, B, and even C.
In the evening we enjoyed another nice sunset after a beautiful sunny day. Then the full moon rose dressed in bright orange with just a light cloudy veil so as to appear more mysterious.
Day 6: Saturday 9 September
Tintikun Lagoon and Bukhta Lavrova
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise and exceptionally warm 17 degree celsius day to take an early Zodiac cruise across a lazy swell to the shallow tidal river-mouth of Tintikun Lagoon. The Zodiac drivers had to drop passengers off just inside the river mouth to walk a kilometre or so up to the lake, to enable the Zodiacs to navigate the shallow lake outlet. Someone spotted a brown bear, high on the hillside, its dark body contrasting with a collar of lighter fur around its neck. It climbed up and across a scree slope. Minutes later we saw another one under the overhang of a patch of melted avalanche snow by the lake shore. He crossed the snow and climbed a steep gully above before disappearing into a low forest of dwarf pines, alders and willows. Further down the lagoon, we landed on a fish camp to stretch legs, enjoy the scenery and imitate bears eating remaining pine nuts from their cones. Then we went across the bay to have a look at a small hot pool or natural hot tub and to take a dip in for some of us. We continued Zodiac cruising to the head of the lagoon where thousands of Slaty-backed gulls were resting, replete from eating the dead salmon drifting back down the river and into the lake after spawning. Some of us had a glimpse of a bear and her cub before they disappeared into the shrubs. On our way back towards the entrance of the lagoon the tide was still low and the Zodiac drivers had to sometimes to get into the water to pull the Zodiacs out. It took some time but was part of the fun.
Back to the ship for lunch, the ship went to anchor at the entrance of the next bay north, Lavrova Bay. We spent the afternoon exploring this scenic bay with mountains just above the sea. In the Soviet era it had been the site of a fish-drying and processing plant. The only remains now were direct buildings and timber drying frames-rack frames, now collapsing into the spit. We explored a ship-wreck before someone spotted a number of brown bears high up on the scree slopes or amongst the dwarf pines. Dozens of Lagha Seals were around the old fish factory, looking at us with curiosity before disappearing under the water, then coming out again at a different place. They seemed to have fun while we were trying to catch pictures of them. On the southern arm of the bay, we were surprised to see a Steller’s Sea Eagle fly up the head of the valley, unmistakable by its size, shape and colours of wings and bill.
On our way out of the bay, we spotted two sub-adults brown bears down beside a waterfall we had cruised over to have look at. They climbed up in front of the Zodiacs, beautifully lit by the evening sun. The cherry on the cake of another wonderful day!
The Captain lifted the anchor at 8pm in order reach our next destination, Verhoturova Island, by morning.
Day 7: Sunday 10 September
Verhoturova Island
Verhoturova Island is located off Poluostrov (Peninsula) Il’pinsky, at the narrowest neck of the Kamchatka Peninsula and forms part of the Koryakskiy Reserve. We anchored off the southern coast and after landing on the sandy beach by Zodiac, were free to roam the island. Some chose the bird-cliffs to the west; others the solitude of the lighthouse and headlands to the east; still others the central range of hills (rising to 368 metres) between the two. The tundra varied from rank long grasses and tall flowering perennial flowers near the beach, to ankle or knee-high forests of willow and rhododendron in damp depressions and gullies, to gorgeous carpets of white lichens interspersed with crowberry bushes, mushrooms and brilliant scarlet autumn leaves. Voles had left their borrowings on the surface and Arctic Foxes their paths, which wound through the tundra, indicating their regular patrol-routes since time immemorial. As we climbed up towards the mist, the vegetation changed again, to include blueberries and thickets of taller rhododendron, rowan with bunches of bright red berries, alder and birch. From up high we could look out for miles across ridges and outcrops and down to the beach, Zodiacs and ship far below. Not far from our landing place and old hut lay derelict; a fur coat and old clothes, a broken stove and magazine pictures of models pinned to the wall, blue with age.
