Bilibino at a Glance
Bilibino (pronounced B'l-ee-b'no), the most recently built town in Chukotka Okrug, is nestled between the confluence of the Karalveyem and Bolshoy Keperve'em Rivers of the Kolyma Basin. Interestingly, it is located in a unique transition zone between the coniferous taiga and the tundra and is protected from the fiercest winds by the surrounding Chuvan Mountains.
The evening before, Sasha informed us that one of the advantages of Bilibino for early settlers was its access to forest timber for fuel and also a natural abundance of food of berries (especially the much revered lingonberries) and mushrooms. It was curious and interesting information for us, coming from an environment where forests and natural vegetation are a given (and very lovely) factor of our environment, not a unique advantage for human existence.
Bilibino is the second largest town in Chukotka and is the administrative centre of the Bilibinsky District. It is a two hour flight from the capital city of Anadyr and a 30 minute (depending on conditions) flight to the port town of Pevek, on the Arctic Ocean coast. An ice road links Bilibino to Pevek in winter, taking between 8 to 24 hours by 6WD vehicle (again depending on conditions - as we were to soon find out....).
The town was named in honour of geologist Yuri Bilibin who was responsible for discovering gold in the Kolyma region during the late 1920's. Bilibin was convinced there were considerably more gold deposits in the region and his theories were proven correct with subsequent findings of large deposits of gold in the Bilibino district in the 1950's. Interestingly, the much revered Yuri Bilibin never visited his namesake township. In 1959, work started at the Bilibin mine, with productivity increasing dramatically following the establishment of new power lines from Pevek in 1962.
In 1965, a decision was made to erect a nuclear power station in Bilibino; the first ever to be built on Arctic permafrost. Over 200 representatives from the Soviet Komsomol* movement volunteered to work on the project which was completed in 1977. The station provided vital heating and electricity to the township, and also powered the local gold mines. The population of Bilibino rose rapidly to around 15,500 after the establishment of the nuclear power plant. Typical of the post-Soviet era for the Russian Far East however, Bilibino's population has decreased significantly to just 5,453 people today (2017 data).
The nuclear power plant is still working. However, decommissioning of the power plant will begin in 2019, when it will be replaced by the Akademik Lomonsov floating nuclear power plant which will be based in the port city of Pevek. It is anticipated that the majority of the current 700 staff will move to the Pevek plant, although a number will remain to supervise the decommission process.
*The Komsomol Movement was a Soviet political organisation for young people aged 14 to 28 that was primarily a political organ for spreading Communist teachings and preparing future members of the Communist Party.
In 1993, Bilibino became an official town. Interestingly, unlike other parts of Chukotka which are "closed" to both Russians and foreigners, Bilibino is not considered in the border zone and visitors do not require permits to enter.
A Chilly Day Tour - A Walk Around Bilibino Town
I was furious with myself. I realised to my dismay that I had lost my trusty voice recorder. It's amazing when you travel that the loss of relatively minor things can feel ridiculously catastrophic. I recalled losing my eyeliner pencil sharpener in China some years before. A real tragedy I had thought at the time.... Well, from now on in I just had to use my phone voice recorder.
Sadly, I was to learn just how difficult that was, trying to take off mittens and gloves, then putting my glasses on to read the wretchedly small phone icons. At least with my trusty old hand held recorder, all it took was the flick of a button; no vision being required at all.
Alex arrived early to supervise our clothing. "I will arrive without clothes" he announced to our amusement. What he really meant was he would not have on his extreme cold outer wear and we didn't have to begin the dressing ritual until he came to inform us of our day's itinerary. By then poor Alex was well aware that it would take us at least twenty minutes to get ready.
Alex informed us the day promised to be another freezing event with temperatures around the mid minus 40's. At temperatures less than minus 40 C, children are not allowed to attend school and we were told they would enjoy their time this day in their homes. Our itinerary had also changed. We would not be visiting the nuclear power plant as planned (because of election sensitivities we were told) but would be walking around Bilibino for some hours looking at the township as well as visiting a local children's community centre and an art activities establishment.
Alex was insistent that we dressed as warmly as we could. Yes, we must wear our thermal underwear and our bib and brace ski overalls he had brought for us. And all that would be topped by heavy duty anoraks. Oh yes, and Alan must wear his comical Cossack cap and for me, that frigg'n horrible chewed rat hat. By the time we had dressed, we both looked like the much famed "Michelin Men", neither us of barely able to move we had so much clothing on. And every time we took a step our overalls rubbed together, making hilarious squeaky, farting noises.
