My Favorite Airport

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The airport in Petropavlsk has got to be one of the most scenic airports in the world to fly in to.

When flying in from Moscow as you descend through the clouds, a gorgeous panorama of green hills opens in front of you.

Mix in the ocean and a scattering of dacha houses and Kamchatka takes your breath away from the moment you land.



The airport itself is located in Yelizovo and is probably the smallest airport I had seen at that point in my life. A small landing strip and a welcome sign greets you as you walk along the runway to exit the airport. The baggage is delivered in a small room, a bit bigger than my grandparents living area back home.

As you leave don't forget to look behind you, as a magestic volcano looks over you in the distance.

Kamchatka is only 8 hours, 30 minutes flight time from Moscow. However due to the flight being directly east of Moscow the time difference from Moscow is eight hours.

So literally with every hour of flight towards Kamchatka you fly one hour into your future. Having grown accustom to being six hours behind Sydney we were now two hours in front of Sydney, Australian time.

The first day we decided to have a relaxing walk around the centre of town and the bays followed by a visit to the the local pools - Paratunkiy.

Paratunkiy are located not too far from Yelizovo airport. However by public transport, particularly from CRV where we were staying in Petropavlvsk about 40 minutes bus ride from the main bus stop or the автовокзал, it's quite far to travel to the pools.

Fortunately for us, our couch surfing friend in Kamchatka Vadim and his son Anton offer to drive us and have a swim with us. The cost of entry into the pools is 200 roubles as at July 2012 and there are two pools in the lecniye (лестнее) part we visit. A warm pool about 28 C and a slightly colder one at 23 C.

Whats quite special about the pools is that they are naturally heated by the hot springs nearby. Especially nice during winter in -30 C weather, Vadim tells us it's quite common for visitors to come for the whole day with cucumber, tomatoes, cheeses and various drinks such as a thermos and alcohol if one wishes.

Then its possible to spend a day at the springs, eating, swimming and resting.

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