Our afternoon plan to visit ‘bear gully’ at Primetney Point at the tip of Il’pinsky Peninsular was scuttled by the swell: Even from 2-3 kilometres out we could see waves breaking on the shore, with very little in the way of promontories to land behind. Samuel and Nathan took a Zodiac in to check for any way to possibly land, but concluded that along with the heavy swell around the ship, it was simply not feasible. We set sail for Karaginskiy Island.
Day 8: Monday 11 September
Karaginskiy Island
Dawn revealed grey and white clouds reflected in a mirror-like sea, Karaginskiy Island a long dark line between them. Unusually another ship was visible in the distance, perhaps a fish-processing ship. Karaginskiy Island, part of the Karaginskiy Nature Reserve, is over 100km long, with the highest point just over 900metres. We anchored adjacent to the neck of an isthmus at the southern tip. After breakfast we travelled to the sandy beach by Zodiac, crisscrossed with bear tracks. We had 2 and a half hours free to roam on this wild and spacious island; some down along the beach (where large crabs emerged from the surf and walked up the beach), others inland threading their way between a network of ponds and wetlands, up a series of terraces to a rolling plateau. The terraces supported thickets of rhododendron, rowan and scattered dwarf pines, the latter providing edible pine-nuts. The ground was thickly covered in blueberries and crowberries and the feast completed by mushrooms, which Chinese and Russian passengers keenly collected and cooked back on the ship. Three high aerials on top of the island formed part of a radio communication system, accompanied by a series of long abandoned buildings. Wildlife was sparse, with flocks of Eiders, a handful of shorebirds and a solitary Red Fox. After a quick naked plunge off the back deck by the chefs and one of the guides, we left at 11.30am for the Commander Islands. After lunch Liya, a Russian biologist and guide, gave an introductory lecture to the Commander Islands, a place where she worked for 2 seasons studying Arctic Foxes, Steller Sea Lions and Northern Fur Seals. 
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Day 9: Tuesday 12 September
Bering Island, Nikolskoye village and Bukhta Linsinskaya
The ship pitched gently all night from a following swell, the forecast not promising for landings. Our first port of call was the village of Nikolskoye for border control formalities and a look around. The beach where we landed was protected by a strong sea-wall. The surrounding area was a study of rusting machinery, from trucks and bulldozers to large fishing boasts. The local museum featured Aleutian culture, Bering’s explorations and natural history; most poignantly the bones of a Steller’s Sea Cow, hunted to extinction within 27 years of Europeans first setting eyes on one. Close to the landing Sea Otters lay on their backs, some cradling their young, apparently oblivious to both the township and the waves rocking them up and down. A group of rare Rock Sandpipers loafed on a rocky shoal nearby. On the beach we delivered a parcel to a former Wrangel Island Ranger Valerie, now living on Bering Island, who had walked 25 kilometers before breakfast to pick it up and planned to walk 25 kilometers back the same day to where he worked, thinking nothing of it. Nikolskoye, a place of constant drizzle and wind, is brightened considerably by colourfully painted public buildings and apartment blocks.
Over lunch back on the ship we headed for the southern end of Bering Island, hoping to find shelter from rising northerly winds. En-route we were delighted by Humpback Whales, several pods of Killer Whales, a Laysan Albatross, thousands of shearwaters rafting in long lines and the dark morph of the Northern Fulmar, constantly flying by the ship’s hand-rails.
