YEP 7 Exp Kamchatka Day 6
Maricella’s blog day 6 & 7
I see a part of the team ahead of me stopping as I realize that it is time to set up camp. Now the time has come to put in place the tips that Mike gave us on how to successfully set up your camp and get situated in practice. After our first night in the tent most of the Young Explorers woke up with not only freezing cold but also with water dripping down on us. We are beginners which can be really dangerous when you are in extreme conditions. This time we get set up much quicker, sleep warmer and know how to keep ourselves more comfortable and better organized. Nevertheless the next morning it is hard to keep up with the speed of Mike and the team who do this like taking their shoes on and off. They get impatient and we are left on our own but since we know that we just have to follow the power lines that transport the energy from the geothermal station to the capital we know where to go.
It wasn’t until around 4pm that we were all together again having a wonderful little tea break. A simple green tea tastes so wonderful when you are out there; feeling this warmth going through your throat down in your stomach is revitalizing and gives everybody the strength to go on. As enjoyable as this moment is it must be short as you get cold immediately when you don’t move. We kept on walking without knowing how much longer we had to go on. We were mentally starting to prepare ourselves for another night of camping outside as it started to get dark when the big 6-wheel truck appeared behind us. A moment of big excitement! Our destination made us all even happier: We were on our way to a hot springs! I will never ever forget this: taking off our horrible stinky thermal underwear, tired, cold, sore after this long day of walking and having the heavy weight of the sled on your hips, changing into our bathing suits, going outside into the freezing cold and then just feeling this hot water on every spot of your body and feeling like this is the best moment of your life. There was no place I would’ve rather been than in Kamchatka in that hot water with all these amazing people. Life is great!
But to our own disbelieve the day got even better: We had another one hour walk through the dark forest pulling sleds, again, not really knowing where we were going. From far away we heard dogs barking. We had the feeling that this was going to get really awesome: We are welcomed in a warm yurt made of wood, a huge bear fur lying on the floor, we are offered reindeer fur to sit on and then we eat delicious fresh salted salmon with potatoes for dinner. A delicious ending to a great day. We get out our Quechua sleeping bags and mats and in a big circle with all of our 30 feet around the fire in the middle of the yurt and fall sound asleep like little babies.
We feel so fortunate to be here it is hard to put in words. Sometimes we have to hit each other to realize that it is not a dream. We are facing several challenges every day, laughing, joking, discussing, shouting and being angry at each other at different points. But at the end of the day we feel a stronger bond and see ourselves growing as a team.
And now the adventure continues on a different track as we are introduced to the dogs…