Day 5 (2016-09-16)
Today was a beautiful day with clear skies and mountains arising around the shoreline as we awoke anchored in Bukhta Natalii (Bukhta means bay). Three options were available; a long and difficult all day hike to from a Bukhta Pavla to Bukhta Petra. The intermediate one was doing a hike to an interior lake along a river across the tundra and the third was a zodiac cruise. We took the intermediate one and it was truly a stunning walk. The ground underfoot was covered with tundra fall foliage (blueberries, lingonberries, dwarf willow bushes, dwarf rhododendrons, allium plants, and many others) in hillocks amid spongy, wet, and rocky surface. The footing was moving from hillock to hillock going uphill trying not to get too wet as we had changed from our rubber landing boots to hiking shoes. When we arrived at the lake it was a beautiful scene with mountains rising above it and a crystalline surface on which were two red throated loons. We stayed there for a while admiring it and then returned back to the zodiacs and then the ship for lunch.
After lunch, we had moved to another place on Bukhta Natalii where there were the ruins of old fish factories; one Japanese and the other Soviet. We took the zodiacs out and the surf was quite difficult at the landing site, but the staff were able to get everyone landed safely. The sites were what Vic calls 'decay porn;' rusty tin can remnants, old shacks falling apart, old iron beds where there once must have been a structure above them, decrepit old trucks, a Soviet border control building, and a lookout tower, all falling apart and rusty. We also saw peregrine falcons diving off the cliffs behind, although at a distance. That ended quite a nice day of hiking.
Today was a beautiful day with clear skies and mountains arising around the shoreline as we awoke anchored in Bukhta Natalii (Bukhta means bay). Three options were available; a long and difficult all day hike to from a Bukhta Pavla to Bukhta Petra. The intermediate one was doing a hike to an interior lake along a river across the tundra and the third was a zodiac cruise. We took the intermediate one and it was truly a stunning walk. The ground underfoot was covered with tundra fall foliage (blueberries, lingonberries, dwarf willow bushes, dwarf rhododendrons, allium plants, and many others) in hillocks amid spongy, wet, and rocky surface. The footing was moving from hillock to hillock going uphill trying not to get too wet as we had changed from our rubber landing boots to hiking shoes. When we arrived at the lake it was a beautiful scene with mountains rising above it and a crystalline surface on which were two red throated loons. We stayed there for a while admiring it and then returned back to the zodiacs and then the ship for lunch.
After lunch, we had moved to another place on Bukhta Natalii where there were the ruins of old fish factories; one Japanese and the other Soviet. We took the zodiacs out and the surf was quite difficult at the landing site, but the staff were able to get everyone landed safely. The sites were what Vic calls 'decay porn;' rusty tin can remnants, old shacks falling apart, old iron beds where there once must have been a structure above them, decrepit old trucks, a Soviet border control building, and a lookout tower, all falling apart and rusty. We also saw peregrine falcons diving off the cliffs behind, although at a distance. That ended quite a nice day of hiking.
No comments:
Post a Comment