After 6 sea days and lots of time changes, we arrived in Petropavlosk where it was another perfect sunny autumn day. We tendered ashore and then took a tour of the city. At the top of the hill we visited the ‘new’ Russian Orthodox church, opened in 2001 its still a work in progress with the bell tower yet to be completed. It sits high up on a hill overlooking the city and the bay and with a backdrop of a snow covered volcano and mountains. The gates were a work of art in themselves.
Inside the church the whole front is covered with these beautiful paintings. The ceilings were painted with pictures of the saints, the floors were marble. There are only a few bench seats at the back as people stand for the services unless they are unable to.
Behind us in the pic above and in front of the volcano in the pic below is the newer area of the city. The population is about 200,000. Its only able to be accessed by air or sea, founded in the 1700’s by Bering (of The Bering Sea fame) after he was sent here to map & explore the area.
The views from the front of the church over the city – you could see right down to the water and the mountains surrounding the city.
After this we took a drive around town and saw some of the local shops, monuments and public spaces. Although a lot of buildings haven’t had a lot of upkeep, there were lots of public park spaces and walkways around the lake which were in excellent condition with lovely paved walkways and well kept gardens. The changing colours of autumn were everywhere.
Up on top of another mountain we had views of the whole harbour – impossible to fit in one photo! We could see more snow topped volcanoes and mountains across the bay, which is actually the caldera of a large volcano. There is a naval/military base across the bay and there were speedboats and fishing boats out enjoying the great weather.
… theres our ship…
Then we visited the Museum of Military Glory. Petropavlovsk Kamchatka is very proud of its military history. The city was awarded one of the highest military honours for its victory over attack in the Crimean War – the only victory that the Russians had in that war.
Our guides talk on WWII was really interesting to hear. Kamchatka was the delivery base for the support from the Americans. Supplies were then shipped to Vladivostok and then distributed around Russia. She talked about Australia, New Zealand and America as being ‘good neighbours’ to Russia in the war and also currently.
We had a tour of the museum from a lovely Russian lady which was translated by our guide.
The displays were filled with paintings and dioramas of the attacks on the city and many documents and military equipment.
After the museum it was time for visit the markets. People had stalls set up to sell fruit and veggies outside.
Then we went inside to the shopping centre where we had the best coffee of our trip so far! The food smelled really good! I found a beautiful scarf to buy and the lady in the shop gave me a demonstration of how to wear it – she spoke no English, me no Russian! – of course I bought it after that and its so soft – alpaca and cashmere.
After shopping we got off the bus for some time in town. There is a really nice, and very large town square area and lots of families were out and about enjoying the good weather. These were radio controlled boats out on the lake.
Just on part of the town square overlooking the water.
Lenin Square.
At the edge of the town square is a long area of beach ( with pebbles instead of sand) and there were heaps of jellyfish everywhere. Kids were having a great time poking them back into the water and skipping rocks.
A band and a singer arrived and performed in the sqaure.
There was a group of teenagers having a great time dancing to the music and taking photos with the ship in the background. Kamchatka gets about 10 cruise ships visit each years so its a big day when the ship arrives.
The town is named after St Peter & St Paul ( Petro & Pavlo) as it is considered they are the protectors of the city. This statue is in the square with the volcano as a backdrop.
We watched para-gliders flying down from the mountain and landing on the beach for a while.
After a really lovely, relaxing day in Kamchatka we walked back to the port and caught our boat back out to the ship about 4pm – a bit sunburned, but well worth it.