June 14, 2006

My Bering Sea-Part II

In June of 2003, I was back in the Bering Sea this time sailing from Nome to Anchorage. Again, I was going to be visiting places that just boggled my mind. I grew up towards the end of the Cold War era and I remember the abject terror that was struck into every Americans mind of the thought of a nuclear war. Growing up on the west coast of Washington State I was aware of the fact that geographically there are only a few miles separating the United States from Russia and that there were listening devices and missiles pointed at us just waiting for the signal. Mine was part of the collective sigh of relief when Gorbachev came to power and we saw the melting of the Cold War fear. Now I was going to be there.

There being Little Diomede, whose inhabitants saw their families divided when the Iron Curtain, or the Ice Curtain as it was referred to in the north, went up along the international border and International Date Line that runs between US owned Little Diomede and Russian owned Big Diomede. Families that had previously been able to cross the two miles of ocean separating the two islands and countries were now irrevocably divided by politics. Eventually the residents of Big Diomede were removed from the island and relocated to the Russian mainland. We arrived on a cloudy day to see this little village perched precariously on the side of a very rocky little island. We were met by grown adults who were to be our tour guides but were soon usurped by some precocious 12 year olds who were anxious to tell us about life on the island. They led us up a rocky incline to show us where they gather Murre eggs and how they have to be on the lookout for arctic fox that get on island during the winter and will steal the eggs that part of the staple diet of the Inupiat. Polar bears that travel on the sea ice that closes in around Diomede in the winter are a also a danger. We saw the evidence of their existence in the drying hides and freshly cleaned skulls lying about.

To be continued next Wednesday...

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Karen Kuest is one of our Product Managers for the US Fleet. She manages several our of West Coast itineraries, so if you've traveled with us to Alaska, British Columbia, Columbia & Snake Rivers, Karen ultimately planned your trip. Karen got her start in the travel business behind the wheel of a motorcoach in Alaska. A woman of many talents, Karen can change a tire, route a ship or narrate on the migratory patterns of the tufted puffin with the best of them!

Posted by Karen on June 14, 2006 2:10 PM

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