From Houston to Sydney 2013

Russian Far East - 2014

 

When I woke this morning, I saw two things that surprised me.  First, I had a black eye after yesterday’s slip and fall at Avachinsky Volcano.  Second, and much more interestingly, the air was so clear that I could see all the way across Avacha Bay from my hotel.  The view across the bay was dominated by a beautiful cone-shaped volcano – Vachkazhets Peak – which I had climbed five days previously in much less pleasant weather.  I had not realized that it was possible to see Vachkazhets Peak from Avacha Bay, even though I had been on a boat on the bay that must have been almost in the shadow of the mountain – if there had been sunshine on that day to form shadows, that is.

I enjoyed the pleasure of choosing my own time to go to breakfast, and even selecting my own food, as the Avacha Hotel offers a buffet breakfast.  The sense of having been freed from prison continued!

I was due to meet Maro and the driver at 10:00am, making a leisurely start to the day that was very welcome after yesterday’s intense and prolonged physical efforts.  Our destination was half an hour’s drive east from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a black sand beach known as Khalaktriskiy Beach that faced east to the Pacific Ocean.

Although there was nothing remarkable about the morphology of the beach, its lovely setting and the beautiful weather made it a very attractive destination, so much so that I decided to walk its full length and back again, a distance of 12 kilometres.

The fine black sand appears to be washed into the sea by rivers that flow across the volcanic areas of the Kamchatka peninsula.  Once the sediment reaches the ocean, the turbulent wave action grinds the particles into the fine pieces of sand that are then deposited along the wave-sediment interface by onshore constructive depositional waves.

Clearly there are times when the waves are high-energy, as seen by several tree trunks deposited on the beach.  There are no trees growing near the beach itself, so these trees must have been carried downstream by rivers in flood, and then washed up on to beach face.

In one zone of the beach, a large berm had formed, while to the south, a pronounced progression of cusps was evident.  To the south of Khalaktriskiy Beach, some impressive coastal stacks could be seen.

In the sheltered swales of the hindune zone, a beautiful array of wildflowers was growing.  Fragrant wild roses seemed to be the dominant species, although other colourful halophilic species could also be seen in abundance.

The 12 kilometre walk took three hours, and it was something of a relief to return to the car and take the half hour drive back into Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.  Given the long walk at the beach, following the even longer walks the previous day, I decided to rest for a while before going out for further explorations – a decision that took quite a bit of self-discipline in the context of the beautiful summer’s day outside.

By 4:30pm, I could rest no longer – the perfect summer afternoon outside was beckoning me.  I was thinking of heading to the Institute of Volcanology (despite Maro’s comments that it offered nothing more of interest than the museum I had already visited), but I decided against it when I saw that it was far beyond reasonable walking distance from the hotel.

Therefore, I headed back to Lenin Square, Nikolskaya Hill and the waterfront area to take in some different aspects of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky’s superb location beside Avacha Bay, surrounded by volcanic peaks, all of which were visible in today’s crystal clear air.  Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky’s buildings might leave something to be desired, but the city’s location is one of the very few that rivals the magnificence of Sydney Harbour.  It was sheer joy to wander the streets and the pathways of the hill, enjoying the relaxed summer feel of the city, and appreciating both the sea breeze and the beautiful afternoon lighting.

My walk lasted two hours, and I was fairly hungry by the time I returned to the hotel, having missed lunch.  It was therefore somewhat disappointing to arrive at the hotel’s café just after 6:30pm to be told I could not eat there as a Japanese tour group had booked the entire café.  If I wished to eat, I would have to wait until 9:00pm.

It was actually a blessing in disguise, as I only had to cross the street from the hotel to discover a great burger and fast food restaurant, where I managed to get a huge hamburger and a can of Dr Pepper (imported from South Korea!), all for 198 roubles (just under $6).  After several weeks in Russia, I am fortunately becoming mildly proficient at interpreting Russian menus, and I am finding that fast food menus are the easiest of all for me.


Day 21 - Khalaktriskiy Beach

Monday

21 July 2014