Blogs from Far East, Russia, Europe - page 5

"Why did you come to Kamchatka?" - Dasha "I wanted to get close to the beach, to the ocean, to the great power of it all." - Natasha It's one of our final days in Kamchatka and today we decide to accompany Natasha to the beach. It's actually the main reason she chose to come to Kamchatka. Living in Sydney, and a mere 40 minutes from the ocean/beach (which is actually quite far from most Sydneysiders) I've grown to take the beach for granted at times. So it completely amazes me to meet someone who has chosen to fly 8.5 hours to come to the beach. Nonetheless we think it will be a lot of fun so we decide to join Natasha on her beach adventure. Like all fully hectics, I decide to call everyone in ... read more

Following a night of feasting and warm showers we take off early in the morning to travel to Talmachevoski valley (Толмачевская Далина). This time we join a tour with the Kamchatka Excersions led by Elena Perminova . Designed by Elena, the tours make it accessible for locals to see something of Kamchatkas beautiful nature, without the ever expensive price tag that usual tour companies attach to their Kamchatka tours. The tours are very worthwhile, especially if you understand Russian as they are led by Elena herself who has over 7 years higher education equivalent to a masters degree in Kamchatka history and anthropology. She is full of information beginning from when the land was dominated by the indigenous Evenk and kamchidan people right to when Russian Cossacks invaded in the 18th century to present day history. ... read more

Ever wanted to know how to hitch hike with a helicopter? The following is a brief how to guide: 1. Walk 40 kilometers through a national park, preferably somewhere remote like one of the national parks in Kamchatka. For this story we will use a real life example being the Nalcheyvo National Park. 2. The walk should be done at full pace so that at least part of your team is left exhausted with an injury preferably incurred along the way. We walked about 2 days with 17km covered during the first day and 23km during the second. Total injuries incurred = 1. 3. The injured person should then proceed to use the positive energies of the universe to summon the helicopter. Our injured person being Natasha, did just that. The story like a few others ... read more

"Of all the places I've been, of all the places I've seen, by far the most beautiful in Kamchatka is the Blue Lakes. Mother natures energy is so strong and powerful here you can feel it in the air as you walk, in the water you drink and on the ground you walk along." Local Kamchidalin Peter whom we meet prior to making our ascent to the blue lakes. As has become the custom in Kamchatka, we begin the morning with another early morning rise. Vadim, our super host, offers to take us to the Blue Lakes. "I'm driving to our dacha and its really on the way so it's not a hassle at all." He reassures us when we meet him at his house. We stop off at the local springs to fill up our ... read more