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Russian Far East & Aleutian Islands 2006
- New Blog for the New Trip
- Fun Photos
- Petropavlosk Airport, June 23
- Petropavlosk, June 22
- Captain's Dinner, June 21
- Quick Note, June 21
- Zhupanova River, June 21
- Listvenichnaya Bay, June 20
- Vestnik Bay, June 20
- Shumshu Island, June 19
Links
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
Fun Photos
As I was going through the photos for the slide show, I found a few from the week past that I thought were fun and that you may want to see. I've attached them with short captions about where we were and what was going on.
Enjoy.
The zodiac riding dog from the Zupanova River
Photo credit: Mason Florence
Taking photos of one of the children from Kurilisk Village.
He enjoyed seeing himself on the preview screen.
Cheli, Ingrid and I trying to figure out how to use our GPS's in the fog at Yankicha Island
Enjoy.
The zodiac riding dog from the Zupanova River
Photo credit: Mason Florence
Taking photos of one of the children from Kurilisk Village.
He enjoyed seeing himself on the preview screen.
Cheli, Ingrid and I trying to figure out how to use our GPS's in the fog at Yankicha Island
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Petropavlosk Airport, June 23
Today I spent the majority of my day at the Petropavlosk Airport seeing the old passengers off and greeting the new passengers. This was supposed to be a quick affair, but turned into an entire day adventure. We left for the airport around 9am and quickly found out that the plane had been delayed.
Now, this was a charter plane coming from Anchorage carrying the new passengers so that helped to keep the day less confusing. At least I knew I wouldn't be having two groups of passengers at one time.
To pass the time, we stopped at a local supermarket. I was impressed with the variety of foods there and it really felt like I could have been in any supermarket in the United States. They had everything you could imagine, including gourmet food. I went to purchase some local honey and there was a whole isle of it! Everything from flavored honeys, to imported honey, to honey with nuts or dried fruits. Who knew? After the local supermarket, we went to another farmers market. This market was dominated by meats and vegetables. Again, the vegetables were brilliantly colored and the smells were wonderful from all the herbs. What struck me here were the nectarines.
Each of them, and I don't know how this is done, had a different design on the skins. It’s almost as if someone had put something on the skin as the fruit ripened, so that it would ripen in a design. I did not have my camera with me, but have asked someone to send me a photo. It was incredible. I ended up buying some home made salsa, which smells incredibly garlicky. It's a small jar and I'll probably end up sharing it with the rest of the expedition staff because I can't imagine trying to bring it home and getting through customs smelling so garlicky.
We finally arrived at the airport and I'll save the long story and just say that the rest of the day was not as fun. The old passengers ended up waiting for a long time on their buses because the pilots did not have visas so the officials held them up. The new passengers took a long time to clear customs, and in the end, I believe I was at the Petro airport for around 4 hours, mostly waiting around for something - planes, busses, customs, etc. The passengers all had good attitudes about the delays, but I especially felt bad for those passengers that were leaving, as they ended up waiting on the tarmac for about 3 hours until they could take off for Anchorage. The new group is very nice and they seem extremely excited about the adventure ahead - as do I.
Now, this was a charter plane coming from Anchorage carrying the new passengers so that helped to keep the day less confusing. At least I knew I wouldn't be having two groups of passengers at one time.
To pass the time, we stopped at a local supermarket. I was impressed with the variety of foods there and it really felt like I could have been in any supermarket in the United States. They had everything you could imagine, including gourmet food. I went to purchase some local honey and there was a whole isle of it! Everything from flavored honeys, to imported honey, to honey with nuts or dried fruits. Who knew? After the local supermarket, we went to another farmers market. This market was dominated by meats and vegetables. Again, the vegetables were brilliantly colored and the smells were wonderful from all the herbs. What struck me here were the nectarines.
Each of them, and I don't know how this is done, had a different design on the skins. It’s almost as if someone had put something on the skin as the fruit ripened, so that it would ripen in a design. I did not have my camera with me, but have asked someone to send me a photo. It was incredible. I ended up buying some home made salsa, which smells incredibly garlicky. It's a small jar and I'll probably end up sharing it with the rest of the expedition staff because I can't imagine trying to bring it home and getting through customs smelling so garlicky.
