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Arrival in Kamchatka, Russia


 

Nothing big to report here. Just a shortie to let everyone know that we arrived safely in Kamchatka, Russia from Attu. It was 3 days but in REALLY NICE weather. By that I mean calm seas. It was still somewhat foggy and a bit cool, but we did notice the water temp rising to 56 degrees and the air temp to 55 degrees. The docking situation was no surprise. Getting on and off was an issue in the beginning as you can see the large tires in the photo below.

We ended up rafting three boats out but we do have electricity and internet. The check in situation was really no surprise either with the typical Russian paperwork nightmare. We had nine people come on the boat from various agencies and stacks of paperwork that fortunately, we completed prior to our arrival. We were only short the “Deratization Certificate” (that means we have no rats on board- not that we know of anyway).

 

 

Today was Navy Day in Kamchatka. This is where the military shows off all of their latest hardware. Two of the new warships were docked about 25 feet in back of us and I noticed that they were giving tours. I could not imagine they would have let Americans on board, BUT THEY DID!!! It was kind of interesting and no one asked any questions other than one of the government guys who asked how much Braun’s boat cost. 

 

 

It is amazing to me how European Russia has become. The automobiles (except that they are all Japanese models), the clothing, the cell phones etc. I will have a better sense by later in the week, but it looks to me like Communism is dead and can never return. All of the young people here have nice clothing and internet, so they do know what is going on in the rest of the world. It is too late now to change back because they seem to really enjoy all of the new amenities that were non-existent 20 years ago. (Check out the photo of the Gold’s Gym below!)

 

We are supposed to get fuel tomorrow and leave for Hokaido on Wednesday morning. Our agent keeps hedging on the exact time so my opinion is that they have “difficulties”. EVERYTHING here requires tons of paperwork and it sounds to me like it is the holdup.

 

 More later….

 

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Rod Sumner

    27 Jul 2009

    Steve:

    Thanks for the great update. Great trip and great experiences.

    One request: Could you add a section to your blog(s) with some tech details. For example
    fuel consumption and for us to better understand the challenges and how you handle them a list of mechanical/electrical problems/challenges you experience and how you handle them. Nothing long and detailed but a)problem b)brief description of the fix.

    Hopefully this section will be non existant.

    This will give us a great perspective as to the planning,skills, etc. needed for such a trip

    Many thanks

    Rod S

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