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Generously endowed with various treasures of
the Nature, Kamchatka is alluring and
exotic place even for Russians. The unique
combination of fantastic landscapes and rare
wildlife makes these nooks of Russia a real
"Promised Land" for exploration. It
offers a wide variety of opportunities for
each traveler. These are the highlights of
just a general "travelers' appreciation
list": numerous dramatic volcanoes on the
peninsula, its bays and coastlines provide
great sceneries for landscape photography;
exclusively diverse wildlife and historical
sights of Commander Islands, and the Eighth
World Wonder - the Valley of Geysers -
compose the versatility of the voyage.
Day 1: Your independent arrival at
Petropavlovsk - Kamchatsky airport is followed
by a short city tour. In the afternoon we
board the "Marina Tsvetaeva" and set sail in
the evening, passing the picturesque Avacha
Bay.
Day 2: Our first possible destination
is Zhupanova River. Many bird species are
found near this shallow river, including
Steller's Sea Eagle. We hope to explore the
river by zodiacs, whilst hiking close to the
banks is excellent for bird lovers and anyone
seeking wonderful views.
Days 3-5: Commander Islands. The
archipelago consists of two main islands
(Bering Island and Medny (Copper) Island) and
a dozen or so small rocky islets. The
archipelago is named after Commander Vitus
Bering, Dutch explorer, the first to discover
that Asia and Americas are separate
continents. It was the great discovery, but
the sacrifice for this discovery was no less
significant: Bering died of scurvy on his way
from Alaska to Kamchatka, along with 28 men of
his company. We will visit his grave on Bering
Island.
Both islands form Kommandorsky Nature Reserve
which, in 2002, was designated a biosphere
reserve by UNESCO. The surrounding waters are
home to whales, including Sperm, Killer and
Humpback. One of the rarest whale species -
Stejneger's Beaked Whale - also inhabits the
local Bering Sea waters. There are four large
rookeries on the islands with thousands of
Northern Fur Seals, as well as Steller's Sea
Lions, and Larga (or Spotted) Seals. Sea
Otters are frequent here. Huge numbers of sea
birds also find home on the Commanders,
including Red-faced Cormorants, Glaucous-winged
Gulls, Northern Fulmars, Tufted and Horned
Puffins and Pigeon Guillemots. We will visit
several bays, each of them having their own
excellent sites: beautiful waterfall in
Gladkovskaya Bay; spectacular rocks in
Bobrovaya Bay; numerous nesting sites of
Thin-billed and Thick-billed Murres
(Guillemots) on the ladder-like rocks in
Dikaya Bay. Arctic Foxes are also seen
frequently on the islands.
In Nikolskoye settlement we will visit local
museum with exhibition of national culture and
history.
Day 6: Ossora Village, Koryak Region.
At Ossora we explore the cultural wealth of
the Far East peoples. The Koryaks, dressed in
traditional clothes of reindeer skin decorated
with fur and refined embroidery, welcome us
with a typical folk performance.
In the afternoon we leave the peninsula for
Karaginsky Island. Its coastal waters are
favoured by whales. Here we have a good chance
of seeing these huge and attractive animals.
If the weather is not against our expedition's
plans we'll land on the western coast of the
island in Lozhnykh Vestey Bay. On the beach
there are many whale bones, the legacy of
hunts. We might also meet Koryak whale hunters
who make their way here from the mainland
peninsula. The island is covered with alder
trees, mountain ashes, dwarf-pines and herbs.
Day 7: Depending on sea and weather
conditions we'll choose some of the following
places near Olyutorsky Bay for a landing or
zodiac cruise:
Yuzhnaya Glubokaya Bay and Cape Groznyi. These
picturesque places are Natural Monuments of
the Koryak district.
Lavrova Bay and Cape Govena, Tintikum Lagoon
are parts of the Koryaksky Nature Reserve,
remarkable for its wildlife. On the southern
coast of the lagoon are thermal springs, the
water having a pungent odor emerging at +37°?.
Day 8-9: We explore numerous bays and
isles of the Koryak Region:
Cape Vitgenshteina, Kekur Vitgenshteina
Island, Bogoslova Island - all famous for
their dramatic landscapes and are protected
areas.
The scenic Anastasia Bay is named in honor of
Anastasia Gek, the daughter of the famous
Kamchatka explorer Fridolf Gek. Its coasts are
home to walrus, whilst Kamchatka brown bears
are also frequent visitors.
Dezhnev Bay. Inland there is tundra, whilst on
the beaches are colonies of walruses. Brown
bears often hunt close to the sea.
Day 10: Cape Gavriila and Cape Navarin.
We pioneer these pristine areas; however keep
in mind that all our explorations are
dependant on changeable weather.
Day 11: Anadyr. We disembark the vessel
in the port of the city.
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