THE REALM OF THE ICE BEAR:
THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST AND
WRANGEL ISLAND
August 4-18, 2009 15 Days/14 Nights
Audrey Benedict, Rodney Russ and the Heritage
Expeditions Staff, and the Russian Crew
of the Spirit of Enderby
The essence of Chukchi shamanism is a belief in
the unique relationship between humans, nature,
and the world inhabited by spirits. In our culture,
there are no shamans to remind us how rapidly
global warming is impacting human cultures and
ecosystems throughout the circumpolar Arctic. A
late summer voyage to the Russian Far East—the
realm of polar bears, walrus, bowhead, beluga, and gray whales, seals, millions of seabirds, and
the traditional homeland of the Chukchi people—
is a gift made possible by melting sea ice
and by the fall of the Cold War “Ice Curtain” that
once separated the Russian Far East and Arctic
Alaska. This amazing expedition begins with an
easy charter flight on Bering Air from Nome,
Alaska to Anadyr, located at 65°N in Russian
Chukotka, where we board the 48-passenger
Spirit of Enderby, an ice-hardened Russian owned
ship under charter to New Zealand-based
Heritage Expeditions. Aboard our comfortable
ship and using zodiacs for shore landings, we’ll
head north along the Chukotka Peninsula, navigating
the legendary “Whale Alley,” which is delimited
by the beautiful and uninhabited islands of
Arakamchechen and Yttygran. Once a center for
ritualized whale worship, these islands are most
famous for their spectacular whalebone structures.
Continuing on towards Cape Dezhnev, we’ll visit
the Chukchi village of Uelen, where villagers still
make their living by hunting walrus in traditional
ways. The Chukchi are unusual among Arctic
peoples in having two distinct cultures: the
village-based marine mammal hunters (ankalyn)
and the nomadic reindeer herders (chauchu) of the
tundra interior. They are a handsome people, famous
for their boat-making skills, especially their
walrus-skin umiaks, their exquisitely beaded and
decorated skin clothing, and for their expertise in
domesticating reindeer. The Uelen Chuckchi are
also renowned for their superb fossil mammoth
and walrus tusk ivory scrimshaw and sculptures.
The Chukchis endured mass imprisonment and
multiple attempts at cultural genocide at the hands
of the Russians and were among the last groups to
resist the eventual conquest of Siberia. Today,
they have largely returned to a traditional,
subsistence-based lifestyle. Our final landing in
the area will be at spectacular Kolyuchin Island,
now a wildlife sanctuary known for its seabird
nesting cliffs and walrus haulouts.
Traveling through the Bering Strait, we cross the
Arctic Circle and sail into the icy waters of the
Chukchi Sea—to our most northerly destination,
the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wrangel
Island, located at 71°14´N. Wrangel is frequently
referred to as the “Polar Bear Maternity Ward”
because it has the highest density of polar bear
dens in the world. In fact, polar bear biologists
regard Wrangel Island as the single most important
refuge for the increasingly threatened Alaska-
Chukotka polar bear population. The timing of
our trip should afford us some wonderful observation
and photographic opportunities. Mountainous
Wrangel Island is extraordinary for its biodiversity,
with more than 400 plant species, 160 migratory
bird species, the world’s largest population of
Pacific walrus (up to 100,000 in recent years),
musk ox, Siberian reindeer, and Arctic fox.
Cruising south to Cape Schmidt, we launch our
zodiacs at the mouth of the Amguema River and
explore tiny Lena Island. Continuing along the
coast, we’ll visit wildlife-rich Kolyuchinskaya
and Belyaka Inlets before heading to Provideniya,
situated at the head of a picturesque fjord. Here,
we’ll travel inland, driving across the tundra in
sturdy Russian-built trucks (called Urals), to visit
a group of nomadic Chukchi reindeer herders at
their encampment. Spending a night in a reindeerskin
tent, or yaranga, is an experience never to be
forgotten. Please join us for this amazing, oncein-
a-lifetime voyage to the Russian Far East!
Group Size: 10
Trip Rating: 3
Price and Availability: We are currently full and
can only accept wait-list reservations at this time.
Please call or email us for information on space
availability. Land/cruise prices quoted below are
per person based on double occupancy and according
to the cabin category available. The cost
does not include possible fuel surcharges to be
determined by Heritage Expeditions, Russian visas,
alcohol or other items of personal choice, gratuities
to the ship’s crew, pre- or post-trip accommodations
in Anchorage or Nome if desired,
roundtrip airfare to Nome from your point of departure,
or the roundtrip Bering Air charter flight.
(1) Main Deck Cabin: $8,271.
Lower deck location, two lower berths, porthole,
desk, washbasin, and shared bathroom.
(2) Superior Cabin: $8,872.
Middle Deck location, window, upper and
lower berths, desk, settee, and private bathroom.
(3) Superior Plus Cabin: $9,344.
Middle or Upper Deck location, two lower
berths, window, desk, settee, and private bathroom. |