I can see Russia from my window.

[drron]

On the way to the church our guide said there were no slums in Petropavlosk as it housed the main nuclear submarine base and wages were higher here than in the rest of Russia.Well-

But at least our bus was better than that for a Russian tour group-

the church however had been renovated-

More religion next.

 

[drron]

The inside of the church was literally covered by icons-

and of course there was the usual babushka-

an impressive chandileer-

and naturally a shop-

next more of the city.

 

[drron]

The area around the church was very poor to say the least.Since the implosion of the Soviet union jobs at the sub base have been lost so the population has fallen from ~ 270,000 in 1989 to ~ 180,000 now.

Now I must say I did not expect this brand of beer in russia-

And here is the intersection of the 2 main roads in the town centre-

next-to the central markets.

 

[drron]

The Army barracks appeared to be the best building in town-

Then there was the hospital-

The market building was modern-

A good selection of fruit and veggies though some did appear past their use by date-

lots of dried food-

Meat was frozen and generally just sawed into large chunks-

And considering the major industry here is now fishing it was surprising how much of the seafood was frozen-

next-more of the markets.

 

[drron]

A lot of the fish was either dried-

or smoked-

There were king crabs and salmon roe-

And outside some cheaper stuff-

And a play area for the kids-

And there was a lot of this stuff-

which is wild garlic shoots.on the way back to the ship we saw lots of it growing by the roadside-so why buy it?
next-the cathedral.

 

[drron]

They are building a new Russian Orthodox cathedral.It is not open yet but we had a 5 minute stop on thje way back to the ship-

Good views over the city-

And there were T34 factories here-

Back at the dock they had set up stalls with cheap Russian souvenirs-

My grey hair was not out of place here!Now the fishing boats at the dock-

On our way back to the Shadow.I didn't realise it until i downloaded the pics that one of the volcanoes made a fleeting appearance through the cloud!

Hard to make out though.
Next-leaving Petropavlosk.

 

[drron]

On the way back to the ship-Petropavlosk beach-

And more of the harbour-

And the coastguard-

the ship gets some TLC-

Back on board as the tender goes back for another load-

The pilot boat had to make 2 trips back to port to offload all the officials who had remained on board all day drinking whisky-

Next-off to Dutch Harbour/Unalaska.

 

[Misha]

DrRon this is brilliant stuff - keep it coming.

You are a lucky traveller indeed!

The renovated church tower - are they planning on painting it (that you know of) to resemble the rest of the church building - or is it like that to stay (since they are building a new cathedral)? *such a shame if not*

Looking fwd to the rest...

 

[drron]

I dont know Misha but there was a ladder up the tower so maybe-

We finally say goodbye to the pilot boat-

A lot more bird life as we steam out of the bay-

And a trio of rocks guarding the exit-

And we say goodbye to Russia-

Another 3 sea days until our first stop in the Aleutians.Day 8 and there is a 2 metre swell-this is the worst we get on this cruise which is really amazing as this area is known for it's fierce storms especially at this time of year-think Deadly catch.We continue our good run at trivial pursuit.Have dinner with a couple from Jersey-he another cricket tragic,as well as the ship's engineer.A really good night.
Day 9 and the weather improves.have lunch with an elderly American couple.they have been on the Shadow since January4 only missing the 2 weeks it had in dry dock in Singapore.when they get off in Vancouver they will have spent over 1000 nights on Silverseas ships.there is a couple however who have done more.He puts his longevity down to the fact he drinks 2 bottles of red wine a day-must up my intake.
Our trivia run comes to an end tonight so we commiserate with another night in Le Champagne-Delights of north america-again fabulous with lobster starring.
Day 10 and try unsuccessfully to decrease our caloric intake-they put foie gras and lobster on the menu.But back to winning at trivia.
next-Dutch Harbour/Unalaska.

 

[samiam]

Thanks for the wonderful pics and commentary- looks great!

 

[TonyHancock]

Have dinner with a couple from Jersey-he another cricket tragic,as well as the ship's engineer

I'm really beginning to like the idea of a cruise. (I am a true cricket tragic, with an unbroken hardback collection of Wisden Cricketers Almanac back to 1941!)