To my dismay, Sasha arrived looking a million dollars, beautifully groomed and wearing a full length mink coat and matching fur hat. "Wendy, you are not zipped up properly. Alan, you have dropped one of your mittens, Wendy, one of your boots is undone" she constantly reminded as she kindly fussed over us. It was going to be a long day, I thought....
Larissa also joined us for our tour of the town. It was Alex's first visit to this part of Chukotka and we were fortunate to have the two women accompany us. And we were lucky that although it was bitterly cold, the day was gloriously sunny and cloud free, and the colours of the town against a vivid blue sky and the dazzling silver snow were simply brilliant.
Our first stop was at the nearby Church of St Seraphim of Sarov, a relatively new Russian Orthodox church. Built in 2002, the lovely building was adorned with a beautiful ornate spire and three gold onion domes. We posed dutifully to have our photos taken, acutely aware of how ridiculous we looked. Thankfully, there was no-one around to really notice these crazy foreigners. And although the town was apparently celebrating its 60th anniversary, we saw virtually no-one in the streets.
It was Alex said, even by Chukotka standards, extraordinarily cold. And even though we were super well dressed, it didn't take long before our cheeks burned and our noses ran uncontrollably, certainly not enhancing our somewhat "Yeti Man" appearance. To their credit, neither Sasha or Larissa commented, nor even seemed to notice. But I bet they laughed when they got back home!
It was difficult to get a handle on the orientation of the town. Most of the buildings were virtually identical Soviet styled blocks, all painted in pink, lilac, and yellow squares and like those outside our hotel, linked by well trodden snow covered pathways. There were virtually no roads and very little signage - or indeed much at all to use as a reference point.
We were constantly amazed during our travels in Chukotka at how Alex seemed to have a sixth sense about direction and locating shops, restaurants, museums and even our hotels. After all, none of them were signed and all entrances were camouflaged by the heaviest sets of double doors.
As we walked through the town, Sasha pointed out buildings displaying huge cracks and large areas of decaying cement. These apartment blocks had apparently been built mistakenly over aquifer lines and were now condemned due to movement caused by the freezing effects of the permafrost subsoil.
We were to see many buildings in our travels in Russia that had succumbed to the same fate, many of which were sadly left to decompose. Given nearly every person we met in Russia had engineering qualifications, we found the situation somewhat surprising. But the permafrost in Chukotka is severe and buildings must be supported by piers laid down up to 20 metres in depth, adding to the extraordinary difficulty of creating and maintaining viable settlements. Even in summer, the permafrost apparently thaws only to about 15 cm.
Again, we wondered how trees managed with the permafrost. The hardy Larch and Cedar however, support themselves with extensive but very shallow root systems which can secrete substances that prevent freezing; ingenious survival mechanisms for a seemingly impossible environment. Interestingly, the Petit Fute Chukotka Guide Book describes Bilibino as "the greenest town in Chukotka; there are so many trees that a walk through the town feels more like a stroll in the woods....". We certainly didn't see too many trees in central Bilibino town, just an occasional clump of birch dotted here and there. But then again, it was during the coldest season and of course anything vegetative was deciduous, their naked spidery stems difficult to identify in the densely snow bound city.
Bilibino Tour - Visit to the Administrative Centre for School Activities
Director of the Administrative Centre for School Activities was a friendly Russian woman called Lubov. Immensely proud of the establishment, Lubov was very generous with her time in explaining the function and activities of the centre.
The part government, part private sector funded centre provides extra curricular activities for local Bilibino children, something we understood to be somewhat akin to Police Citizens' Centres in Australia. The facility caters for children aged from pre-school to 17 years of age, who can participate in a range of activities from singing, dancing and art to wrestling and other martial arts. Summer educational camps sponsored by the nuclear power station some twenty kilometers out of town are also arranged for the warmer months.
It seemed that the large well set up centre was a particularly useful educational and social venue for children and their parents to spend time whilst living in a climate which for most part of the year was totally inhospitable for outdoor activities. Once again, it was interesting to observe how the local people had adapted to live indoors during the harsh arctic cold seasons.
