Kamchatka: The Land of Fire and Ice - Part 5: Gone With the Avacha Wind

Part Five

The water splashed to my face. I didn't even know whether it was rain or the salty sea from down below. The strong wind not only tilted the lone boat in the mist left and right, but also penetrated through into my bone in the much celebrated month of July throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The good news was: the captain who sailed in these rough waters for so many years knew what newbies like me wanted at the time. I followed him into bottom of the boat - although for the entire voyage I couldn't understand most of what he said. He opened up the cabinet and gave me a winter coat.

After putting on the coat, I felt like there was a whole new world in front of me. As my body gained back temperature, all of my senses came back as well. I began to see the birds and their nests on the bleached cliffs. I began to see all the Babushkas on the ship posing for photos like the poor condition didn't really matter to them at all. I began to see red spiders crawling around the boat like the conquerors of the world.

Wait, what were King Crabs doing on the decks?

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After passing by a couple of industrial sized boats, I finally found a seemingly tiny boat sitting in between. I was taken to a table, where I found cold bread and some caviar that were carefully laid out to  welcome the guests.

I looked out to the ocean, it posed a sharp contrasts to the sunshine behind me - it was quite foggy, and the visibility was......well........zero.  

Since I already struck a deal with the captain, I guess there was nowhere to escape now. 

Moments later I was joined by several retired couples. The motor of the boat roared, and I realized that we were drifting further and further away from the shore. PK gradually disappeared from our eyes as the fog became thicker and thicker. However, when we looked into the opposite direction, we found awe-inspiring rock formations that suddenly pooped up from nowhere. The fog was like a door: it left one world behind, but opened up a whole new one. 

Looking through the fog...at PK

PK from the Avacha Bay

In this new world, bird became the dominant species, whereas humans were the absolute minorities. The strong wind already sent the boat wobbling in the choppy water. I didn't know how the birds managed to survive all these, but I could feel the cold air cutting through my bone, and my head felt rather dizzy.

A lone rock standing in the middle of the ocean

Well, I guess that was more like asking how polar bears could survive the arctic region without a $1,000.00 Canada Goose jacket or how sharks could survive without needing to take a breath. I should probably head back to the cabin - at least I would be warm in there.

"A Rock Full of Birds"

A babushka noticed that my body was shivering. She dragged me to the captain, and asked him to give me a coat.The captain took me to the basement level of the boat, and opened up a cabinet - there was a row of winter coats hanging inside. Despite the fact that it was summer, I felt like these winter coats could save my life like an oxygen canister underwater. I felt like these winter coats could save my life.....from the summer of Kamchatka. 

A giant rock in the middle of the ocean. It's also home to countless number of birds

After putting on the coat, my body began to return to normal - which allowed me to appreciate this voyage at full capacity. I suddenly realized that there was a giant crab crawling around the deck. One of the crews picked the crab up, and placed into a bucket. Then I was told that the captain had jumped into the seemingly icy and choppy sea water again - for more crabs! Meanwhile, we all got a fishing pole and some baits to catch some fish: we needed materials for a spectacular seafood feast later on.

I was given a fishing pole to catch our food. After twenty minute, I remained the only person on the boat who didn't catch a single fish.  Meanwhile, a babushka was standing beside me telling me how "маленький" the birds were.  I had a feeling that she might be interested in fishing - which was probably the reason why she was trying to communicate with someone who couldn't speak that much Russian. I gave her my fishing pole, and she gladly took it.

I went back to the interior of the boat, and sat there to wait for the feast to be cooked and served.Life on a boat could be like eternity, or it could pass at a glimpse. The next moment I knew, I was eating crabs and drinking fish soup. As long as you know what will happen in the end, eternity or a glimpse meant nothing. The problem was, in our lives, nobody could be sure of what would happen in the end. The landscape of Kamchatka seemed to be eternal. Do birds feel their lives to be "too long" or "too short"? How long will Kamchatka be like this? Will it eventually change....change into something we can't be sure what it will become in the end?

Most of the people would simply stare at the food in their plates- if you can't even feed yourself now, what's the point of talking about a future you might not even see? 

Rock formations created as a result of volcanic activities.

When Lenin told the masses: Bread, milk, you will have them all!

How many people saw them in the end?

After a fresh and delicious lunch, we headed back towards PK.  The boat appeared to be as a lone, white dot in the middle of the ocean. It made me think of our planet: how it was just like a lonely blue dot in the middle of darkness. 

"Three Sisters"

The fog dispersed a bit. The silhouettes of the two giant volcanoes in the background of PK reminded me of how vulnerable and small humans were in front of nature.

Guess where I would be the next day? The top of the volcano on the right......

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                                                                                       Chapter 10

Someone walked into Sead's clock shop. At first, Sead thought it was just a customer. 

He raised his head from the broken watch he was working on, he realized that person was Suri, whom he just saw a short while ago. 

"Hello Sead!"

Something must went wrong. 

"You can go on lunch now, Kemo". Sead told his assistant. 

Kemo stood up, then left the shop.

Once Kemo went out of the shop, Suri told Sead "They killed Branko". 

"Killed!?" Sead stood up from his seat, appeared to be startled. "What about Ivan? Is everything OK with him?"

"As we are speaking right now, the Gestapo agents are following him." 

"We must save him!" Sead said. " However, it also means that there will be a struggle breaking out on the streets."

"I'm willing to help him, Sead. I've been working with Ivan on so many occasions before. Ivan himself is a very experienced fighter."

"That would be great. He probably got a lot of crucial information from this conversation with Branko" 

Sead went to one of the clocks on the wall. He used his finger to turn the needles of the clock to 12:00. Suddenly, all of the clocks in the shop began to chime.

"We must use our wisdom, not the force to save Ivan." Said Sead with a very serious face. "Where does Ivan normally exchange intelligence he collects?"

"At the Eagle Pharmacy." Said Suri.

Without any hesitation, Sead went straight to the telephone and picked up the speaker.