09 Jun 2014

Thermal Sojurn

This expedition finishes tomorrow in the Port of Korsakov, but it seems like only yesterday that we sailed from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. We have achieved a lot and the weather continues to be kind to us. Yesterday was spent on Iturup Island and instead of exploring the coastline as we had done on most other landings, we travelled by truck up a nearby volcano to a geothermal area. This gave us a great altitudinal transect through the various vegetation types and also the opportunity to look for birds which prefer this type of habitat. Many folk also took time out from botanizing and birding for a relaxing soak in the natural hot pools.

This morning we had a wake up call at 0445 for an early birding excursion in the Kurilsky Reserve on Kunashir Island. This afternoon there will be a chance to reflect as the team presents an expedition recap and announces plans for disembarkation tomorrow.