On August 11, at about 7 pm, we saw our last of the Kuril Islands as the Iskatel-4 lifted anchor shortly after the small field crews were returned from Rasshua at around 6:30 pm and we headed south before turning west to cross the Sea of Okhotsk on our way back to Korsakov. Compared to last year, it had been a short field season (about 20 days compared to by about 16 days), but a very productive one. We had found and mapped known and new archaeological sites and gotten good work done at three major archaeological sites and 4-5 tsunami sites, and that was just the American crew!
But while the field work was complete, our work is far from done…..
We arrived in Korsakov harbor at about 6 am on August 14, but had to wait until shortly after 8 am for the harbormaster to tell the Iskatel’s crew where to berth and by a little before 9 am, we were tied up at the dock. There was a lot of hustle and bustle on the ship as everyone finished packing their personal gear and each of the different groups began organizing their field gear. The American crew pulled samples and gear from the forward hold and transferred it to the dock.
The day alternated between waiting on the dock, lifting and lugging, waiting/playing cards/reading/napping, loading trucks, more waiting, more loading, more waiting, getting on and riding the bus/waiting/napping, unloading trucks, more riding/waiting, a bit more unloading, a bit more riding and then finally arriving at the apartment near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
All of the crews helped load trucks with each group’s gear on the dock in Korsakov, only sometimes assisted by a crane.
Most of the American crew and some friends wait on the dock in Korsakov alongside the Iskatel after returning from the Kuril Islands. Pictured are Dani Plante, Mike Etnier, James Taylor, Colby Phillips, Matt Walsh, Nick Shankle, Taku Osaka, Shelby Anderson, Dima Shubin and Bre MacInnes.
Mike Etnier takes a break from loading gear and waiting on the dock to “rest his eyes” on a warm and muggy overcast day in Korsakov.
When the last of us arrived at the apartment, we found that the first group had not only brought in the gear, but had also bought provisions and made things comfortable already. We made dinner and settled in for the evening – eleven of us in a small, two-room apartment…
Today, Nick, Shelby, Dani and James headed home, though they won’t arrive until nearly the day after tomorrow – with an overnight layover of nearly 24 hours in Seoul. Each of us will have a similar itinerary to get home. Our remaining group said good-bye to them this morning as they headed into town to do some last-minute shopping and we headed into the Sakhalin Regional Museum to begin our “paperwork”.
To get into town, we take the #10 bus – which costs 10 rubles, or about 40 cents, and takes about 20 minutes plus wait time at the bus stop. The bus is usually pretty crowded and there aren’t many seats, but it is very convenient and drops us off about a 6 block walk from the Museum. Bre, Mike, Ben, Colby, Matt and I arrived at the Valery Shubin’s office at museum at around 10:30, were met there later by Taku Osaka and we worked until 5 pm. This is us all day:
Mike Etnier and Colby Phillips working in one room – cataloging Ainu Creek samples with Matt Walsh. They were entering them into the physical catalog and the computer catalog simultaneously.
Ben Fitzhugh and Taku Osaka photographing ceramics and artifacts.
Bre MacInnes and Misty Nikula using photocopied pages of the physical catalog to enter the backlog of sample entries into a second copy of the computer catalog (to be merged with the one Mike, Colby and Matt are updating later). (Photos courtesy of Matt Walsh)
Other than a short break for lunch (kielbasa, cheese, bread and apples from the apartment) and one to procure snacks (sodas and croissants) from the nearby Sakhalin Center – that was what we did all day today…Documenting – one of the less glamorous, but extremely important tasks that scientists must undertake!
Once the computer catalog is up-to-date, we will begin sorting, organizing and inventorying the physical samples. Many of the samples will stay here at the Museum; some will go to the University of Washington. The number of each and their final destination needs to be indicated in the computer catalog so that we can give a complete and final list – hopefully by the end of the week – to Dr. Shubin so that he can clear everything with the Russian Customs Authorities before we leave next Wednesday.
Tomorrow we will head back in to the Museum and continue….
But tonight, we had a very nice dinner (in a slightly less overpopulated apartment – minus four people and their bags) that Jody shopped for while we were at the Museum and then cooked for us. Bow tie pasta, homemade sauce with tomatoes, black and green olives, eggplant, mushrooms and Italian spices and green salad with homemade dressing! Delicious!
Spokonyye Noche!
Misty
