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After breakfast we waited at dockside for the routine passport/visa/face check with the Russian authorities. Then we set out for the country to visit an "herbalist". It turned out to be a hoot. Our talented musician did a great song & dance. First showing how native plants can be used as a tasty food supply. We were then treated to his concoctions as he plied us with vodka, song and fresh smoked salmon.

After lunch we set out for a tour of Petropavlovsk, the only major city on the peninsula and one of the oldest towns in the Russian Far East. Vitus Bering arrived in Kamchatka and laid the first foundation stone for the city in 1740 in this huge and well-sheltered harbour. Our hospitable local guide, Helen brought us to the museum of ethnography and natural history, the city overlook, the marketplace and the gold-domed Orthodox cathedral. The poor conditions surrounding the cathedral presented an interesting contrast.

After supper we worked off our steak dinner with 10 trips around the ship's jogging / walking track.

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Northern Japan — Eastern Russia — Bering Sea — Index

Great Adventures