We finally arrived at the airport and I'll save the long story and just say that the rest of the day was not as fun. The old passengers ended up waiting for a long time on their buses because the pilots did not have visas so the officials held them up. The new passengers took a long time to clear customs, and in the end, I believe I was at the Petro airport for around 4 hours, mostly waiting around for something - planes, busses, customs, etc. The passengers all had good attitudes about the delays, but I especially felt bad for those passengers that were leaving, as they ended up waiting on the tarmac for about 3 hours until they could take off for Anchorage. The new group is very nice and they seem extremely excited about the adventure ahead - as do I.
Petropavlosk, June 22
Petropavlosk was foggy, cold and drizzly when we arrived. Apparently, this is normal weather for them. I went on the morning tour around the city, which stopped at the local market, the church and the museum. The first stop was the church, which was small but ornate. There was a woman there at the “gift shop” selling candles and Russian Orthodox paraphernalia. One of the items I found most peculiar were what appeared to be trading cards of different saints and other important people to the Russian Orthodox religion. They were all stacked up in different piles. One of the passengers was interested in purchasing one of the packs, but did not have any rubles, so she asked me to help. Well, I wasn’t sure that I could be of much help because I also didn’t have any rubles, nor do I speak Russian. So we took the stack of cards to the woman along with a few dollars. She shook her head no and eventually after trying to communicate, she took two cards out of the stack and gave one to me and the other to the passenger as a gift. She would not take the dollars for it. The reason I tell this story is because, after the entire interaction, with no words really exchanged, she said to us “muchas gracias”. Very funny.
Russian Orthodox church in Petropavlosk
Photo credit: Mason Florence
The museum stop was nice, but it was the market that I really enjoyed. The majority of the market was all smoked fish! Tons and tons and tons of it in long rows. Mostly smoked salmon. I was overwhelmed with how much there was and pretty much froze up about buying any. None was shrink wrapped, so I would have had to eat it on the ship, which was no problem. The problem was deciding how much to buy and from which vendor and trying to figure out what kind of salmon it was, or other kind of fish. Well, those of you that know me well, know that in situations like this, I can simply just not make a decision, especially under a time constraint. We only had about 15 minutes at the market. But I should get a chance to go back, hopefully. Anyway, it was just great fun to look at it all. The prices were great too about $12 a kilo.
Smoked salmon at the local market in Petropavlosk
Also at the market there were a lot of fresh vegetables and dried fruits and nuts. The vegetables and fruit were the most wonderful colors and I was surprised with all the fresh herbs and veggies. The tomatoes are so red and wonderful and the herbs green and thick. I wasn't expecting to see that in an area that is mostly foggy and cold.
In the afternoon, I worked on the final slide show. Kara had stayed behind in the morning to work on it, so it just needed some final touches. We did end up working late into the evening burning the CD's and DVD's for the passengers because we did not finish the trip log until after dinner. It was fun though doing it all as we were all laughing and drinking to make the time pass faster. Some of the staff left around 10pm and went to the local Petropavlosk casino. I heard later that they had a great time and even ended up at the bowling alley. Sounds fun, but I was too tired to join in on the festivities.
Russian Orthodox church in Petropavlosk
Photo credit: Mason Florence
The museum stop was nice, but it was the market that I really enjoyed. The majority of the market was all smoked fish! Tons and tons and tons of it in long rows. Mostly smoked salmon. I was overwhelmed with how much there was and pretty much froze up about buying any. None was shrink wrapped, so I would have had to eat it on the ship, which was no problem. The problem was deciding how much to buy and from which vendor and trying to figure out what kind of salmon it was, or other kind of fish. Well, those of you that know me well, know that in situations like this, I can simply just not make a decision, especially under a time constraint. We only had about 15 minutes at the market. But I should get a chance to go back, hopefully. Anyway, it was just great fun to look at it all. The prices were great too about $12 a kilo.
