The Great Journey

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[ Tundra by dog Sleds ]

February 27, 1998. In a deserted village of Dezhnyova, the eastern tip of Siberia, the thermometer stood at 30 degrees below 0. Last summer, we arrived at this village from Alaska by crossing the Bering Strait by kayak. On that day our journey in Eurasia started. First 2,000 km was to be covered by dog sleds. On the vast snowfield untrodden by men, were the footmarks left by reindeer. Those of wolves followed them. Sometimes the temperature dropped to 40 degrees below 0. That was the lowest temperature our thermometer could register. So it might have been lower than that. In order to supply calories, people there fermented walrus meat called coparhin. First the odor was so strong that I couldn't eat it but once I got used to it, it had an irresistible flavor. The moment you eat it, it warms you up. We were warmly welcomed everywhere we went. It took one and a half months to cover the 2,000 km.