Bilibino Tour - Visit to the Art School
Our second visit was to the Bilibino Art, Music and Dance School. For such a small town, the facilities for the town's young people were very impressive. Director Ludmilla graciously showed us through the establishment proudly pointing out some of the lovely artwork and also the facilities used by the students for their music, dancing and arts training.
Ludmilla was particularly keen to tell us about the correspondence styled courses which were available for students living in remote regions. The students would be sent out work to complete which they would then return to the school for assessment and grading. I wondered how on earth they would "post" the work from their remote and often inaccessible locations back to the school? However it was organised, we could not help but be very impressed with the activities in place for young people, both in central and outer Bilibino. We were again finding the small town to be so much more sophisticated than we would ever imagined for a such a very remote location.
Sasha and Larissa accompanied us back on our long cold walk though Bilibino. They had other appointments in town but would meet us again that evening at the community centre where she and the other women had kindly organised another dinner with a local Chukchi family.
A CHUKCHI EVENING IN BILIBINO TOWN
A Brief Word About the Chukchi People
As mentioned, Alex was a young Chukcha man, intensively proud of his heritage and eager to talk with us at length about the Chukchi people; their culture and traditional way of life. His family were from the far north tundra; a place 400 km north of the Arctic circle near a small village called Ryrkaipyi. (Chukchi translation: Ryrky or "walrus". Pyi or "place" or "Walrus Place").
There was no doubting that Alex looked somewhat Asian in appearance; an interesting blend of features testament to a fascinating ethnic backgound. He was also quite spiritual and very committed to Chukchi beliefs and traditions. He told us that like most Chuchki, he believed in a "higher being" and even kept amulets in his room to keep off evil spirits. Alex's conversation would so often include: "This is very Chukchi. This is how Chukchi people eat. We love to chew on bones. Chukchi are very spiritual. Chukchi are absolutely fastidious about cleanliness - you must wash your hands before you eat...." By the end of our trip and thanks to Alex, we felt very well versed in Chukchi traditions, manners and culture. And we obediently washed our hands too...
The Chukchi people belong to a distinct ethnic group known as the Luoravetian (Chukchi meaning: "real people") who traditionally lived in coastal villages on the Bering Sea and other coastal polar areas. Today their population is around 15,000, most of whom inhabit the north-easternmost part of the Russian Far East, particularly in what is now known as the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
The Chukchi are traditionally divided into the Maritime Chukchi who settled on the coast and lived primarily from sea mammal hunting and fishing, and the Reindeer Chukchi who lived a nomadic existence in the inland tundra region, migrating seasonally with their herds of reindeer.
The Maritime Chukchi travelled in skin covered, wooden framed boats hunting seals, walruss, whales, fish and also polar bears. Whaling was a crucial means of food for the coastal Chukchi; one whale being sufficient to feed an entire village for the winter season.The Reindeer Chukchi lived in tents or "yarangas", changing residence according to seasonal changes in pastures. Their main means of transport was sleds pulled by reindeer or dogs. Reindeer have been critical to the herders' lives, supplying them with food, hides for clothing, fat for lamps and of course transport.
The Chukchi speak a unique Chukchi-Kamchatka language (Paleoasiatic) which is also spoken by the Koryak and Itelemen indigenous peoples, but which is apparently unrelated to any other linguistic group. Interestingly the first written Chukchi language was only developed in 1931.
The Chuckchi and the Inuit (Eskimo) people have a long history together; unfortunately often one of wars and rivalry. It is thought that they may have descended from the same ethnic group that arrived in Chukotka from Central Asia some 2,500 years ago. Interestingly, these people lived in underground houses insulated from the cold and who moved in seasonal hunting camps.
Traditionally the Chukchi lived as large extended families, where polygamy was widely practised. Marriages were arranged by parents, some at birth. Probably due to the harsh climate and difficult life in the tundra, hospitality and generosity are highly prized values amongst the Chukchi. It is forbidden to refuse anyone, even a stranger, shelter and food. Similarly, the community provides for the sick, orphans, widows and the poor.
Traditional Chukchi practised a Shamanist religion; every object animate or inanimate, being assigned a spirit. These days however, with increasingly Russian influence (Russians comprise around 75% of the Chukotka population), many also practise Christianity.
In the 1920's the Soviet tried to settle the Chukchi by providing them with jobs, wages, food, housing, schools, clinics and coal for heating. They also jailed Shamans and outlawed indigenous people from whaling. By the 1950's the Chukchi were organised into co-operatives and permanent settlements; their lives dramatically changed forever.