Smoked salmon at the local market in Petropavlosk
Also at the market there were a lot of fresh vegetables and dried fruits and nuts. The vegetables and fruit were the most wonderful colors and I was surprised with all the fresh herbs and veggies. The tomatoes are so red and wonderful and the herbs green and thick. I wasn't expecting to see that in an area that is mostly foggy and cold.
In the afternoon, I worked on the final slide show. Kara had stayed behind in the morning to work on it, so it just needed some final touches. We did end up working late into the evening burning the CD's and DVD's for the passengers because we did not finish the trip log until after dinner. It was fun though doing it all as we were all laughing and drinking to make the time pass faster. Some of the staff left around 10pm and went to the local Petropavlosk casino. I heard later that they had a great time and even ended up at the bowling alley. Sounds fun, but I was too tired to join in on the festivities.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Captain's Dinner, June 21
I just wanted to put in a quick story from the Captain’s farewell dinner. We had the dinner tonight instead of tomorrow, since we will be docked in Petropavlosk and people may want to wander off the ship and explore. I was dining with some very nice passengers. We were all done with our soup course and everyone was done with the salad course except for one gentleman, whom had exactly two bites left of his salad. The waiters came around and cleared everyone s plate but his and then went aside to wait patiently for his salad to be finished before bringing the main courses. The wait staff is very professional, and service is pretty formal, so of course, they did not want to rush anyone. Well, then the fun began. The man started to tell a story and every time he d lift his fork to take a bite, he’d put it back down again and keep telling the story. And every time he lifted his fork, our waiter would move in to clear his plate, only to turn around again when he put the fork down. This went on for about 10 minutes. About every two minutes, one of the waiters would walk by the table and then pretend to do something, like move a dish in the dirty dish bin, or fill waters, to check the salad progress. Well, after about 10 minutes, multiple waiters got involved and it was obvious to me that our main courses were ready, but they didn’t know what to do. Of course, I was the only one who noticed it all and kept smiling at the waiters and laughing. Everyone thought I was laughing at the story. Eventually, after he took one bite and only one was left (about 15 minutes for one bite), the waiters went and got the main courses anyway.
As they put the food in front of everyone else, one of the three went up and politely asked if he was done with his salad to which he replied, “Oh, I have one more bite”. At that point, I almost lost it laughing. And do I remember his animated story? Not one detail.
As they put the food in front of everyone else, one of the three went up and politely asked if he was done with his salad to which he replied, “Oh, I have one more bite”. At that point, I almost lost it laughing. And do I remember his animated story? Not one detail.
Quick Note, June 21
New Photo - of Urup Island - has been posted under the Natalii Bay, Urup Island posting - June 16. :-)
New Photos (of the sperm whales)have been posted under the Natalii Bay, Urup Island posting - June 16. :-)
New Photos (of the sperm whales)have been posted under the Natalii Bay, Urup Island posting - June 16. :-)
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.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Listvenichnaya Bay, June 20
In the afternoon, we had a change of plans. We were supposed to go to Russkiya Bay, but had a change of plans when we were told that the KGB was doing something there and we could not visit. So we went to explore a new bay, called Listvenichnaya . What a gorgeous place! When we got there, there was a bit of fog and drizzle, but that did not deter us. We dropped the zodiacs and headed towards the shore. When we got there, we met two salmon fishermen that had been in the bay fishing for about a month. They were very nice and we asked if there was anything they needed. Do you know what they asked for (besides cigarettes)? They wanted to know if we could please charge their cell phones. Very funny dichotomy between the middle of nowhere fishermen with only a basic wood shack and the latest technology of cellular telephone service. Anyway, when we got to the beach, we were also greeted with some brown bear sightings. They did not get too close to the camp, as the fishermen had a dog with them who barked every time the bear was in sight. The dog was adorable and once we started walking around the camp, we discovered her four 2-month-old puppies. Attached is a photo of two of them.
The adorable puppies
They were so cute and one of them took a liking to me and let me pet it.
