Eugene Kaspersky An Extraordinary Expedition to the Kurils 20 days touring the remote far-eastern islands From the author The idea to go on a long cruise around the Kuril quite some years – until it reached critical mass most suitable vessel for the trip was selected. Islands to the east of Russia came to me, for sure, and I decided that I just had to get there: that Crucially, all participants were informed that while vacationing on nearby Kamchatka, which I the next annual August reboot-expedition would this wasn’t going to be pool gym beach do often. That’s my favorite place on the planet be to the Kurils. pina colada spa Cuba libre paperback for an August ‘hard reset’: volcanoes, geysers, single malt… tourism. This was wild marine- hot springs, bears and other similarly extreme That was back in 2013, when the preparation for based adventurism in a harsh climate on bleak extremities. But every time I was on Kamchatka our Kuril trip began – only to end a year later. islands a long long way away. Internet or cell the locals there were always saying things like: The ‘who’s going’ was established (friends who coverage – forget it! “Yes, but on the Kurils there’s…” or: “we’ve heard are lovers of extreme tourism and intense nature that on the Kurils there’s even…” and so on. So experiences), the optimal route was calculated, my curiosity had been growing and growing for the Kuril territory was surveyed, and the 2 3 Location: The Kuril Islands The small islands that form a slightly curved The Kurils are bleak, and in plenty of ways – And here’s another curious etymological fact: chain stretching between the Kamchatka plain and simple. Extreme weather, poor the name for the Sea of Okhotsk comes from the Peninsula (Russia) to the north and Hokkaido communications with the continent, a 100% Evenki name for the river Akhot, situated near island (Japan) to the south are called the Kuril mark-up on all imported goods (and just about today’s Okhotsk port. The Russian Cossacks, Islands. The chain is some 1200 kilometers in all goods are imported from mainland Russia), getting this far east in the 17th century, length, while the land area of all of the islands and a constant threat of natural disasters such russified it to Okhota (‘hunt’), and that’s where together is around 10,500 km². In all there are as volcano eruptions, earthquakes and tsunami! the name of the sea comes from. The meaning 56 islands; most form the Greater Kuril Ridge, of akhot – big. with just a handful making up the Lesser Kuril The name of the islands comes from the Ainu Ridge down by Japan. (language) word for ‘man’, the Ainu (ethnic group) being the indigenous, fast disappearing, people of the Kurils. Kamchatka Peninsula 1 Twenty Days First Kurilsky Strait Atlasov Island in August 2014 evero-Kurilsk humshu Island 2 Antsiferov Paramushir Island 3 Island The outline plan for the expedition went Day 0 Day 9 Fourth Kurilsky Strait something like this: Fly to Petropavlovsk- Flight in. Cut to the chase with sulfuric bathing Simushir. Zavaritsky volcano’s caldera. Makanrushi Island Kamchatsky. There – onto a small ship, and then in hot springs. Fighting the jet lag. 4 nekotan slowly cruise round the most interesting of the Day 10 Island Krenitsyn Strait Kuril Islands from north to south, ending up in Day 1 Urup. Fishing, hike around hot springs. Ekarma arimkotan Island 5 Island Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, from where we fly home. Embarkation onto the boat and of we go! Chirinkotan In all – 20 days on the road boat, airplane to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Paramushir Day 11 Island hiashkotan Island airplane. (Severo-Kurilsk). ~350km, 18-hour journey, 10 Iturup. Hot river, hot waterfalls. 42°C water knots = 18.5 km/h. (the answer to the ultimate question of life, the Krusenstern Strait Raikoke But the actual day-to-day route turned out as universe and everything). Island 6 Matua follows: Day 2 Island Paramushir, Ebeko volcano, rain and wind. Day 12 Iturup, Atsonupuri volcano. Real tough day. Rasshua 7 Ushishir Island Day 3 Islands 8 Paramushir, ‘easy’ day, lighthouse ruins. Day 13 Ketoy Island Shikotan, walking, swimming in the ocean. imushir Day 4 Island routona 9 Onekotan, Krenitsyn volcano, 30km there and Day 14 Island back. The world’s most beautiful volcano. Kunashir, Tyatya volcano. Bussol Strait Chyornye ratya Islands Day 5 Day 15 Kharimkotan, easy day, walk along the coast. Kunashir, lava columns. Berries (moss berries, wild strawberries), search 10 Urup for floating artifacts. Day 16 Island Kunashir, Mendeleyev volcano, difficult ascent. Vries Strait Day 6 akhalin 11 Island Matua. On-foot excursion around the island. Day 17 Rusty steel barrels, derelict military bases. Kunashir, Golovnina volcano, hot sulfuric mud. 1 12 Iturup Island Day 7 Day 18 Kunashir Island 1 Rasshua. ‘Walk’ around the local hills ‘Hammer’ Yuzhno-Kurilsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 25-hour Ekaterina Strait and ‘Sickle’, rain, and Siberian dwarf-pine. The journey. Yuzhno-Kurilsk ‘road of death’. 