Kanin Peninsula, Russia
One of the beauties of expedition cruising is the absence of a rigid itinerary. If, for example, one found oneself sailing past an isolated peninsula covered with rolling tundra, one could stop and check it out. This afternoon, we put theory into practice and made a landing at just such a place.
The Kanin Peninsula protrudes into the White Sea like a twisted anvil and near its northern tip we found a tiny cove that cut through the low, rocky cliffs of the coastline. It was nothing much to look at on the map or, indeed, from a distance. But once we got inside the little bay we were dazzled by the valley that opened inland. Here, a small river has carved a narrow canyon through the rocks and arctic char schooled up in the pools between minor cataracts, resting before attempting to move upstream. The tundra-clad slopes were sprinkled with the colorful blossoms of wild chive, cottongrass, and poppies. Whether you chose to join the long hike into the hinterland on reindeer trails, or just poked around the landing beach and river mouth, today’s excursion was a testament to the pleasure and fascination that can be found in the unscheduled, and the unexpected.
