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Published: November 30th -0001
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Looking down at the snow covered mountains as we approach Kamchatka
October 1 to 5, 2010 --- Kamchatka Russia
When we arrived at the business terminal in Toronto it was like old home week greeting former fellow travelers from previous “Around the World Tours” and meeting new people who we will travel with for the next month and come to know. In Vancouver again we greet people we also haven’t seen for some time and meet new voyagers. The next day is our longest in the air; Vancouver to Anchorage Alaska for refueling then on to Kamchatka. We have passed the international date-line losing a day which we will gradually regain as we continue flying west. It is immediately obvious that this area is not use to the arrival of many tourists since it took well over an hour for the sixty of us to clear customs.
Kamchatka, in October is a land coated in different shades of gold foliage. The city of Petropaviolovski is located on Kamchatka Bay. Several observations, the city is what I suspected, concrete block apartments that are is desperate need of paint and fixing up, other than the apartment blocks the rest of the houses are made of wood and in need of even more repair;
almost all cars are Japanese models with the oddity that some are right hand steering and some with left-hand. Another thing that becomes obvious is that the majority of the people are young. According to our guide after about 20 years in Kamchatka most people move to other places in Russia. However the most specular thing is the snow covered mountains that form a backdrop for the city. There are over 300 volcanoes in Kamchatka with 30 still being active. For anyone interested in fishing or hiking this would definitely be a spot to visit. One final observation if our meals were an example for normal meals you will not go hungry, I for one was stuffed full after each lunch and dinner.
Every now and then one comes across the situation where all previous experiences are out the window and you are into a new one. In Kamchatka the experience has to be our hotel room. First of all I have to give credit to the person who did the brochure; it and reality were on different planets. We have had small rooms and bathrooms in the past but they were superseded at the ABAYA hotel thanks to
soviet planning and construction. Theoretically we had 2 double beds but if we used the 2 beds then there was no floor space for our luggage, so one bed for luggage and one for sleeping. What can I say about the bathroom is only that it was made for 4 foot midgets who would have found it confined.
The Best Laid Plans can and do go astray
About two weeks before we were to leave Travel Guild learned the airline that had been booked was in financial difficulty and was expected to file for bankruptcy while we would be on our tour. They scrambled and found another 737 plane from Flair Air in BC. The problem is that you have to get specific clearance for the plane which meant they had to re-file with airport authorities in each country. The off-shoot of this is that we are unable to fly into Kathmandu Nepal; Kuala Lumpur the capital of Malaysia has been substituted. The next upset is that China is in the midst of holidays and the person that needs to approve our landing in Beijing is on holidays and the papers haven’t been approved, so that we are currently
headed for Osaka Japan.
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JOHN McCague
non-member comment
Morgan & Mare, I see what a beatiful place Kamchatka is and am sure you will enjoy the rest of the trip. Norma is coming home on Thus. on the train & will have a quiet Thanksgiving this coming Monday. Nas Drovika, Tovarish!