When the Soviet system dissolved in the 1990's, supply ships with food and coal ceased and many moved to the cities. Like all of Russia during this time, the Chukchi suffered great hardships and their culture and society began to break down with considerable increases in alcoholism, suicide and disease.
Sadly, these deep seated problems are still very much prevalent in the Chukchi community.
Today, some Chukchi still practise certain traditional ways of life such as reindeer herding, fishing and hunting. Most however, have opted for more modern means of living, most residing in wooden Russian styled houses and using snow mobiles, all terrain vehicles and helicopter flights rather than reindeer and dogs sleds for transport.
And there was we thought, a certain similarity with the Chukchi and our own Australian Aborigines. Again, we were to find it particularly interesting to discuss these and many other aspects of the Chukchi culture at dinner that evening.
An Evening with Alexandra, Grisha, Vladimir and their Family
There is nothing more we dislike than contrived cultural activities, especially those with which we are forced to take part. Seeing our guest Chukchi family arriving in traditional dress and with several small children armed with drums, we hoped our evening would not fall into this category.
We need not have worried. There was no singing or dancing and Grisha (Russian form of Gregory) and his wife Alexandra, son Vladimir and his two children were a really interesting family. We were also accompanied by Inna, a local teacher of Chukchi language and a charming Russian woman Olga, as well as Sasha, Irina and Larissa.
Our discussions during the evening were quite fascinating and a wonderful insight into local Chukchi life. Grisha and Alexandra were retired reindeer herders from Keperve'em, and from what we understood, their extensive herd is now managed by Vladimir. They were a gregarious couple who were extremely well read and eager to share with us aspects of their former lifestyle as Arctic herders. A quiet unassuming young man, Vladimir would sit and listen, then contribute some particularly insightful information to Grisha and Alexandra's discussions.
Our evening meal was mostly fish based, a welcome change from raw reindeer meat. Vladimir had caught an array of different river fish and prepared the traditional Chukchi delicacy of "Stroganini" or frozen slivers of a raw fish called "Chir" for our evening meal. Our meal also included poached white fish and a bowl of river fish white caviar. The piece de resistance, the Stroganini was surprisingly delicious, almost like a fish ice block - which I guess it was. To Alan's delight, we were also treated to platters of freshly fried bread as well as an array of homemade pastries and cakes.
Alexandra was a very strong and forthright character and led most of the discussions. Grisha, like Vladimir was more reserved although both men looked extraordinarily physically strong.
During her discussions about their life as arctic reindeer herders Alexandra talked to us about the past Chukchi practice of polygamy. "Women were extremely tough but they had to endure a life of male polygamy, where most men would have two to three wives. The wives were forbidden to show any form of jealousy, and if they did they were beaten ferociously." she thundered. Alexandra was very concerned about world human rights in general, even talking about the caste system in India and asking numerous questions about our Australian Aborigines.
Alexandra then raised the issue of global warming. Yes, they had noticed distinct weather changes in their district of Keperve'em. They were finding the warmer weather concerning, especially in December 2017 when they experienced the unheard of heatwave day of + 1 degree C! And after all, it was hard to keep their Stroganini from thawing! They did joke however, that global warming would be quite welcome in Chukotka!
We asked our hosts about bears. "No, bears are not a problem. We just give them the weakest animal in our herd and they go away. It may seem cruel but it is survival for the rest of us. It is the Chukchi way". The thought came to our mind of the stories we had learnt as school children about the Eskimos pushing the weak, sick and elderly out of the igloos to the bears when they were no longer able to contribute to family life. We had an awful feeling they may have been true.
Our animated conversations went on into the night. "Do we have jungles in Australia? What sort of plants do we have? What is the season now in our home country? Is it cold? What sort of animals do we have. Do we have bears in Australia? How much did it cost us to come to Chukotka?"
Our friends were particularly interested in our reptile life, particularly snakes and goannas. Like most Russian people we talked to in our travels, they were horrified about Australia's reputation for housing "the most dangerous, deadly creatures in the world" and shocked that we were so casual about having snakes and monitor lizards often visit us at our home. Once again we lamented that Australian tourism promotional material explicitly showing overly dramatised footage of over sized crocodiles, funnel web spiders and deadly poisonous snakes has a lot to answer for.... Skippy the Kangaroo? Well, in a sort of sickly way, he has probably done a lot of good. Everyone, even our Chukchi family had heard about Skippy....