Other than that, the puppies were a little scared of all of us. Mamma dog was delighted to see us and thought we were all carrying food in our camera bags.
The men were fishing for salmon that ran into the bay and up a small river to the mainland. Despite the slight rapids at the mouth of the river, we were able to take our zodiacs up into the river for a zodiac cruise. Every driver except myself (I was the shuttle boat) got to drive up the rapids in their zodiac. I was bummed that I didn't get to do it since it looked like a ton of fun. I have attached a photo of Wayne heading up the rapids on his way to pick up passengers in the calmer area. You can see all the passengers watching him and taking photos.
Wayne heads up the river rapids in the zodiac
About ½ hour after we arrived on shore, it started to pour! This does not deter an expedition, however, and we ended up staying out in the rain for a few more hours. Since my job was to drive the shuttle back and forth to the ship for people that wanted to go "home", you may have guessed that I was busy, as passengers got sick of the rain. Driving in the rain is no problem, but I really wished I had windshield wipers on my eyeballs. Good thing it was a straight shot back to the ship with no rocks or anything. It was also good that it was not windy, just rainy and a bit foggy. I only wonder how amazing the bay would have looked in the sun, since it was so beautiful in the fog and rain.
The adorable puppies
They were so cute and one of them took a liking to me and let me pet it.
Other than that, the puppies were a little scared of all of us. Mamma dog was delighted to see us and thought we were all carrying food in our camera bags.
The men were fishing for salmon that ran into the bay and up a small river to the mainland. Despite the slight rapids at the mouth of the river, we were able to take our zodiacs up into the river for a zodiac cruise. Every driver except myself (I was the shuttle boat) got to drive up the rapids in their zodiac. I was bummed that I didn't get to do it since it looked like a ton of fun. I have attached a photo of Wayne heading up the rapids on his way to pick up passengers in the calmer area. You can see all the passengers watching him and taking photos.
Wayne heads up the river rapids in the zodiac
About ½ hour after we arrived on shore, it started to pour! This does not deter an expedition, however, and we ended up staying out in the rain for a few more hours. Since my job was to drive the shuttle back and forth to the ship for people that wanted to go "home", you may have guessed that I was busy, as passengers got sick of the rain. Driving in the rain is no problem, but I really wished I had windshield wipers on my eyeballs. Good thing it was a straight shot back to the ship with no rocks or anything. It was also good that it was not windy, just rainy and a bit foggy. I only wonder how amazing the bay would have looked in the sun, since it was so beautiful in the fog and rain.
Vestnik Bay, June 20
This morning we arrived at the Kamchatka Peninsula and did a zodiac cruise in Vestnik Bay. Basically, it was a cruise around two islands in the bay, which were surrounded by seals and thousands of birds. The seas were calm and it was a bit foggy, making for a really nice morning to go on a zodiac cruise. I only took a few photos - the one attached is a good landscape overview with a zodiac for perspective. We were on the cruise for about an hour. I had the birders in my zodiac and we were looking for the elusive Spectacled Guillemot. We did not see it, but did see a Steller Sea Eagle and a bunch of Horned and Tufted Puffins. We also saw a few hundred Harbor Seals. They were about as abundant as the sea otters were the day before. Oh yeah, and we also saw sea otters. All in all, a great morning!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Shumshu Island, June 19
This afternoon we visited Shumshu Island. The highlight of this trip was doing a zodiac cruise around the point of the island. There were hundreds and hundreds of sea otters all in big rafts among the kelp. It was incredible to see them. They were curious about the zodiacs, but also cautious, keeping their distance. A few of them had babies that they were carrying on their stomachs or backs. They are just the cutest animals and this was the first time that I have seen so many in one place. Their populations are finally rebounding from being hunted almost to extinction for their really soft fur. Their fur can have around ¾ of a million hairs per square inch - pretty incredible. I took about 1,000 photos, and only a few came out not blurry. Thank goodness for digital. I have attached a photo of one of the cuties for you to see.
