September 2019

I hope you enjoy the new photos from my recent trip to Kamchatka! Bears of Kamchatka Kamchatka Love, Larry

Hi Everyone  This is it. The last day of this adventure. First the day as it unfolded and then my wrap up.Woke up at 7 and then went through the dining room for my normal ritual of starring into nothing and drinking lots of coffee.  We all met at 8:45 to go to the Petropavlovsk Harbor to take a Catamaran ride and have lunch on the Catamaran. The Catamaran was very roomy and off we went. Most of the wildlife we saw were various kinds of birds. There were lots of Puffins. The puffins I had previously seen in Iceland had black bodies. These puffins had brown bodies. It is hard taking pictures from a rocking boat. Just imagine trying to focus as the boat is rocking. We finally stopped for lunch. We were served hot soup with a boiled potato and piece of salmon in it. Quite tasty. They also served cured salmon. How I love it. Could not eat enough. After lunch we went back to the harbor and disembarked.  Dmitry then took us to the local fish market and to buy souvenirs. I bought five Russian dolls for my five granddaughters and two other gifts for two of my grandsons. Poor Eli was left out. He is only one.  We then drove to downtown Petropavlovsk. A large statue of Lenin was overseeing the public square. We walked o a rocky beach while people were fishing and enjoying themselves. Got some great people photography.  It was then off to visit the largest Russian church in Petropavlovsk. Very impressive and beautiful. We went inside to witness Mass. The inside of the church was so impressive. Mass was given in Russian. A beautiful way to end this great adventure. We then went to a great steakhouse for our farewell dinner. I sat next to Sonya. She told me I should feel proud of myself for enduring many of the difficult conditions that we faced.  I leave Petropavlovsk at 1 PM and land in Moscow at 12:30 PM. That’s impossible. Not really. The flight is nine hours and there is a nine hour time difference. At 2:30 I board Aeroflot for a nonstop flight to JFK and land at 5 PM. Jet lag here we come. Pray for me to endure.  Now to summarize my trip. This trip created so many memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Camping out for ten of the fifteen days. Crawling into a one person tent. Going to the bathroom wherever. Doing both one and two on the side of an active volcano. How many people can brag about that? Seeing the dead forest. Absorbing the mood and aura of the dead forest. Raising the level of my ability to see by observing Vladimir. This ability is the trademark of a great photographer. I am constantly working on that ability. Looking at a location and creating an image before the shot is taken. The bears. I could not describe the connection I developed after observing these beautiful creatures at such a close range. How beautiful they are. It seems like two days was not enough. I am so happy that they are protected and cherished in their natural environment. These creatures do not belong in a zoo. This is were they belong. I hope my grandchildren get to see them one day here. Climbing up an active volcano to get to the crater. Being dragged by Dmitry as I reached total exhaustion. Seeing what I saw. The pulse of the earth. Beating and alive. Smoke coming out of it as I watched this amazing spectacle. All trips are eventually about the people. The Russian people who took care of us were incredible. They got such joy of seeing my photography. Photography is truly the international language. Dmitry dragging me up and down the volcano. He wanted me to see this incredible sight. Sonya watching after me and making me coffee. Natalia and her amazing cooking. The other staff members creating our tent camps and then breaking them down. The drivers of our Kamaz. How great they were. Vladimir, such a great photographer. How much I have learned from him. This trip is not for most people. At seventy, I was by far the oldest one of the group. I endured and as Sonya said “I should be proud of myself”. I am sad to leave the country of my grandparents but I will always have my memories and pictures.  The next adventure starts in early November. We are off to Tanzania and the Serengeti.  Love Larry

Hi Everyone It seems like I have been in Kamchatka for much longer than two weeks. Trips of this length tend to cause you to loose track of time. Time does not mean anything. If you spend more time somewhere it doesn’t matter and when your meals are served is not important. Breakfast was served at 8. I did not have a good rest last night. Kept on waking up and trying to stay warm. I have become tired of sleeping on the ground. My trusted bathroom bottle has served me well throughout the various camps. I would highly recommend them if and when you are crazy enough to camp out. Natalia made an extraordinary final breakfast. Her porridge was made with small pieces of dried apricot. I will miss her porridge. All the others were going on a final hike to see if there was an ice Cave in the vicinity and even if there was, it may not be safe to enter. I decided to not do the hike. My legs and shoulders are crying out for relief. I will be waiting for everyone else to return in the Kamaz. Our return trip to the hotel will take approximately three hours and then we will spend it there for the last nights of this journey. We arrived at the hotel at about 3 PM. Had lunch and we all decided to chill out and do nothing. I spent some time on the internet and then took a great swim in the natural hot springs pool. The water was so soothing to my aching body. Then I took a long hot shower and felt refreshed. How beautiful a normal bathroom is. We take so much for granted. Dinner was at 9 in the hotel restaurant. I am starting to miss Natalia’s cooking. We are going on a boat ride tomorrow and then a farewell dinner. LoveLarry