By midnight, Alex must have been exhausted from being interpreter. It would have been no mean feat to translate some often quite technical and on occasions, some quite sensitive questions. But it had been a great night.
We all ended up hugging each other; each party having learnt a bit more about our very different cultures and way of life. "I think we should come to Australia!" beamed Alexandra as we farewelled each other for the evening.
I realised later that so far we had met mostly Chukchi women. If they were representative of their indigenous gender, then they were a very tough force to be reckoned with!
LIVING LIKE A LOCAL IN BILIBINO
Breakfast and an Ice Road Briefing
Breakfast in our suit with Alex was always great fun. Alex had carefully bought brand new mugs and plates, as well as a generous supply of bread, butter, cottage and regular cheese, sour cream, jam and honey. I half heartedly offered to share some of my caviar but to my great relief, neither Alan nor Alex were very keen. Alex, said he disliked it because during the tough years following the collapse of the Soviet, his family had to resort to feeding themselves the only way they knew - by fishing. People were starving** and it was fortunate for Alex's family that his father was a professional fisherman. For years they lived almost entirely on a fish diet. "Oh my god, fish soup! It was truly horrible. And as for caviar....". Shame about the caviar. But someone had to eat it.....
**Following our trip to Russia in 2017, we had often discussed the post-Perestroika period with friends and colleagues back home. It was obvious, that like us, very few in our country had much of an idea how perilously close to starvation the situation had become for most Russian people.
I hate to admit, but Russian bread was truly awful; always stale, dry and tasteless. Like our experiences in Mongolia, the only way to deal with it was to cover it with slabs of butter, jam and/or cheese. Our suite however had an electric hotplate so at least we could toast the offending roughage. To our amusement, Alex was mortified. "We have the best bread in the world! Why are you ruining it by cooking it?" he exclaimed. Looking at Alex's horrible concoction of a huge bowl of cottage cheese mixed with sour cream and jam, we felt fully justified....
Alex had word that morning from his Kutkh Travel colleague Vladimir that our impending trip along the ice road to our next destination of Pevek would likely proceed the following morning, weather permitting. Vladimir had organised two Trekols (specialised 6WD vehicles) from a company in Bilibino to take us on our ice road trip; a journey we were starting to realise, that no-one was taking lightly. But so far, we had great faith in Kutkh Travel who appeared to be an impressive, serious and highly complimentary team: Vladimir the manager and logistics man, Alex the client interface and practical on the ground organiser, Mikhail the "Fix it Man" and Sergei the technical expert. Surely nothing too terrible could go wrong, could it?
As mentioned in an earlier entry, there were no flights from Bilibino to Pevek at this time of the year and our only means of transport was to take the ice road; an option which cost us a whopping USD 3,800 for a one way 360 kilometer trip. Our trip along the ice road had also been a sensitive subject with our overall travel organisers Dalgeo Tours. That morning we received an email from Dalgeo manager Elena saying she was "praying for our safe passage to Pevek". Perhaps we were slow learners to begin with, but it was rapidly dawning on us that this trip could be more than just a bit serious....
Alex had also given us plenty of warning about our trip and despite his usual lightheartedness, briefed us at length about our preparations that day for our journey. He would need to purchase a new satellite phone and buy sufficient food for four days for all of us. Why four days, we wondered? After all, the trip was supposed to be only about eight hours. Most importantly however, Alex would need to inspect the Trekols, ensure they were sufficiently roadworthy to take us to Pevek and to be satisfied that the company would provide a convoy.
Shopping For a Possible Three day Expedition
Our day was one of living like a local in Bilibino.
There was only one tourist activity; a short visit to the local museum. We would be doing a lot of walking and shopping. "Wear warm clothing and keep zipped up" Alex warned. We were delighted. It was just what we needed.
Alex made no pretense about his abhorrence of my heavy clod hopper Sorel snow boots. They were however guaranteed to insulate from the cold down to minus 40 C and as I was to find out, were very stable in the snow and extremely comfortable. But after feeling totally ridiculous in our Abominable Snowman outfits the day before, we both opted to wear just normal trekking pants over our "military quality" Under Armour Base Four thermals rather than our bib and brace ski overalls. And I decided to wear the rather elegant boots apparently selected for me by Vladimir. At least we could walk with some ease.
