Jaroslaw Kapinski - Touristic CV
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Jaroslaw Kapinski - touristic CV I live in Gdańsk, city in Poland at the Baltic Sea and work as a physical oceanographer and coastal engineer. My hobbies and interests are focused on travel and wildlife photography, bushcraft, survival school in wilderness and particularly on active tourism which is aimed at backpacking and extreme expeditions. Therefore, as a destination I usually choose uninhabited or underpopulated areas which are located very far from the madding crowd like extensive mountain ranges, impassable marshes, sun-burned deserts, endless steppes or untouched by human hand primeval forests. I am the immense enthusiast for lowland and mountain trekking, kayaking and cycling throughout the year, cross-country skiing as well as winter swimming at sea. Additionally, I tried my hand at cave exploration, mountain climbing, rafting, horse riding and off-road rally. Many years ago I have been fascinated by the countries of the former Soviet Union. Up to now I travelled across Belarus (trekking across Belovezhskaya Primeval Forest, kayaking on Neman, Yaselda and Shchara rivers), Latvia (kayaking on Salcia, Ula, Merkys and Nemunas rivers in Dzukija), Lithuania, Ukraine (trekking across Charnokhora and Gorganian ranges of Carpathian Mountains as well across Black Sea region) and Russia (Kaliningrad District, Ural Mountains, Caucasus Mountains, Siberia and Russian Far East). Especially I have been bewitched by Siberia, which stretches in the Asiatic part of Russia, because of the beauty and biodiversity of the nature and hospitality of its inhabitants. I visited there many spots and corners as well as discovered a few its secrets like old and contemporary labour camps and Tunguska event (place of big meteorite explosion). Among other things I explored there Primorski Mountains at the Lake Baikal, Eastern Sayan Mountains, Subpolar Ural Mountains and West Siberian Plain over the arctic circle. Therefore I have some experience in survival techniques in such areas like dark taiga, woodless and swampy tundra, isolated mountains and grassy steppe. However I prefer wilderness, I am also well familiar with such urban areas like Magadan, Angarsk and Irkutsk where I explored their colourful centres and gloomy outskirts. My experience especially concerns trekking across Siberian wilderness, although I also sailed a ship on the Lake Baikal, sailed a rubber pontoon on Angara River, canoed on Lena River, many times travelled by Trans-Siberian Rail and went by off-road car at very long distances. The beauty and boundlessness of the Siberian landscapes I also admired form a plane and helicopter. I was also one of the organisers of Transsiberia – long-distance rally leading from Gdańsk across the whole Russia to Magadan (14 thousand kilometres "on wheels" across 9 time zones). Moreover, as the first foreigner I explored Strojka 501 - part of the abandoned subpolar railway line from the Stalin’s period, which was planned to connect Salekhard with Nadym. I am also familiar with harsh Siberian winter - I hiked twice on the ice-bounded Baikal Lake spending nights in a tent, where I faced up to snow storms and very low temperatures. Usually I travel in a small group, however I also experienced a lonely rafting in pontoon on Angara River running across pristine taiga, which took a few weeks. Crossing the Siberian wilderness I sometimes stayed in regions which are totally uninhabited, hard to reach by ordinary people or closed for foreigners. Several times I was exposed to danger due to people and wild animals, I got lost in deep forest and unfavourable conditions sometimes forced me to risky moves. However, I was sometimes carelessly lazing about on the sunny beaches of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Lake Baikal as well. During my trips across Siberia I often tried rich traditional Russian cooking as well as meat of exotic animals and different processed milk products while visiting indigenous people. However, with local people I also ate pasta and raw fish by hand directly from a common bowl. Another time I looked at mice as at tasty nibbles, while I was lost in a deep Siberian forest, without reserve food. 1 Another area of my touristic exploration is the Scandinavian Peninsula, especially its northern part. The harsh climate, rocky terrain and poor nature result here in a small number of human habitats and a small amount of visiting tourists, especially those, who are engaged in mass tourism. In capricious summers sunny moments are interspersed with torrential rains accompanying frosty north winds. In addition, the ubiquitous clouds of mosquitoes discourage leaving a building or a tent even for a while and midnight sun deregulates