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Morzohvets anyone?
 Leaving Murmansk and heading for the White Sea along the Kola Peninsula we made a very unusual stop at Morzohvets Island, a Soviet military installation throughout the Cold War. With Nine men, five children (there for the summer) and two dogs this visit was as much a surprise for them as it was for us! We are the first expedition ship - foreign or Russian Flagged - to venture onto this remote Russian Island. The signs of former military life surround us, rusting along the shore. The lighthouse is the one landmark that could be seen from anywhere within the small settlement. Still in use today it signals the approach to this low -lying island from sea. These days Morzohvets is primarily still used as a meteorological station to gather information for the Hydrometeorology Office. Change has come to Russia, and she is slowly opening her doors to Western exploration once again. What a privilege to be amongst the first to experience this new dimension!

posted by Wildlife Images at 3:59 AM