Hi Everyone How can I describe today? Will try my best and hope I convey my experience. The day started when I woke up at 6:30. Slept in my one man tent. I know I do not have many more days camping out. I am glad I experienced this way of living but it is not for everyone. Met Kip and Kevin in the dining tent for some coffee. At 8 breakfast was served. I will truly miss Natalia’s amazing breakfast. She is a true magician. I specifically love her pancakes and put caviar on it. The only way to really enjoy pancakes. At 9 will left for a very bumpy ride to the trail head of the trail to the caldera. It took about thirty minutes of bouncing up and down to arrive at the trail head. We were told that each way would be three hours or three miles to the caldera. I did not know what to expect. The first question is where do you find a caldera? It is the crater of a volcano and you have to hike up the volcano to the caldera. We started at the trail head. The Kamaz could only go so far. Up we went. Over ice fields and areas of large volcanic rocks and boulders. We were constantly rising with some flat areas. I followed Dmiitry like a mother bear and her cub. He helped me go up some areas that had forty five degree inclines and were full of sharp rocks. I began to shed my clothes. First the gloves, then the woolen hat and finally the winter jacket. The more we walked the sweatier I got. I grabbed Dmitry’s hand often as we climbed an endless series of inclines and ice fields. Finally Dmitry pointed to an area where I saw smoke rising from the earth. That was our final destination. We finally reached the last segment of the hike. Straight up. When I saw it I wanted to just sit in a big boulder and cry.Dmitry grabbed my hand and pulled me up. We finally reached the crest. I had done something that very few people my age would ever do. My heart was filled with accomplishment and joy. What I saw was truly amazing. We were facing an active volcano. Smoke was constantly coming out of the earth creating different patterns. We were up close and witnessing this amazing spectacle. I just starred at what I was looking at and grabbed my camera. I could not stop clicking. How fortunate I am to witness the strength and beauty of nature this way.Dmitry and some staff set up lunch on the ground. I just wanted to absorb all the beauty I was witnessing. After resting and taking pictures for about one hour, we decided it was time to make our way back. I could tell you that the return trip was worse. We were going downhill many times and it was much easier to fall. Also, my quads and knees started to ache. Dmitry constantly grabbed my hands and helped me down. It seemed like the hike would never end. I fell twice during the hike. Got one scratch on my leg, but otherwise did not hurt myself. I could tell you that this was one of the most difficult things I have ever done to take unique pictures. As I descended down I started to dream of the Kamaz and sitting down. Without Dmitry I would have never made it and witnessed something that will always remain in my memory. I finally saw the Kamaz in the distance. That beautiful Kamaz waiting for me. When I arrived at the Kamaz I gave the driver a big hug. I forgot to mention we were all using two walking sticks each. Without these I would not have been able to accomplish this feat. My pants were filthy, my shirt was full of sweat and my feet were swollen as I climbed onto the Kamaz. The drive back was bumpy but I didn’t care. I was dreaming about a tent shower and a chair. We arrived back at Camp and Natalia had done her magic again. Hot borsch was served. It was so good. I just sat and consumed Natalia’s borsch and felt spent. Dmitry set up my tent shower. I took off my dirty, sweaty clothes and let the hot spray of water consume me. I got dressed in clean clothes and barely made my way back to my tent for a nap. It was 7:30 PM when I awoke. I was stiff and it seemed like every part of my body was screaming. Dinner was served at 8. I could not eat. Had some wine from Georgia. That’s in Russia. Tasted quite different. A campfire was then started outside and I starred into the flames thinking of how I had challenged myself and what I had seen today. LoveLarry

