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Friday, February 28, 2020
Crowdy Head, New South Wales, Australia
Our Story: Oymyakon - Reconnecting with the Road of Bones, Sakha Republic, Russian Federation
A Sequel
This is our story of the second leg of our winter 2020 expedition to the Extreme Arctic of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation.
The first leg took us some 3,000 km by four-wheel drive north along the zimniki (winter roads and the frozen ice roads of the Lena and Anabar Rivers) from Yakutsk to our final destination of Yuryung-Khaya, Anabarskiy Ulus (or province). One of the northernmost settlements in all of the Russian Federation, the tiny ethnic Dolgan village is located some 1,000 km north of the Arctic Circle, close to the Laptev Sea of the Russian Arctic Ocean.  
Our journey was an improbable adventure; full of unworldly wonders, breathtaking scenery and unimaginable experiences. Some could politely be described as challenging; others downright dangerous. Our voyage however was nothing short of simply mindboggling. We were actually living out one of the world's best documentaries.
We stayed with ethnic Yakut and Dolgan families, sharing their lifestyle in an extreme frozen and vastly different environment from that which we have ever experienced. We forged wonderful friendships with local ethnic and Russian people, our guide Edward Adrian-Vallance and our drivers. We were unbelievably fortunate to experience yet another epic voyage. It was certainly up there with the best we have ever undertaken.
Our blog of our first expedition north to the Anabarskiy Ulus is published in TravelArk as "Zimnik Yuryung-Khaya: Expedition Extreme Arctic Russia". http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog/crowdywendy/13
This story of our journey to Oymyakon is a sequel to the above publication.
We invite you to join us on yet another celestial expedition, this time 1,000 km by road east of Yakutsk to Oymyakon; the coldest settlement in the world, boasting a staggering record low of minus 71.2 C. 
And for us, a fascinating reconnection from the Yakutia end of the ill-famed Road of Bones. 
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