Sunday, July 26, 2009

Kiska, Attu and to Kamchatka Russia

The statue of St. Peter & St. Paul... Russian is a very hard language to try to read or understand. We are muddling through. The day we arrived in Kamchatka was a holiday Navy Day. They were celebrating their Navy and we had to dock right alongside of 3 Navy vessels that were giving tours of the top deck of the boats. They also had a carnival, and lots of other events going on. We got to see alot of the culture as there were thousands of people out and about for the holiday.




Downtown Kamchatka, near the Central Market





At the central market they sold everything from clothing, shoes, electronics, smoked fish, cavier, fresh fish & cheeses, honey, flowers, all kinds of meats, and just about anything you wanted.







Big buckets of Cavier goes for about 1600 Rubels per kilo and the exchange rate is $30.00 for 1 rubel







I think this sign is advertising cavier, but not sure. I just liked getting some Russian words in the pictures.





Lenin square in Kamchatka




Navy Day celebrations in Kamchatka






Sans Souci docking next to the Russian Navy ships, we rafted up next to them, and Grey Pearl came alongside of us (Seabird)













This was the morning we came into Kamchatka, it was really foggy!!!





While on Attu we toured the Coast Guard Loran C facility, and watched the C130 take off.





The hills above Massacre Bay. The name did not come from the war, but from when the russians occupied Attu and made the natives work for them hunting seals for fur, and when they refused, the Russians killed them therefore it was then named Massacre Bay.







This is the monument for the Japanese, placed by the Japanese here on Attu for the battle that took place in which all their men died, either in the war, or suicide. Even the sick and wounded that were hospitalized were given hand grenades or were shot up with morphine to die. For the Japanese it was a disgrace for them and their family to surrender, that is why the monument. We were told that there are several of these stars scattered throughout the Pacific.




These stars are made of titanium and the Japanese visit them yearly.







Our visit to the Coast Guard Station on Attu was very interesting, and our host Scott was very welcoming.






This is Casco Cove our anchorage at Attu.












Some Volcanoes on our way from Adak to Kiska, before it got really rough.









Sans Souci was really taking on the waves, as I am sure we were, I do not have any pictures of the boat we are on. This was our worst part of the trip.













Chocolate Lily's






Wayne in the caves on Kiska. These caves were dug in the side of the hill by the Japanese. This is where they hid from the Americans, and ambushed them as they came up the hills. This Island has lots of old war stuff just sitting and rusting. There are old trucks, quanset huts, and other items just piled up and left.





Inside of these caves are carved out and there is only about 4 feet to stand up in, they even had places in the walls that where cut out that looks like they had some sort of lighting, like lanterns.







Our anchorage at Kiska, we arrived to find 2 large fishing vessels one about 400' & the other about 200' and also a sailboat from Norway, that had just came over from Japan. As we hiked another sailboat come into the harbor. We could not believe it ...that there were 7 boats in such a remote place.



This is some of what you see scatteted all over the island













This is a 2 man Japanese submarine that is on the island there is another washed up on the beach.









This minke whale followed us out of the harbor at Adak, and was only about 14 feet from the boat.














1 comment:

Holly said...

Wow great stuff guys.. those choppy seas must have been quite scary! Love the whale.. and the submarine!