This evening we tentatively scheduled another after dinner zodiac cruise to go and view bears on the west coast of the Kamchaka Peninsula. We did end up seeing some bears from the ship, but never did the zodiac cruise. That was fine by me since tomorrow morning is an early one. Which reminds me, I should go to bed since it is almost 11pm. Goodnight!
This evening we tentatively scheduled another after dinner zodiac cruise to go and view bears on the west coast of the Kamchaka Peninsula. We did end up seeing some bears from the ship, but never did the zodiac cruise. That was fine by me since tomorrow morning is an early one. Which reminds me, I should go to bed since it is almost 11pm. Goodnight!
Atlasova Island, June 19
This morning we visited Atlasova Island. We have been blessed with clear weather (for the most part) so the volcanoes were visible and striking. The Alaud Volcano on Atlasova is 2339 meters high. On the island there were the remains of a Arctic Fox farm and a women's prison from the Stalin era. It was very interesting to walk through the old buildings and imagine what life was like back then. Most of the buildings are just timbers now, but we were able to make out the fox farm processing area, complete with a rusted conveyer belt and pressing machines. In addition, the women's barracks were still recognizable. It was a bit eerie to see the rusted beds that were used, and in some areas the beds still seemed correctly positioned in the small one-room buildings.
After exploring the farm and prison with the passengers, I had a chance to look for more glass floats. This time, I found my own!! It definitely was more fun to find my own than have it planted for me. Apparently, they are very valuable and there are whole books written on their history. I do not think that any of the ones I found are particularly special, but I like them. I'm still on the hunt for one that is wrapped in rope - those are pretty rare. So far, only a handful of people have found those.
After exploring the farm and prison with the passengers, I had a chance to look for more glass floats. This time, I found my own!! It definitely was more fun to find my own than have it planted for me. Apparently, they are very valuable and there are whole books written on their history. I do not think that any of the ones I found are particularly special, but I like them. I'm still on the hunt for one that is wrapped in rope - those are pretty rare. So far, only a handful of people have found those.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Nemo Bay, Onekotan Island, June 18
This afternoon was amazing! I was supposed to be driving zodiacs, but when the landing necessitated a stern landing, I was taken off. At first I was upset and wanted time to practice since it wasn't super rough and I need to practice, but then I realized what an opportunity I had to hike around the area and see this amazing island. By the time I arrived at the island after swapping out my zodiac, all of the passengers had taken off for their various adventures so I was free to wander alone and just hop from group to group answering questions if necessary. Needless to say, after about 10 minutes of hanging out with passengers, they all wanted to do their own thing, so I was left alone to explore. There was a beautiful creek running across the island and out to sea which I crossed to get to the rubbish pile to hopefully find my own Japanese glass fishing float. Striking out, I decided to hike up the ridge with Mason, another naturalist. Once at the top of the ridge, I had a panoramic views of the valley, the beach and ship. I have attached two photos of the view - one of the valley and river and the other of the beach.
View of Onekotan Island
View of Nemo Bay
The long hikers had gone ahead at this point up to a lake at the top of another ridge. It was too far for me to go with the time I had to explore, so I stayed on the ridge and just enjoyed the quiet and scenery. I've attached a photo of me lying on the ground attempting to capture the varied landscape of the flowers, greenery and snow capped volcanoes.
When I came down from the ridge most of the passengers had gone back to the ship and Cheli, Ingrid and I went hunting for glass floats. Cheli is a pro at finding them, and after scurrying over some rocks and into a pile of washed up wood, she hollered, "Lori, you may want to look over here". She all but planted the glass float for me, but it was still fun to find it.
By the evening, I was wiped out as we continue to lose hours in the evening to Russian time zone changes. I think this is the last time change until we cross the International Date Line on the next cruise.
View of Onekotan Island
View of Nemo Bay
The long hikers had gone ahead at this point up to a lake at the top of another ridge. It was too far for me to go with the time I had to explore, so I stayed on the ridge and just enjoyed the quiet and scenery. I've attached a photo of me lying on the ground attempting to capture the varied landscape of the flowers, greenery and snow capped volcanoes.
