Sea of Okhotsk: Korsakov. September 12, 2014

Friday, September 12th

Basically a day at sea as we head away from the Sea of Okhotsk towards Korsakov where we cleared out of Russia. The expedition comes to an end and we celebrated with the rest of the ship with a cocktail party and a screening of the expedition video. We had a wonderful expedition and very glad to be able to share the experiences with two of our dear friends. We capped the night off with wonderful dinner which required us all to get dressed up in our best clothes.

Sea of Okhotsk: Simushir Island. September 11, 2014

Early that morning we arrived off Simushir Island, which is like Yankicha, also a caldera, the remnants of a collapsed volcano. Although there was a heavy swell at the ship, the zodiacs were lowered and we made landings inside the caldera in the morning. We were able to explore the ruins of an abandoned Russian submarine base and equally abandoned town of Kraternyy that was built around it.

Sea of Okhotsk: Yankicha Island. September 10, 2014

Wednesday, September 10th

Yankicha, also known as Ushishir, is one of two connected islets in the center of the Kuril chain.The islets are the summit of a quiescent volcano which last erupted in 1884. One wall of Yankicha's caldera has been breached by the sea, creating a crater bay.

In the morning, from our balcony we spotted a Sperm Whale, and a little later we saw an Orca. First activity for the day was a zodiac cruise on the outside of the caldera, where some of us had a close encounter with an Orca. The weather conditions were favorable, and later that afternoon, we were able to enter the caldera by zodiac and make landings inside. Hilde, Tricia and Stephen braved the almost vertical climb to the caldera rim; Caroline explored the inside closer to sea-level.

Sperm Whale.

Orca.

Seals.

Puffins.

Close encounter.

Scenery on the outside of the caldera.

View from the rim.

The victorious climbers on the rim.

Arctic Fox.

View inside the caldera.

Sea of Okhotsk: Atlasova Island. September 9, 2014

Atlasova Island lies 64km / 40mi to the West of Cape Lapatka. It is the northern most in the Kuril Island chain and, at 2,339m / 7674ft it is the highest volcano in the archipelago. It is named for Vladimir Atlasov, a 17th century Russian Cossack explorer, credited with bringing Kamchatka under Russian control.

We arrived around noon and had the opportunity to go ashore for hikes in the afternoon. We were fortunate to come across a fearless and oh so cute red fox. These animals were 'planted' here.

The scenery.

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We came across this fearless fellow!

Beach wreck.

Landing beach.

Sea of Okhotsk: Petropavlovsk. September 8, 2014

The World arrived and anchored off Petropavlovsk late yesterday evening, all ready for us to go and explore the city in the morning.
Founded by famed explorer Vitus Bering in 1740 and named for his two ships, St. Peter and St. Paul, the port of Petropavlovsk is today the capital of, and largest city on, the Kamchatka Peninsula. The city is home to some 250,000 residents, and, surrounded by high mountains and volcanoes it is only accessible by sea and air.

We went on a bus tour of Petropavlovsk which took us on a panoramic drive with stops at the local museum, a viewpoint over Avacha Bay, stone chapel, a wooden church, the Russian Orthodox Church and the markets.
Once the tour part was finished, Hilde and Tricia decided to go and explore some more on foot; Stephen and I went back to the ship. We'd seen enough fairly non-descript Russian cities in the last few months.

Avacha Bay.

Stone Chapel Crimean War Memorial.

Russian Orthodox Church.

Markets.

Back to the ship by tender.

Someone was very happy with a tub of caviar
at USD 15 :)

Sea of Okhotsk: Cape Kekurny and Tikhirka Bay. September 7, 2014

Saturday, September 6.

In the morning of this 'at-sea day' we enjoyed yet another of Prof. Ludmilla Selezneva's lectures: 'The Opening of Siberia and Kamchatka'. That afternoon it was two photography workshops with Raul.
That evening we had invited Ludmilla and Martin Enckell to dinner in our residence, which made for interesting and fun conversation.

Sunday, September 7.

That morning we went zodiac cruising at Cape Kekurny again searching for wildlife. We found Steller sea lions, sea otters, Spotted seals, gulls, Steller sea eagle, plenty to keep us occupied.

The scenery.

Sea otters.

Steller sea lions.

Spotted seals.

Steller sea eagle.

Eagle in flight.

Gull.

Fun in the zodiacs.

In the afternoon the ship repositioned and anchored off Tikhirka Bay where we had the opportunity to go ashore for various walks. At 17:00 hours it was time for 'Cocktails and Canapés' on the beach to the tunes of The Fabulous Fossils.

Tikhirka Bay.

Those cups also held an alcoholic concoction :)

Crew setting up the F&B station.

Beach Party.

With Prof Ludmilla Selezneva.

Sea of Okhotsk: Utkholok Cape and Kvachina River. September 5, 2014

Thursday, September 4.

A sea day filled with lectures and workshops.
In the morning we enjoyed a second lecture by Professor Ludmilla Selezna: 'Russia 2014: People and Leaders'. In the afternoon we attended 2 photographic workshops by Raul Touzon.


Friday, September 5.

The World anchored off Utkholok Cape and mid-morning we went zodiac cruising in search for wildlife. We saw numerous seabirds (cormorants, Harlequin ducks, gulls,....) Steller sea lions, Spotted seals, and we were rewarded with no less than 5 bears on one of the beaches (1 single male and 2x mother and cub).

The scenery.

Adult and (one) juvenile gulls.

Steller sea lions.

Harlequin ducks.

Female with cub.

Same female.

Same female and cub heading up the hill....

... to make room for this, larger, female with cub.

Later that afternoon the ship repositioned and anchored off Kvachina River where we had the opportunity to go ashore and stretch our legs. Along the coast we found some treasure in the form of Japanese sea-glass balls.

We swapped our wet-landing boots for hiking shoes.

Treasure on the beach.

Sea of Okhotsk: Okhotsk. September 3, 2014

Today Okhotsk is a village of fewer than 5000 residents, but for 200 years it was Russia's most important settlement on the Pacific. Founded in the mid-1600's, it was never a major seaport but rather a critical coastal link between the rich fur resources of Kamchatka and the Siberian river transport network. Because a bar across the mouth of the harbor restricts access, an alternative site was being sought as early as 1715, and by the mid 1800's Okhotsk had been eclipsed by Ayan to the west and Petropavlovsk to the East.
We went ashore in zodiacs and were welcomed with a traditional 'bread and salt' ceremony, after which we made our way to the community center for a very well received 'Cultural Performance'. We were treated to a dance troupe and delicious food (salmon prepared 4 different ways, blinis with caviar, vodka).

'Bread and salt' welcome.

Some locals welcoming us :)

Walking around on a lovely summer's day in Okhotsk.

Walking around.

Cultural performance.