 

[drron]

The day before arriving at Unalaska there was quite a nice sunset-

The next day we awoke as we were coming into Dutch Harbour-

Today was a free tour of Unalaska/Dutch harbour-well there isn't that much there.first stop was a Russian Orthodox church-

but note the top of the cross-

Yes a bald eagle.They were everywhere.
more of Unalaska next.

 

[drron]

A quiet beauty-

Then off to the museum-

a small museum but very interesting.We learnt about the forced evacuation of the Aleuts-during WW2 after the Japanese had invaded islands further to the west the Aleuts were evacuated with no notice and allowed 1 suitcase per family.When they returned the other 5 villages on the Island had been given away by the government to people from other islands who had had their land appropriated by the US Congress.One result is the native population had gone back and collected their church icons meaning the church here has one of the best collection of RO icons that exists-no photos were allowed inside the church though.
At least I remembered to give the AFF tag a run-

back at the museum fresh life was emerging-

The next stop was the Military museum,unfortunately not enough time allowed here-

That is next.

 

[drron]

Here we learnt about the battle for Attu.The Japanese had landed on Attu and Kiska in June 1942.The 40 Aleuts on Attu were taken to Japan.24 survived the war.However once again they were not allowed home the Government saying it would be too expensive to rebuild their village.
The battle of Attu ranks as the second highest proportion of casualties of any battle in WW2 behind Iwo Jima.Of the 2379 Japanese on the Island only 28 survived.the Americans lost 549 dead and 3300 out of battle due to wounds,disease or exposure-the troops had been sent from Nevada with desert uniforms.Many had amputated limbs due to exposure.
Worse was to come on Kiska.The Japanese had withdrawn to Attu unknown to the americans.When they landed there 300 died from friendly fire.
Next to the Military museum is Alaska's shortest commercial runway-

Old hangars-

And our ship from the museum-

We then went back to town.Outside the hotel is still a Pillbox-

Now this port is responsible for 40% of Alaska's seafood exports.A surprise then to see the frozen food in the local supermarket-

Yes from Taiwan.But even the Kiwi's get in on the act-

Next leaving Unalaska.

 

[steptoe]

Fascinating TR as always drron. Its been 29 years since I travelled on a cruise from San Francisco to Southampton. Your reports have rekindled an interest. Just need to convince my better half that she wants to go on a cruise. Using your reports as encouragement.

 

[tgh]

Great report keep it up.....

 

[TonyHancock]

I'm finding this fascinating. It doesn't stand out as what I think of as a "traditional cruise", it seems so much more. I would really like to try something like this.

 

[tgh]

Not wanting to pollute Drron's pitch .. but for those interested in a more natural/ authentic/your adjective ... cruise experience .. check out the previous report by this Author about the Silversea expedition ship PAII

 

[drron]

I agree with tgh-I would rather do a cruise on the Silver Explorer(previously known as PA 11) than this particular ship as it usually doesn't go into port but you land via zodiacs.However this cruise was done first because of the destinations-nature and unusual places are my preference.But it was also done because my knee has been getting worse at an accelerating rate-I now could not do what I did in Antarctica in January.But in less than 2 weeks the knee replacement is happening.
However I really did enjoy this cruise-but possibly because it had so few people on board.I could not envisage doing a cruise on a 1000 + vessel say on a 7 day South Pacific,Carribbean or Meditterranean cruise.the Captain told a story of arriving at Santorini 2 hours after a 5000 + pax ship had arrived and still having to wait an hour until his pax could land at the dock and another hour before they could get to the top-no thanks to that.
We are however looking cat other cruises and have booked one on the Amazon.Also looking at the Silver Explorer on cruise up or down the South American or African coasts.
So we will cruise again but I still have not been on a vessel with more than 118 pax.
Back to the TR tonight.

 

[tgh]

We have been on a couple of the bulk carriers, Diamond Princess across the ditch when it was quite new and the Celebrity Constellation in the Baltic.
Smaller, more upmarket ships were next , the Paul Gauguin in the Pacific , and the PAII to Antarctica.

A toe dip on one of the bulk carriers working 'Oz next year is a good intro .. a bit like your first o/s flight .. you won't notice the seats ..
There is presently excess capacity across the industry and the deals are inviting albeit at the cost of slipping standards.

Hope that knee op isn't a lateral pkr drron .. I was nearly sold one but they don't last.
I lost a ton of weight and the knee has a new lease on life.