Alan was in his element shopping in a local grocery shop. The tiny store had no signage to denote it as a supermarket and even when we opened the large heavy weather proof doors, there was no indication as to where the shop was located. Thankfully, Alex could sniff out a grocer's shop a mile away.
Physically entering the shops from the icy outside was also a challenge. Any ice stuck on our boots became glued on snow balls as we skidded across the vinyl flooring. It was just another part of our Arctic Education: stomp off the snow before you come in from outside.... Something that of course was just second nature to Alex.
The little grocery store was most impressive. Not surprisingly, the variety of the fish and fish products was very good. But interestingly, the quality of the fruit and vegetables was really excellent and the variety of fresh and preserved meats was exceptional, especially given that everything had to be shipped in from "the mainland" or from overseas. And of course we were most impressed with the fine selection of wine and alcoholic beverages.
The shop attendant once she had recovered from her initial shock of seeing two foreigners, was friendly and helpful. It was becoming very obvious from everyone's reactions that foreign tourists in Bilibino, and indeed in most of Chukotka were a rarity.
Alex bought more food than we thought was humanly possible for a just a road trip to Pevek - at least five kilos of sausages, numerous salamis, huge cartons of instant noodles, instant mashed potato, several loaves of bread, jams, cheeses and more fruit.
Alex reminded us however that this trip was no joke. We would certainly need at least four day's food supply if "something went wrong".
"The ice road can be perilous and the cold here deadly. You can easily have vehicle problems or accidents along the way. It is possible to be stranded for days and you need food to keep you warm. And just a few hours without heating can be lethal" he warned. We were convinced.
A Visit to the Glazyrin Museum
The cold may have been lethal but so were my lovely boots. After my sixth heavy fall on the icy roads, I was becoming to realise that Vladimir's boots may have been elegant but they were totally unstable and something akin to walking on eggs. For most part of the day, Alex and Alan had to escort me with their arms under my arm pits.
The Glazyrin museum was interesting. Founded in 1972 by retired hydrologist Grigory Sergeyevich , the museum boasts over 15,000 items displayed in some very professional looking exhibits. The museum houses extensive collections of documents and artifacts from both the early exploration of Chukotka and the "Great Patriotic War: (Second World War). It also features a special exhibition on the culture and daily life of the indigenous people of western Chukotka, with hundreds of artifacts gathered from ancient camps in the district.
An impressive display of preserved mammoth skeletons and tusks, together with a replica of a baby mammoth are also interesting features of this little museum. We spent about an hour happily wandering around the exhibit before being picked up by our Trekol hiring company. Our day was nicely relaxed.
A Trip Out of Town,
Trekols & Aisperovskaya Lookout
Vladim, a powerful
looking Russian man picked us up and drove us some five kilometers out of town
to the Trekol company. The snow was heavier out there, piled up against
numerous derelict buildings and in some cases completely engulfing houses and
what appeared to be abandoned mines and factories.
You get used to these
scenes of desperate decay. Far Eastern Russia is filled with abandoned
villages, crumbling factories and disused mines. They are not removed; just
left to perish. You get past feeling depressed. You have to. It is just a fact
of life; or lack of life. I would never have thought we would have ever said it
is possible to ignore such disheartening scenes but we were witness to them all
through Magadan, and now Chukotka. And perhaps we simply didn't notice them any
more?
The Trekol company
headquarters was a series of rambling iron sheds with a huge mastiff chained to a
tree outside. In the icy cold of a minus 40 degree C day, we felt sorry for the
poor animal but there was no way we could contemplate even walking past it.
Alex told us firmly to remain in the car which like all vehicles in this sort
of climate, was left with the motor running and heater going full force; something we found quite foreign -
but of course absolutely essential.
Alex was gone for a long time and when he appeared, he was looking unusually concerned. "Well, I think the vehicle will be OK" he said very slowly. "It is old but the driver is experienced and well, I think it will be alright" he repeated unconvincingly. As it happened, although we had organised and paid for two Trekols, there was only one available. And it was ancient. We would however be accompanied by a convoy of three trucks "Just in case anything goes wrong". We shrugged our shoulders. After all, even with all our luggage, surely we didn't need two Trekols to transport just the three of us? And if there was a convoy of trucks, then surely we would be fine?