Hi Everyone We left our hotel in Petropavlovsk at 9 AM for the drive to tent Camp 4. I slept well last night and felt somewhat refreshed in the morning. We left most of our clothing at the hotel and took only what we needed for two nights stay. I am hesitant about another tent camp due to the experience I had in tent Camp 2. The Kamaz picked us up at the hotel. There is another Kamaz that all of our food, tents etc. We drove for four hours over some of the roughest terrain I had ever experienced. The Kamaz bounced up and down. The distance was not far but you could not do any speed with the non existence of any roads. We made some toilet stops wherever. The terrain reminds me of Iceland. Lots of patches of snow between volcanic lava rocks and black sand. Very barren with some large snow streaked volcanoes. We finally arrived at our campsite. The staff set up our dining room tent while we roamed around. Then I saw it. From our campsite we are looking directly at a caldera with smoke coming out of the earth. I took a folding chair up to the end of the cliff, sat down, put my 100-400 lens on and waited for the smoke. Every time smoke appeared it created a different pattern and shape. From mushrooms to funnels I kept on clicking. I fell in love with the situation. Told Dmitry he needs to get me near the smoke. He smiled sat me. Finally the Camp was set up. Lunch was served. Natalia cooked meat and chicken balls. I had the strips of salmon instead with some caviar. Caviar is always served and the Russian people will put it on anything. The salmon is so good. The same salmon the bears eat. Now I can understand why they love sockeye salmon. The salmon I ate was cured a little. The best I have ever had. After lunch or about 3:30, the weather turned and fog rolled in and then some rain. Vladimir was going to take us to a waterfall to shoot late in the day. The location was about a thirty minute Kamaz ride over bumpy slopes and terrain. At about 6 PM we decided to drive to the waterfall since there was nothing to do at Camp and see if the fog lifts. By the way, each one of us has our own crawl in tent and one of the staff dug a hole in the ground, put a portable toilet over the hole and set up a small tent around the facility. No problem. I have used this type of facility in Mongolia for two weeks. The drive to the waterfall might have been the most bumpy ride I have ever taken. We bounced around the Kamaz and had to hold on for dear life. We finally arrived at the waterfall and could not see a thing. The fog was on top of us but we heard the sound of the waterfall. Vladimir put up his drone and told us that we were at the edge of the fog and should wait until 8 PM. We decided to wait and just as we were ready to leave, the fog started to lift and we started to click away. As the fog was lifting we got some good images of the waterfall and the surrounding mountains and volcanoes. After about one hour, we decided to leave since we did not want the driver to drive back in total darkness. Could be very dangerous. The ride back was also very bouncy. We finally arrived back in Camp in almost total darkness. Natalia had barbecued pork and beef steaks. A great meal. Tomorrow we have a three mile hike up to the caldera. This is where the smoke was coming from. My back is hurting all the time and I am living on Motrin. I will not miss this hike. A total of six miles with some up hill. I need to take pictures of this living thing. We were told that we need to carry our cameras in a camera bag or backpack since many of the gases are acidic and they could hurt the camera and lens if totally exposed all the time. We sat around a camp fire for a while and then each of us eventually crawled into our tents. Pray for me tomorrow. I need to make it to the rim of this crater. LoveLarry

Hi Everyone How did my day start? Woke up at about 6 AM. Not too comfortable sleeping in a tent between two Russian bears snoring. Got my old tired bones up, dressed and went to the dining hall for coffee and to edit some more pictures. I can tell you I really got some great bear shots. Vladimir told me that I had gotten more quality bear shots than everyone else combined. One he is drooling over. Where else to go to see and do bear photography but to Russia and specifically to Kamchatka? The brown bear is a symbol of Russia and is one of their national treasures. I will always remember the beauty and grace of these magnificent creatures. How the mother bear protects her cubs and how they follow her around for three years. Talk about strong relationships. I hope my grandchildren get to see them one day in such an environment. Breakfast was served at 8 AM and we were supposed to leave via helicopter at 10. The problem is that there was fog all over. The helicopter could not take off from Petropavlovsk until 11:30 and we finally lifted off at 1 PM. The helicopter ride took about an hour. We finally landed in Petropavlovsk and saw our friendly Kamaz waiting for us. Our luggage was loaded and off we went to the same hotel we left on Monday morning. I was given the same room and immediately took a long hot shower and shave. How good it felt. Met everyone for lunch at 3 PM. Had fish dumplings. Very tasty. Some of the other photographers went into town for street photography. I need to mope and rest my tired legs and hands. Your hands and fingers get tired taking pictures everyday. Dinner is at 8:30. We will then go over tomorrow and our final tent camp. We will be sleeping again in single person tents for two nights. I have endured everything up to this point and will certainly plow through the remainder. LoveLarry