On Silver Discoverer, Cruising Russia’s Far East

There are only a little more than 8,000 Koriak people in the world. A handful of them greeted us when our zodiacs pulled ashore this afternoon in Tymlat Village. 

Before entering the village, our spirits were cleansed through a ritual that required us to place a blade of grass on a fire. After that, we were lightly switched as we made our way uphill to the community.

The Koriaks practice a form of shamanism, which we witnessed in some of the ceremonies that we saw today. Their traditional clothing came from reindeer hides, and in fact, the coastal Koriak are close cousins to the nomadic reindeer herders. 

The tribal people were curious and welcoming and they didn’t mind at all when we asked to photograph their fantastic faces. 

While a few Koriaks prepared a fish stew for our group, I sat down with Conrad Combrink, director of Silversea Expeditions, to talk about our voyage so far. Check out the video.