What we didn't realise at the time was the enormity of responsibility placed on Alex's young shoulders. Here he was saddled with two old foreigners who couldn't speak a skerrick of Russian, in a remote and climatically volatile location in which he was totally unfamiliar and in a situation which was fraught with unexpected dangers, difficulties or perhaps even disasters. And to top it off, travelling in a doubtful vehicle with an unknown driver....
On our return to Bilibino, Vladim asked us if we would like a trip up to Aisperovskaya Hill which overlooked the valley and township of Bilibino. Well, yes of course we would. Our journey to Aisperovskaya however, was our introduction to the treacherous nature of what was to come during the next 48 hours. The road was perilous; our sturdy all terrain vehicle swerving dangerously across the snow bound icy incline. As we ascended the hill, I began to think that maybe this ice road trip may not be such a fine idea after all....
We slipped and skidded backwards for some time before making our final perilous ascent. With a mighty lurch, our vehicle made it to the top, but only just. Vladim wisely stayed in the vehicle while the three of us stumbled against gale force winds to the lookout. The views were magnificent but in a gale of around 100 kilometers per hour, it was almost impossible for us to to stand up. Alex later estimated that the temperature would have most probably been around minus 50 degrees C! And then there was the wind chill factor...
For the first time during our travels, I had to admit to myself "Yes, perhaps this is a bridge too far...". But I didn't dare mention it. Alan apparently was having the same thoughts. Goodness knows what Alex was thinking....
I didn't have much time to contemplate our fate. With a resounding crash, I fell over yet again on the icy track. Alex and Alan helped me get up but almost immediately I fell thigh deep into a hidden snow abyss. Muttering profanities, I was dragged by my friends legless into the car.
A CHANCE MEETING WITH FRIENDLY LOCALS
The owner of the restaurant we dined at for lunch was insistent that he would be open that evening. Our lunch of borsch and a type of sausage salad had been very good and we were looking forward to another Russian meal - Chukchi food was fine but we sure needed a change...
It was a long, bitterly cold evening walk and to our disappointment, the restaurant was closed when we arrived. Alex tried calling the owner but he was adamant he had waited for us before closing and there was no way he was prepared to open again. It was not true. We had arrived right on the agreed time. And there were no other restaurants within walking distance - aka virtually no restaurants in Bilibino, that is....
At home, this situation would not even be worth mentioning but I am including it because in a place like Bilibino, walking anywhere very far on such a bitterly cold evening is not an option. It was in fact, a difficult situation especially as we had no transport. Fortunately, Alex had our taxi driver's phone number. He advised the only place that evening was open was a pizza bar on the other side of town - and he was happy to take us there. We are not fond of pizzas but that that stage, it was sounding really good. And it certainly beat raw reindeer lung.
The humble pizza bar was run by two friendly Russian women who showed us to our table. Two young women sitting opposite us were finishing their meal. On being seated, they glared at us with such naked hostility, it was quite disconcerting. We shrugged our shoulders, putting their stares down to us being unusual foreigners. Maybe they thought we were Americans?
Another woman with a beautifully dressed-for-all-weather small child were waiting for a take away meal. After initially avoiding any eye contact, the young woman became very friendly, smiling and waving to us. We were finding our first encounters with Russian people quite bizarre. It is so different in Australia, and particularly our tiny home village of Crowdy Head, where most people will readily smile and chat amicably, even if they don't know you. On the other hand, they mightn't like you very much either!
To our utmost astonishment, after they finished their meal the two young women who were eating when we arrived, came over to our table armed with some cans of beer. These they told Alex were a welcome gesture for us strangers! "It was their treat" they explained. Olga and her friend turned out to be the most friendly young people, asking us lots of questions about our country - and of course about why were we in Bilibino?
Our crazy evening turned out to be a lot of fun. But we were having great difficulty working out the culture and customs of the local Russian people. Once again, we were finding Russian people amazingly friendly and hospitable. It just took a while before it happened.... And when it did, it seemed like genuine friendliness and hospitality. It was an uncomfortable thought that perhaps it maybe the reverse case in our home country....
Alan and I chatted that night in our hotel room about our stay in Bilibino. It had been a wonderful introduction to Chukotka, made all the more special by our encounters with local people, both Chukchi and Russian. And we agreed, we could not help but be impressed with the strength and resourcefulness of the Chukotka people, especially those wonderfully formidable women!
Yes, we would be back to Bilibino....
2025-02-06