The Commander Islands, Komandorski Islands, or Komandorskie Islands (Russian: Командо́рские острова́, Komandorskiye ostrova) are a series of islands in the Russian Far East, a part of the Aleutian Islands, located about 175 km (109 mi) east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea. Treeless and sparsely populated, the islands consist of Bering Island (95 km (59 mi) by 15 km (9.3 mi)) and Medny Island. Nikolskoye, a small village, is the only settlement on these islands, the others being unpopulated nature reserves. Not on any tourist agendas. We were on a 47 passenger no frills expedition cruise to tramp in wellington boots around Kamchatka and remote places searching for bears and wild things! We did see huge Kamchatka bears, rusty- coloured, trotting on deserted shores, swimming, scooping up salmon at river mouths. And walrus, sea lions, millions of different birds, eagles…whales of many kinds. And no people apart from us.

A great museum of dead things…boats, ships, fishing gear, oil drums etc.. what comes in never goes out again!

Have a fab Friday and an interestingly happy weekend….