We anchored off Bukhta Lisinskaya for a landing in a corner of protected beach, although the bay was protected from the strong northerly winds, most of it was still exposed to residual swell from the south, smashing onto the rocky reefs nearby. Lisinskaya Bay has 500-600 metres mountains on 3 sides and a strongly flowing salmon stream emanating from a series of lakes, ponds and wetlands. A log-cabin style hut had been built recently on a terrace near the river mouth and next door to the previous dilapidated version. We followed the river up across the tundra, a series of frost-hummocks and ponds with a rich autumn palette of reds, yellows and greens in the sunshine. The mountainside basins and depressions were vividly green where wind-blown snow had accumulated over winter and melted in spring to support vegetation; in sharp contrast to the starkness of the surrounding mountainsides. In these green areas we began to notice Reindeer, first one or two, then a herd of 25 and then another herd of over 100. A stag swam across the lake and passed very close to us. It was muscular and well-fed, with widely spread antlers, sniffing the air and stepping lightly across the tundra. At one stage it picked up and ate a mushroom.
A dark brown Arctic Fox with shining almond-coloured eyes trotted out in front a group of us, curious and staying only 10-20 metres away, a photographer’s dream. We returned to the ship and remained anchored in the shelter of the bay for the night, well pleased with the day.
Photo credit: A. Breniere
Day 10: Wednesday 13 September
South of Bering Island and at Sea
We awoke to a reduced southerly swell and wind still funneling down the valleys from the north. By 8am we had five Zodiacs in the water for a cruise around the surrounding bays of Golodnaya and Peresheyek and around Ostrovnoy reef. In front of us was a wall of sea-cliffs, much of it covered in bright orange lichen. The strong morning sunlight was perfect for viewing bird-cliffs. It lit up the turquoise swell rising and falling under our Zodiacs. A strong northerly wind combed off the tops of the waves breaking over the shallow reefs. Inland we could see long valleys extending behind beaches, and smell the tundra along with the salt-spray. A fox patrolled Golodnaya beach, its dark grey-brown a contrast to the light brown sand. It stopped now and then to sniff items of flotsam along the tide-line before reaching the end of the bay and turning to follow a stream inland. Inky black Pelagic Cormorants flew past low to the water, iridescent green and magenta around their necks sometimes catching the sunlight. Others dived for fish near the rocks or rested in groups on flat rocks just above the surge line. We saw birds in a diving frenzy in the centre of the bay so drifted over for a closer look: Glaucous Gulls, kittiwakes and a solitary puffin squabbling and plunging headlong into the sea, emerging one after the other, bills stuffed with small wriggling fish. Suddenly it was all over, the birds dispersing to rest on the water nearby. In Peresheyek Bay we spotted Sea Otters lying on their backs inside the reefs, some cradling their young on their chests. The first indication of a Sea Otter is seeing a kind of ‘bracket’ with a blunt head at one end and upturned feet at the other. They always spotted us first and kept a discrete distance from the Zodiacs. Ostrovnoy reef looked at first glance unyielding with such a large swell battering its outer reaches. However the Zodiacs drove one by one into a narrow cleft in the rock and up a channel about 200 metres long into a tiny cove surrounded by cliffs on all sides. After the surging channel the interior was an oasis of calm, with seaweed swirling in the deep green water. An Arctic Fox trotted out of the shadows and onto a sunlit boulder where it groomed its bushy tail. On the way out we drifted in the channel to observe endemic Red-legged Kittiwakes feeding their well-developed fledglings on a series of ledges just above us; a cacophony of parents calling for chicks and chicks calling for food.
The wind had picked up during the morning giving us a choppy ride back to the ship and salt spray on our lips, but happy faces and thumbs up all round for a wonderful morning. We lifted the Zodiacs back on board and set a course for the southern tip of Bering Island in hope of seeing a Stellar Sea Lion haul out. Alas the big swell meant the haul out was unusable, so after lunch we turned back to the north follow the edge of a deep sea canyon adjacent to the south-west coast, in hope of seeing whales. We spotted a few humpbacks but the choppy sea made sightings more difficult. In the late afternoon we left the trench and headed for Olga Bay back in the Kronotsky Gulf on Kamchatka Peninsula.
