All through the cruise, we were warned that Petropavlovsk
would likely be a very difficult port to visit.
The Russians had a reputation for taking a LONG time to process
passports and immigration. On this occasion,
we ended up being pleasantly surprised… It was more organized and we got off the
ship at noon instead of 3 or 4 in the
afternoon like we were led to expect.
Plus, the Russian officials allowed us to go out and walk about on our
own without a Russian visa or a booking with a Celebrity excursion. Petropavlovsk, on the other hand, was a
dismal, grey and dirty place. The people were friendly but everything looked
terribly run down. This port town on the
eastern most point of Russia is only visited by cruise ships 5 or 6 times a
year as they make their way from the orient back over to North
America . As a result,
Petropavlovsk is unsullied by tourist traps as a result and is an authentic
slice of remote, coastal Russia . Everything was covered by grey grit. It turns out that volcanic gravel is used to
“salt” the roads in winter to help add grip against the ice. Many of the cars had little studs on the
tires, again to add grip during the majority months of the cold year.
One of the indigenous artists with his bone carvings. The huskies were super cute and we were happy
to buy one and support this man who had made everything you see on the table in
front of him.
Below is a “market” we happened across.
There were many signs of military there too.
We concluded these are summer and winter stairs. We saw them everywhere.
Above is the sculpture representing the name of the city - Peter and Paul. And below Lenin's statue.
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