At the bottom of the page click on the YouTube link to see the photos.
We are several oceans and a continent away from home, in a land of continual daylight, compensating for the 24/7 darkness of December and January. The sun is messing with my head and I can’t sleep. But that’s not all – we are roughing it in northern Russia, in the largest city in the world located above the Arctic Circle – Murmansk, with a population of 350,000. Because we could only obtain a “group entry visa”, we’re travelling together like a flock of sheep. This groupie-thing is not for me – I don’t like following someone else’s itinerary – but here in Russia it’s nice to sit back and let someone else drive, navigate and make the decisions.
Our beautiful guide Anna showed us the highlights of the city. She talked about the history of Murmansk in a language that doesn’t exist on this planet. First we stopped at the ?Monument, (didn’t get the name) dedicated to those who defended the city during World War II. Fierce resistance and harsh geography prevented the Germans from capturing the city. Trust me I kept my mouth shut in fear of having to live out the rest of my life in Siberia. Next the Orthodox Church – yippie yippie yeah!
We then roamed the decaying highways and byways for a fine look at family-in-the-street life. Laundry flaps in the wind, kids play soccer, and fish sizzle over tiny curbside hibachis. Squadrons of sun-dried fish are crucified on nets pulled tightly around wooden frames and left under the midday sun.
There were four excursions to pick from and we chose the Murmansk & Oceanarium – the only aqua-complex where Arctic seal are studied and trained in this climate. As soon as we entered, a nuclear-powered blast of “FISH” annihilated me. I swear if I put the clothes I wore into a packed gymnasium of sweaty basketball players, no one would smell anything but fish. The highlight of the aqua-show was seeing an oversized type of sea-slug named Rose strumming the pink guitar.
As soon as we got back onboard, I put our clothes in the washer, with nostrils stinging. When I withdrew them, there was almost no change in the smell. Since we wore mostly wool clothing, I couldn’t risk drying them in the drier. So I hung them up in the bathroom. Now our entire cabin smells like fish.
At sail-away we broke out a bottle of champagne to celebrate the departure of Murmansk. Dressed like on Eskimo, I sat on the balcony and watched, transfixed by the massive Icebreakers, Navy ships, Oil rigs and fishing boats maneuvering the northern sea lanes. As we cruised past Severomorsk, the headquarters for the Russian Northern Fleet, 2 submarines, with their towers above water, escorted us out the Kola Peninsula – the Russian Lapp territory.
Midnight came and passed and the blood-red sun never touched the rim of the sea. I moved the clothes from the bathroom to the balcony. If the typhoon of fish still storms my nose in the morning, I’ll throw them overboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cy8vTvy3ig
Click on the above YouTube link to see the pictures.