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Day 11: Thursday 14 September
Olga Bay
Samuel woke us to say a large pod of Orca was travelling towards the ship and the volcano didn’t look bad either. We dashed on deck to be greeted by the symmetrical cone of Kronotsky volcano (3528 metres high) directly in front of the ship, its snowy slopes golden in the sunrise. A large pod of Orca had split in two, one group passing right by the ship, the massive dorsal fin of a large male rising and plunging alongside. In the distance one breached clear out of the water in a cascade of golden spray, plunging back into the water with a huge splash. What a way to wake-up!
We launched the Zodiacs after breakfast and a briefing, hoping to watch the Gray Whales we could see blowing near the beach in the distance. We were not disappointed, half a dozen whales were feeding calmly near the shore, where making short dives to scrape crustacean-laden sediment from the sea-floor with the sides of their mouths, stirring up the sediment into great swirls of brown water as they did so. The powerful smell of their fishy blows reached us from several hundred metres out. A couple of whales were curious, swimming and lolling around the Zodiacs, spy-hopping to look at us above the water and even breaching several times, less usual behaviour for Gray Whales. Whales in the foreground and the wild hills and volcanoes of Kronotsky Zapovednik (reserve) in the background made for highly memorable whale-watching. Finally to top it off, a massive Stellar’s Sea Eagle flew low over the Zodiacs, displaying its massive bill, fist-sized talons and beautifully splayed wing-tips.
After lunch on board we landed the Zodiacs on the beach and split into 2 groups going opposite ways up the beach and each accompanied by 2 local rangers, to see if we could spot bears. But in spite of an abundance of bear tracks and berry-laden bear faeces, we failed to see a bear. It began to rain, then as we walked back along the beach cleared again, with bright shafts of light emanating from behind the clouds into distant rain showers and ranges.
Day 12: Friday 15 September
Zhupanova River
Again we awoke to a spectacular volcano, this time the dominant cone of Zhuparovsky (2400 metres), with the active Karinsky more distant, Koryatsky far to our west and Kronotsky to our north. After a 6.30am breakfast we took the Zodiacs in towards the Zhupanova, a huge river running almost 100 kilometres from source to sea and supporting 6 different species of salmon, with their attendant seals and sea eagles. We motored in on long swells, past a rocky promontory with a fish factory situated behind it. Ahead of us the dominant cone of Zhuparovsky sat over low hills and islands covered in dense low hardwood forest. We threaded our way up channels between sand banks, occasionally getting grounded and having to push off and try a different direction in the murky water. The first Steller’s Sea Eagle we came across was resting on a narrow sand bar in the middle of the river, its feathers hanging like shaggy leaves from its massive back. Further up a fledgling eagle sat on a dead tree in the river, flexing its wings and testing out flight in small hops between before eventually flying across a channel to land awkwardly on the other side. Another roosted in a tree before flying off at our approach, flapping its massive wings. Big groups of Largha Seals lounged on sand-bars, bent like bananas with their heads and tails turned up as though they had dried out and shrunk on one side. We returned to the ship on a lovely sea, the ship outlined beautifully against Mt. Kronotsky as we approached. We weighed anchor after lunch to start heading for the large natural harbour of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
At 4.30pm we watched a slide-show of the trip put together by Dr Suzi from photos taken by staff, it was a wonderful recollection of whales, bears, birds, foxes, tundra, Zodiacs, sunsets and of a very special 2 weeks shared on board. After ‘bar time’ we headed down to the dining room for a beautiful final night dinner, including salmon cooked by ‘guest chef’ Nathan Russ.
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions
Day 13: Saturday 16 September
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy
After drifting off the coast for most of the night, we were piloted into Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy harbour during a beautiful sunrise, a crescent moon setting behind us and the surrounding volcanoes pink in the morning light. We left our home and travelling companions of the last 13 days, some of us flying out via Vladivostok, others via Moscow, a little sad to leave wonderful new friends behind but taking with us the brilliant images and experiences of vast and wild places burned into our hearts and memories.