biological clocks of human organisms. Whereas, the winter period is dominated by a very low air temperature and deep, impassable snow cover with a polar darkness lasting for several long months. Therefore, in such places the nature rules imposing all its own principles. For these reasons, touristic exploration of the northern Scandinavian wilderness, where everybody is convicted only for himself, gives a good opportunity to examine own skills in the school of survival any time of the year. All kinds of hardships being in such extremely adverse conditions, however, are compensated for the incredible views which, depending on where you are, include rocky mountain ranges, steep fjords, pristine taiga, treeless tundra, glaciers, waterfalls or rivers and lakes rich in fish. Unforgettable experience is also view the aurora borealis in the starry firmament. Another advantage is direct contact with the pure and unspoiled nature, vast and untouched by civilization landscape as well as with pervasive silence. Furthermore, wandering outside touristic trails, which are only occasionally marked in some areas, and camping in arbitrarily selected places, gives a sense of all-encompassing freedom. Definitely, the most interesting place for active tourism on the Scandinavian Peninsula is Lapland. Among its national parks I have explored the biggest ones, which are located over the Arctic Circle: Abisko, Lemmenjoki, Oulanka, Padjelanta, Pallas-Yllästunturi, Pyhä-Luosto, Sarek, Stora Sjofallet, Urho Kekkonen and Varanger. I also took part in a rafting on the Kotka River and visited St. Nicholas in Napapiri near Rovaniemi. Tourism in Poland walking / cycling / skiing (LP = Landscape Park, NP = National Park, F = Forest): Augustowska F, Białowieski NP, Biebrzański NP, Bieszczadzki NP, Darzlubie F, Drawieński NP, Drawska F, Drawski LP, Górznieńsko-Lidzbarski LP, Karkonoski NP, Kaszubski NP, Knyszyńska F, Mierzeja Wiślana LP, Nadmorski LP, Narwiański NP, Notecka F, Romincka F, Słowiński NP, Suwalski LP, Świętokrzyski National Park, Vistula Lagoon (in winter on ice), Warta Mouth NP, Welski LP, Wigierski NP, Wysoczyzna Elbląska LP, kayaking / canoeing / rafting (R = River): Augustów Canal (also on the Belarusian site), Biebrza R, Brda R (in winter), Dead Vistula R, Łupawa R, Motława R, Narew R, Nogat R, Pasłęka R, Piaśnica R (in winter), Puck Bay (at the Baltic Sea), Radew R, Radunia R, Słupia R, Szkarpawa R, Vistula R, Wda R (in winter), Wieprza R and Wierzyca R. All visited countries Andorra, Belarus, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain (Gibraltar), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine and United States of America. 2 Expeditions abroad 2020: Lithuania under the paddle kayaking on Salcia, Ula and Merkys rivers crossing wild backwoods of Dainava and Rudninku Forests in Dzukija 2019: Kaliningrad District in Russia participation in sung-poetry festival Ukhana 2019: Varangerhalvøya National Park in the Norwegian Finnmark trekking solo across the most difficult areas of the park located 500 km over the polar circle in the area of the Arctic tundra 2019: Orhei National Park in Moldova cycling trip in searching of natural and cultural-historical values of the park 2018: Pyrenees in Spain, France and Andorra trekking across environmentally protected areas: Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Nature Park, Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Pyrénées National Park and Sorteny Valley Nature Park 2018: Shchara in Belarus kayaking on one of the most beautiful rivers in Eastern Europe running away from official tourist routes 2018: Mojave and Sonoran deserts in the U.S. trekking across Joshua Tree National Park in California as well as across Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona 2017: Baikal Lake in Siberia winter expedition on ice of the Baikal Lake around the Holy Nose Peninsula being a part of the Zabaikalski National Park which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List 2016: Sarek - pearl of Lapland trekking solo across Sarek, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, being one of the wildest and most inaccessible national parks in Europe and through the Ultevis Nature Reserve belonging to the areas with the highest concentration of brown bears in Sweden 2015: Yaselda River in Belarusian Polesia kayaking on the river leading through vast and sparsely populated marshes of Polesia called green lungs of Europe (entrance to the Belarus on kayaks on the Augustow Canal, the only river border crossing of the European Union) 2015: Iceland - land of fire and ice car tour around the whole coast of the island; main attractions: volcanoes, geysers, fumaroles, lava fields, glaciers, waterfalls, ocean cliffs, black beaches, geothermal spa: Blue Lagoon and