If ever you hear the Russian for “town” (gorod) uttered in Kamchatka, what are normally being referred to are the practically conjoined towns of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yelizovo (where around two-thirds of the population of the whole peninsula live – ~200,000 out of ~290,000) – here. It’s what happens when there’s a single… micropolis in a region ).

Behind the town there are three charming volcanoes, fondly referred to as the domashny volcanoes – domashny meaning “homely”, “domesticated” (as in – not wild), or “of the home” – kind of like… a pet, or the comforts of a home (also a “home” instead of, say, a “pro” version of something like a product).

Aaaaaany way, the domashnies are the Koryaksky, Avachinsky and Kozelsky volcanoes, which form the much cherished and appreciated backdrop to the administrative center of Kamchatka. Cherished and appreciated, that is, when they’re visible, which is rarely – including when we were there this year, when we only caught brief glimpses of them between passing clouds from the helicopter:

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Hi folks!

You’ve had volcanoes and geysers and out-of-this-world scenery; now for the more practical side to life in Kamchatka – where to bed down of a night!…

First, let me state the obvious: Kamchatka’s no resort. It has long beaches, but the ocean’s always cold; and Kamchatka’s also hard – and expensive – to get to given it’s so remote. Accordingly, there aren’t the corresponding hundreds of large chain hotels dotting its coastline. But, obviously, there have to be places to stay – and there are; they’re just more modest than your Marriott’s and Hiltons, etc. Nevertheless, the places to stay and the level of service at them is decent, and getting better by the year – as we keep finding out ourselves…

Our first overnight is practically always in or near the village of Paratunka, not far from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – here. Why? Because it’s built upon magical hot springs: hot, pure mineral water on tap and in the pools of all the guesthouses in the village – which range from the bare basics to rather the luxurious…

This year we spent the night in the village next door to Paratunka called Termalny (Thermal). And here’s the guesthouse we stayed in:

And here’s its naturally-heated pool. Yes – new. Yes – very nice! And just look at the view!…

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Onward – southward, from Bakening in the direction of Lake Tolmachova – where we were to stay overnight next…

The scenery – once again – magical:

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Hi folks!

Kamchatka – the remote peninsula that just keeps on giving (you more and more OMG-astonishing-bewildering-meditationing-mindblowing impressions and sensations). But you know that already if you’re not new to this here blog of mine. If you are new – read on: you’ll get the drift in a single post – this one!…

And so, onward we choppered – along the Sreddiny Range after our brief landing on Khangar. Next up – as you’ve already guessed from the title: the volcano called Bakening. No – not Báke-ening, but Bakéning, so you can banish images of either baking a cake, or frying streaky bacon with your full English right now – before you work up an untimely appetite!…

[Returning from the kitchen…] Now where was I? Ah yes – Bakéning volcano…

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Hi folks!

The Kamchatkan peninsula is where the North American and Pacific tectonic plates meet and constantly rub against each other – warping, destroying, and rebuilding the territory. This process leads to all sorts of natural wonders – both underground and on the surface…

Now, the volcanoes we’d already checked out on our Kamchatka-2024 trip (the Klyuchevsky group, Kizimen, Tolbachik, the Uzon caldera, the Valley of Geysers) happen to be rather new creations of nature. The Valley of Geysers is only several thousand years old (judging by the geyserite, apparently), and the mentioned volcanoes and others nearby are also mere wee nippers: merely tens of thousands of years old – not millions, and certainly not tens of millions like, for example, the Himalayas.

