Manera’s brand manager, Julien Salles, has been planning off the grid trips for years, but Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula is perhaps the most remote and exotic as of yet. As a restricted military zone during the cold war, Kamchatka has only recently opened up to civilian travel, leaving much of its pristine geography untouched by modern progress. Excerpted from the travel log of Paul Serin, the Manera team heads east, and then east again into the uncharted volcanic wilds of eastern Russia.
J U L Y 0 7
The Kamchatka trip is starting but the wind at the Tarifa GKA freestyle competition is still playing tricks on us. I got eliminated pretty quickly but Max is still in the race to win. Our flight to Moscow leaves tonight from Malaga airport, yet the competition for tomorrow is still not canceled. Max is stressed; this season is his””he cannot afford to miss a semifinal, but at 7:30pm we decide to leave even though the competition is not 100% canceled. All I can think about is Kamchatka as we approach the airport but it is not until we get a Whatsapp message confirming the contest is called off that Max’s trip can finally begin.
J U L Y 0 8
Flights follow flights and fatigue sets in. Max, Mallory and I have a day-long layover in Moscow before our evening flight to Petropavlovsk. Mallory has a lightning tour planned for us”” first the Kremlin then the Red Square. We walk around the city like zombies, taking in the sights and searching for benches and shadows to take naps. A few hours later we connect with the rest of the team at Moscow airport and board the final flight into Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where our adventure will finally begin… To read the rest of Paul Serin’s log from Manera’s cold water explorations into the pristine landscape of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, become a subscriber of Tkb Magazine.
Tkb’s Vol. 16, No. 4 winter 2019 digital issue is available now. The print issue will be landing in mailboxes soon!
