June 21, 2006
My Bering Sea- Part III
After sailing from Diomede our next stop was Provideniya and Novoye Chaplino on Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula. Built during the height of the Cold War era, Provideniya was everything I ever imagined a communist city would look like. We sailed in under foggy conditions to what appeared to be a ghost town of cold concrete buildings lacking any frivolity in design or color. The city seemed so neglected with buildings in total disrepair and long forgotten by the far off government. They have a great little regional museum though. Our tour culminated at the Performing Arts Center, to be entertained by the children of Provideniya. To me it was as if all the color had been sucked out of the town and had been concentrated in the regional costumes the children were wearing, with brilliant plumage, rosy red cheeks and shy smiles they sang and danced for us.
We departed Provideniya in our transport vehicles to travel across the very bumpy tundra towards the Yupik village of Novoye Chaplino just a few miles away. I don’t believe these vehicles had shocks and sitting in the back seat I swear that my kidneys ended up somewhere near my ears! As we traveled north the weather began to improve and sun came out for a beautiful afternoon. A photo stop provided the opportunity to walk up a hillside for a shot of the sweeping mountains and tundra that greeted the chilly arctic waters. Looking down at the ground there was beauty in the starkness dotted by tiny flowers of heather and dwarf azaleas. The villagers greeted us and showed us around town. Drifting on the wind was a slightly putrid smell and I saw many a nose wiggle. We soon saw the source lying on the beach, the remains of a whale carcass that had been killed by the villagers in April. Whew!
As we were making our way back to the school gym we heard a rumbling sound getting louder and louder. I turned to see a Russian tank making its way into the center of town. I think we were all a little shell-shocked at first, thinking uh oh, what did we do? What will we do? We are in Russia, how do we get out of this situation? You could have heard a pin drop we were all so quiet and then a sigh of relief when it was explained to us that the two not so friendly looking occupants just wanted to get a look at us. We were as much a curiosity to them as they were to us! One of the guests, eleven-year-old Kevin was a huge military buff and his dad asked our guide if they could look at the tank close up. After translating a few of us were invited to climb aboard to look around. The next thing we knew we felt the gears shift and we were tearing across the tundra on the top of a Russian tank! The rush of adrenalin had our hearts beating fast as we crossed creeks and permafrost on our ride it was exhilarating if not a little bit terrifying. I was sitting next to Cruise West President and CEO Jeff Krida and we kept looking at each other and asking can you believe this? When we came to a stop we all slid off the tank wearing perma-grins and still reeling.
Our day was winding to end, but not before the community came together to dance for us, and show off the strength challenges they compete in at the annual Eskimo Olympics. We were welcomed with tea, cookies and traditional subsistence foods to sample. I was brave enough to taste the boiled walrus meat and native plants, but I just couldn’t stomach the raw sea urchin! I have been forever changed for having traveled to these communities and interacting with the people who live there and I am thankful for the chance to make a childhood dream a reality.
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 21, 2006 2:19 PM
TrackBacks
TrackBack Link for this entry
(Right-click on this link to copy the URL)
videos 
booked guests