Thus, the east coast of Kamchatka and all the volcanisms along it I’ve already shown you are all relative new kids on the block peninsula. But down the middle of Kamchatka is the so-called Sredinny Range (sredinny = middle) – where there was volcanic activity hundreds of thousands of years ago – if not millions…

And it’s beautiful – incredibly so. And that’s where we were headed next…

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Fifteen kilometers southwest of Maly Semyachik is one of the two largest active volcanoes in Kamchatka (the other is Shiveluch) – Karymsky. Being so big and active, it’s a must-see – but only in fine weather. Alas, this year we simply flew past it a since – as the title of this post states – the weather wasn’t great, plus Karymsky’s peak was shrouded in cloud…

I’d long dreamed of one day sitting on the bank of Karymsky Lake, located next to Karymsky volcano, on a sunny day to be able to take a photo of the volcano’s reflection on the lake’s surface – but this year it wasn’t to be. Next time. Still, even on this overcast day the views weren’t so bad – albeit without the reflection off the lake…

No – that’s not Karymsky smoking; it’s cloud cover ->

But Karymsky is a known – inveterate! – smoker. Shouldn’t he have given up already? Here he is a few years ago – caught behind the bike sheds ->

The shape of the cone up top keeps changing as a result of the frequent eruptions…

Here it is in 2006:

Here in 2012:

April 2013 (note how one side of the upper cone is warmer than the other) ->

2021 (the cone covered in its own ash) ->

Also 2021:

PS: To give you the full picture – between Karymsky and Maly Semyachik winds the Karymsky River (whose source is Karymsky Lake). Yes – names tend to repeat each other round here…

The river’s cut out a canyon and dozens of waterfalls; here are two of them:

And that’s all for today, folks. But I’ll be back soon with more tales from the Kamchatka-2024 side…

All the photos from our trip are here.

Route 264 and the Valley of Geysers and Uzon caldera – done.

Next up on our Kamchatka-2024 summer vacation – Maly (Little) Semyachik – one of the three Semyachik-family volcanoes (the other two being Bolshoi (Big) Semyachik and Tsentralny (Central) Semyachik. So – why Maly, if it’s the little one? Actually, little or no – Maly is still an oh-my-grandiose-and-gorgeous volcano. See for yourself! ->

Inside its oval-shaped crater there sits that there beautiful lake, which measures around 800×1000 meters. I’d have described the lake just now as bright-turquoise colored – if it stayed bright turquoise all the time, but it doesn’t. Depending on (i) the particular acidity of its water fluid at a particular point in time, and (ii) how much light there is (in turn dependent on the time of day, the season of the year, and the weather) at that same particular point in time, it changes color: a chameleon lake! ->

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You’ve had my report on our six-day Uzon trek, but I hardly told you anything about where we ended up on the last day of the trek – the Valley of Geysers. Now, with a bit more time on my hands, I can collect up my thoughts and impressions thereupon, and share them with you at a gentler, more meditative tempo…

First – a few photos. Bubbling, hissing, spurting, steaming, pouring – all present and correct, sir:

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I left you last time with me exasperated by the atypical Paris weather in November and deciding to go underground out of the snow and wind and cold. Underground? What – into the metro? No, something much more unusual – and spooky: into the Catacombs of Paris! 

As Wikipedia informs us, Les Catacombes de Paris are “underground ossuaries … which hold the remains of more than six million [!] people … They were created as part of the effort to eliminate the effects of the city’s overflowing cemeteries” in the 1700s. They’re a labyrinth of passages, tunnels and wells that stretch some 300 kilometers in length! As far as I understood, much of this underground network (including the Mines of Paris) is closed to the public – with entrance thereto prohibited by law.

Other parts of the Catacombs are open to the public and rather a hit among tourists:

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Au revoir Algeria; bonjour France!…

Next up on my brief Africo-Euro November business-trip: Paris.

The Paris segment was busy on the work front: new acquaintances, meetings, negotiations – all as per. However – also as per – I just had to get some tourisms in: after all, this was Paris, no less. But, as luck would have it – the weather spoiled those plans somewhat: there was snow (in November!), it was windy, and it was freezing (in November?!). And this was Paris – not Kamchatka!!…

Looking out the window of my hotel room, there was no way I fancied venturing out given such murky, windy, cold and wet weather. Yes, we were in Paris – a European center of mindless mass tourism, but on a snowy November day there was absolutely nothing to be done!…

Snow in Paris in the fall. What?! :0)

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