15-16-17 13 Day 19 hikotan Day 8 Seafood market and flying back home. Island Kunashirsky Strait Ushishir. Sea caldera, walking through seven- foot-high grass; Arctic foxes and hot springs. 6 7 Our ‘vacation’ was, to say the least, an unusual one. But that was to be expected – thankfully by all of us. Indeed we were all physically and morally prepared for the trip, for we knew it was going to be tough… but not THAT tough. And not THAT terrible – and amazing at the same time (rather – at different times). Every one of us admitted afterwards it was the single most… contrasting helter-skelter-like ‘vacation’ they’d ever been on! Still, for me, the best r&r is when you have severe contrasts: when you combine the overcoming of artificially created obstacles with compensatingly intense and unique positive emotions. All that’s sure what we got! It was so good I think we’ll have to go back to the Kurils at some point in the future now we’ve gotten over the debutante’s teething problems. However, the unique first- time impressions we’ll never have again. We were often nearly knocked off our feet by hurricanes, drenched with cold rain, and nearly scalded by hot springs. We were violently rocked about on the ship by waves, and forever tripping over lose rocks while climbing up the latest mountainside. For hours we would stare at the surrounding landscapes from the top of volcanos and calderas. The evenings we’d pass singing songs to the strumming of an acoustic guitar. Each day was like a heroic feat. And every morning we’d wake without knowing just what would be in store for us that day: how far we’d have to walk, how easy or difficult it would be, would there be rain and wind or bright sun? Like I say: dizzying contrasts… 8 9 The Team In all there were 20 of us on the expedition – just right, since our ship slept a maximum 20. Each one of us was either a seasoned traveler with an appetite for the unusual and extreme, or a newbie who’d convinced us sufficiently that their stamina was of the required level. In all, a robust team of the able-bodied – as proved throughout the 20-day resilience test: a team that could be relied on for future tough-tourism jaunts… 10 11 Petropavlovsk- Kamchatsky Our journey of contrasts began with the This is a former Soviet holiday camp, with the Aeroflot flight from Sheremetyevo in Moscow menu – and service – still very much Soviet to to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. To my surprise this day. Really, the place is awful; but one thing the plane, a Boeing 777, was brand new, as in – makes up for all its shortcomings: each cabin almost zero on the clock! In all my flying I’d never has its own mini-swimming pool with fresh once been on a brand spanking new plane. hot-spring water in it! These are just perfect for spending an evening in with a few friends round, Now, if you fly in to Petropavlovsk from Moscow, nibbling at the fresh seafood and sipping the it’s best not to do much at all on the day of local mineral water and beer (both beverages arrival. There are eight hours between the two being very… volcanic, and exceptionally tasty). cities so the jetlag can be a killer – even for more experienced travelers. And it’s best of all ‘not to The hotel also features two larger pools do much at all’ in Paratunka, which isn’t far from for everyone’s use. These, too, are highly Yelizovo Airport (around 30km) or Petropavlovsk recommended for dipping into. (50 km). In Paratunka each hotel has its own thermal springs and swimming pools, each with their own temperature norms. I’ve stayed at quite a few, but my favorite is the Hotel Helios. – Как водичка? Нормально? – Геотермально! 12 13 1 & 2 – Salmon caviar. 6 – Plaice. Fresh out of Petropavlovsk fish market. Spread Kamchatka – what better place for plaice? copiously on fresh white bread with lashings of butter, washed down with Kamchatkan beer – 7 – Halibut. Cuisine on the Road perfect. You can pick up a whole kilo of the stuff at Only one piece of this should sate you as it’s the market for a mere 900–1200 rubles ($13–19)! rather fatty. Incidentally, you may think salmon caviar is all 8 – Kamchatkan butter. I reckon I should start a new ‘column’ on my So here we are – the first installment of my Kamchatsky, where we spent the day before the same, much like non-Eskimos think all snow On its own it’s kinda plain; a caviar butty without blog on gastronomical revelations from various gastronomical mini-guides to dinner-table food setting off to the Kurils..