When I came down from the ridge most of the passengers had gone back to the ship and Cheli, Ingrid and I went hunting for glass floats. Cheli is a pro at finding them, and after scurrying over some rocks and into a pile of washed up wood, she hollered, "Lori, you may want to look over here". She all but planted the glass float for me, but it was still fun to find it.
By the evening, I was wiped out as we continue to lose hours in the evening to Russian time zone changes. I think this is the last time change until we cross the International Date Line on the next cruise.
Skalay Lovushky, June 18
This morning we arrived at Skalay Lovushky, which are really just a grouping of rocks in the middle of nowhere. I found out that skalay means rock in Russian, and it was a fitting name. There were four major rock islands, with Steller Sea Lion and Fur Seal rookeries and haul outs. We were only allowed to visit two of them because of the sensitivity of the breeding rookeries.
It was an amazing morning once again. We launched the zodiacs at around 7:30am and I had about ½ hour to explore on my own before picking up passengers for an hour cruise. The animals were so curious about the zodiacs and would come up right next to the boats or follow the boats to see what we were all about. I got a few photos, and have attached one of each species that we saw. Most all of the animals in the water were adolescent males who did not have a breeding territory of their own. Once I picked up the passengers, the fun really started. At one point, we had about 5 male Steller Sea Lions around our zodiac, and getting really close. One, in particular, decided to swim all around and under the zodiac and every time he would surface, he would huff and puff at us, showing us who was boss. The adolescent males often do this to practice being big and bad for when they have their own harem. Most of the aggression is usually bluffing, but its still quite a sight to see one of these males up close. Full grown they can be up to 1600 pounds, so you can guess that a teenager is still pretty large! Anyway, this one male kept hanging out with us, and even following the zodiac. At one point, he came right up next to the boat, turned over and splashed the side of the zodiac with a huge wave of water. There were four passengers kneeling down on that side trying to get a good photo - instead, they got a camera full of water. As you can imagine, this event was a highlight for the passengers, who joked about sea lions and fur seals jumping into the zodiac. The event also made for good story telling for when we returned back to the ship.
Northern Fur Seal approching the zodiac
Steller Sea Lion approached the zodiac
We are now headed towards Onekotan Island, which is supposed to be beautiful, complete with waterfalls, streams and a large lake at the top of the mountain that is filled with Rainbow Trout. I'm looking forward to having a chance at finding some Japanese glass fishing floats.
It was an amazing morning once again. We launched the zodiacs at around 7:30am and I had about ½ hour to explore on my own before picking up passengers for an hour cruise. The animals were so curious about the zodiacs and would come up right next to the boats or follow the boats to see what we were all about. I got a few photos, and have attached one of each species that we saw. Most all of the animals in the water were adolescent males who did not have a breeding territory of their own. Once I picked up the passengers, the fun really started. At one point, we had about 5 male Steller Sea Lions around our zodiac, and getting really close. One, in particular, decided to swim all around and under the zodiac and every time he would surface, he would huff and puff at us, showing us who was boss. The adolescent males often do this to practice being big and bad for when they have their own harem. Most of the aggression is usually bluffing, but its still quite a sight to see one of these males up close. Full grown they can be up to 1600 pounds, so you can guess that a teenager is still pretty large! Anyway, this one male kept hanging out with us, and even following the zodiac. At one point, he came right up next to the boat, turned over and splashed the side of the zodiac with a huge wave of water. There were four passengers kneeling down on that side trying to get a good photo - instead, they got a camera full of water. As you can imagine, this event was a highlight for the passengers, who joked about sea lions and fur seals jumping into the zodiac. The event also made for good story telling for when we returned back to the ship.
Northern Fur Seal approching the zodiac
Steller Sea Lion approached the zodiac
We are now headed towards Onekotan Island, which is supposed to be beautiful, complete with waterfalls, streams and a large lake at the top of the mountain that is filled with Rainbow Trout. I'm looking forward to having a chance at finding some Japanese glass fishing floats.