Day 4: Yanrakynnot & Walrus Island
You can’t compare small ship cruising to a large ship cruise. They are entirely different travel experiences. Small ships can go anywhere. See an interesting island? Well, let’s drop anchor, lower the Zodiacs, and take everyone ashore for a nature walk!
That’s what happened today. We learned there were a few thousand walrus hauled out on a beach in the middle of nowhere, so we went ashore and explored for a few hours. They leave enough time in the schedule to take advantage of these things.
A lot of the people on the ship were in their 70’s and 80’s. Nothing was going to stop them from getting on the Zodiacs and getting out there. We were impressed with how they went for it and how the crew supported them. All in all, it was a very interesting, very friendly group of people.
The other thing you appreciate about a small ship is how you get to know everyone. By the third day, the crew knew most of our names, and we knew most of the other passengers.
That afternoon, we visited the Chukchi village of Yanrakynnot. They are reindeer herders with one of the nicest town settings we saw.
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