Tuesday, August 26, 2014 In the morning we walked over to Hilde and Tricia’s hotel. After a little last minute shopping, mainly for shoes, and some sushi lunch, we took our friends to board The World. We all attended the…
Thursday, August 28, 2014 Upon debarking that morning we were entertained by a Military Brass Band on the pier. We also got a traditional Russian ‘bread and salt greeting’ to welcome us all to Korsakov. We got on board buses…
Friday, August 29, 2014 The World anchored off Tyuleniy Island and we got our first chance to get out in the zodiacs to go a spot some seals. And seals we spotted… thousands of them: Northern fur seals and Northern,…
Saturday, August 30, 2014 This day we anchored off Piltun Lagoon, about midway up the east coast of Sakhalin Island. Immediately after dropping anchor the zodiacs were lowered into the water and the expedition team went looking for, and found,…
Sunday, August 31, 2014 The tiny rocky outcropping that is Iony Island, about 124mi / 200km north of Sakhalin Island, has a reputation for being a magnet for wildlife. The plankton rich waters provide food for a variety of seabirds…
Monday, September 1, 2014 At the western most edge of the Sea of Okhotsk lie the Shantar Islands. The surrounding water is cold and shallow and 300km / 186mi from the mouth of the Amur River. They were a center…
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 This small group of islets is part of the Dzygdzyrskiy Nature Preserve and we went zodiac cruising amongst them in the morning; we also hovered off mainland Russia to admire a couple of Steller’s eagles. The…
Wednesday, 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…
Thursday, September 4, 2014 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.…
Saturday, September 6, 2014 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…
Monday, 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…
Tuesday, 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…
Wednesday, September 10, 2014 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…
Thursday, September 11, 2014 Early that morning we arrived off Simushir (Симушир) Island and Brouton Bay (бухта Броутона) which is like Yankicha, also a caldera, the remnants of a collapsed volcano. Although there was a heavy swell at the ship, the…
Friday, September 12, 2014 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…
