First impressions of Kamchatka

We flew several hours north and east last Sunday, arriving on Kamchatka Peninsula in the early evening. The air when we got off the plane was a shock-- only about 50 degrees Fahrenheit! Coming in by air we could see all of the live volcanos that surround Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Here's one shot:



We met the owner of a regional television station and his director of marketing in the Vladivostok aiport and they took us to the hotel and then out to dinner along with the owner's wife. This is all of us together at the airport:



We ate amazing food in a Georgian restaurant-- fresh cheeses and tongue, vegetables with nut paste, thick pancakes with meat and cheese, roasted meats, and more. And of course, all of it washed down with lots of berry-flavored Ukranian vodka. The next morning was rough, to say the least.

Since then I have taught two days at the Kamchatsky Regional Library and continued to explore the breathtaking nature of the region. Yesterday we went to the local hot springs. I was too afraid of getting sick from the cold air to get in, but I had a lovely walk around the grounds and captured some photos that I'm making into a slideshow for tomorrow.