Zhupanova River, June 21
It was a wet and foggy morning when we arrived at the mouth of the Zhupanova River. The plan was to take some people up the river for a zodiac cruise and others to the shore for a hike. I was assigned to run the shore shuttle.
About 10 people came over to the shore in the morning to hike and wander around. We were looking for bears and we found them...a mother and her three cubs. They were far away on a ridge and you could only really see them through the binoculars, but it was still a thrill. The three cubs were so cute, rolling around in the grass and mimicking mom. Every time she would stand up and look somewhere (mostly at us), they would do the same. Very sweet. We felt safe though as we had a trusty fisherman's dog greet us at the shore and follow us around. He was so sweet. Every time I brought a zodiac to the shore, he would jump in and greet everyone with a sniff and a lick. It was hard to get him out of the zodiacs in the end. We had to almost hold him back. It probably didn't help that during the morning, between shuttles, we took him for rides in the zodiac. I think Mason got some photos of the dog in the zodiac. If I can get one from him, I'll attach it.
For lunch, I got to go on a tour of the salmon processing plant that is at the mouth of the river. It is a small plant, but very profitable. We were able to see people cleaning the salmon, and packaging them for auction and sale. Some of the salmon apparently go to Korea and I'm not sure where the rest go. The tour was short and then came the best part...lunch. We walked into the canteen (I forgot what the word is in Russian) and there was this spread on the table! Bowls of salmon roe, fresh baked bread, salmon filets and the best salmon cakes I have ever tasted made by the friendliest woman in Russia. The food was incredible and so fresh. The roe was taken from the fish that morning and didn't taste at all fishy and the fish were caught the day before. Of course, I overate and as I write this, I am still full. We also had the most delicious drink - they take different kinds of dried fruits - apples, pears, grapes, etc. - and boil them in water, then cool the water down and serve the drink. I thought it tasted a lot like a fruity iced tea. It was yummy. I have attached a few photos of the salmon tour and lunch.
Fresh salmon from the Zhupanova River ready to be flash frozen
Some of the incredible food we were served at lunch
Enjoying the fresh salmon roe
This afternoon, instead of going up the river, I went to shore again. This time the rain had stopped which was good, because I was very cold and wet from the morning and really wasn't looking forward to being out in the rain for 3 more hours. We get to come back here on the next trip. Hopefully, the weather will be more cooperative and I will get to go up the river and see some new sights.
Tomorrow is our last day on this cruise and then we get new passengers for the next itinerary. The next itinerary will be a few days in Kamchatka and then we'll cross into the Bering Sea and do the Aleutian Islands, ending in Nome. I'll keep you updated.
About 10 people came over to the shore in the morning to hike and wander around. We were looking for bears and we found them...a mother and her three cubs. They were far away on a ridge and you could only really see them through the binoculars, but it was still a thrill. The three cubs were so cute, rolling around in the grass and mimicking mom. Every time she would stand up and look somewhere (mostly at us), they would do the same. Very sweet. We felt safe though as we had a trusty fisherman's dog greet us at the shore and follow us around. He was so sweet. Every time I brought a zodiac to the shore, he would jump in and greet everyone with a sniff and a lick. It was hard to get him out of the zodiacs in the end. We had to almost hold him back. It probably didn't help that during the morning, between shuttles, we took him for rides in the zodiac. I think Mason got some photos of the dog in the zodiac. If I can get one from him, I'll attach it.
For lunch, I got to go on a tour of the salmon processing plant that is at the mouth of the river. It is a small plant, but very profitable. We were able to see people cleaning the salmon, and packaging them for auction and sale. Some of the salmon apparently go to Korea and I'm not sure where the rest go. The tour was short and then came the best part...lunch. We walked into the canteen (I forgot what the word is in Russian) and there was this spread on the table! Bowls of salmon roe, fresh baked bread, salmon filets and the best salmon cakes I have ever tasted made by the friendliest woman in Russia. The food was incredible and so fresh. The roe was taken from the fish that morning and didn't taste at all fishy and the fish were caught the day before. Of course, I overate and as I write this, I am still full. We also had the most delicious drink - they take different kinds of dried fruits - apples, pears, grapes, etc. - and boil them in water, then cool the water down and serve the drink. I thought it tasted a lot like a fruity iced tea. It was yummy. I have attached a few photos of the salmon tour and lunch.
Fresh salmon from the Zhupanova River ready to be flash frozen
Some of the incredible food we were served at lunch
Enjoying the fresh salmon roe
This afternoon, instead of going up the river, I went to shore again. This time the rain had stopped which was good, because I was very cold and wet from the morning and really wasn't looking forward to being out in the rain for 3 more hours. We get to come back here on the next trip. Hopefully, the weather will be more cooperative and I will get to go up the river and see some new sights.
Tomorrow is our last day on this cruise and then we get new passengers for the next itinerary. The next itinerary will be a few days in Kamchatka and then we'll cross into the Bering Sea and do the Aleutian Islands, ending in Nome. I'll keep you updated.
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