May 26 Kamchatka - World heritage land of ice and fire

Kamchatka Peninsula

Kamchatka Peninsula is a precious place and with its volcanoes is listed as a World Heritage site. It is a fairly isolated and remote krai (a geographic administrative division) of the Russian Federation and often its people feel that it is forgotten particularly when it comes to resources and the like.  Health care is free but residents have to wait months for an appointment for routine medical matters. There are a couple of private clinics but most people fly to Korea, Singapore or perhaps Moscow 10,000 km away for more major surgical/treatment.  There is an increasing incident of cancer in young people but few resources to mount a serious health campaign. 

Wages are low but the cost of fuel, in this fuel-producing country, is comparatively high. For instance a fully qualified doctor earns ~$600 per month yet fuel is about 80 cents a litre. As with many country regions in Oz, many of the young people in Kamchatka have to leave to find decent career opportunities. 

They can grow vegetables such as cabbage, potato, carrot and beet and some berries, but much of the food is imported especially fruit. Meat and milk are imported either from mainland Russia or SE Asia. Fish however is plentiful and we could eat smoked salmon 3 meals a day!  You'd be crazy to complain about that but it makes one aware, yet again, of how luck we are in Oz with plenty of everything. 

Cropping near Yelizova not far northwest of PK

In the days of farm collectives, wheat and buckwheat were grown here but are no longer. Many people have a summer house - dachas - which may be quite close to their usual place of residence (apartments in town). There they can grow their own vegetables plus some exotics such as tomatoes under glass. We saw many glasshouses as we flew back to base last night as well as fields awaiting planting once the ground thaws a bit. Central heating and hot water is piped to all building from volcanic thermal sources. It is turned on in September-October and turned off April-May.  So homes are as warm as toast. 

Because of its location beside the Kamchatka-Kuril trench (which is around 10 km deep), this is a place of efrequent earthquakes. I was told that tremors occur almost daily but most are too small to notice. Nevertheless all the streets and pavements and structures are cracked  As a  result of decades of earthquake damage, old housing is gradually being replaced with structures which will withstand earthquakes of a higher magnitude.

I have to say I am missing Google and our easy access to the Internet - it is available but we don't have affordable access. I have a travel SIM but that is limited. Oh well - but next time (Note to self -  I will buy a local SIM on arrival). In the meantime, while we are staying here (and I hope at every hotel we stay in), we have free Wi-Fi albeit intermittent, and for that I am very grateful.
Tomorrow we head out to sea and will have no internet for a couple of weeks until we dock at Yuzhno-Sakhalin.  Bon voyage .....

No this is not our ship but about the same size!