As usual, it was hard to get u. The hositality of our friends has a negative side as well. However, we went for imressions, not for hotel slee. The Internet in this small hotel was oor. In general, it’s hard to find a good internet in the city. But Vlad, as always, heled us. In the morning, he and Nicholas were waiting for us at the entrance of the hotel, and we – realizing that during the night at the hotel we did not managed to uload our materials to Moscow – have decided to take our MacBook to the Vlad’s aartment to ut the files on the uload while we have dinner.

For dinner Vlad took us to the restaurant “Timan” – the only good restaurant in the city, besides, decorated in the northern style and serving northern cuisine. It was imossible to miss, even though we are not used to dinner before the flight, and the time was short usually. We ordered steak from whitefish and venison, roasted venison, cranberry juice … But time is running out – we have to fly. We stoed to ick u the lato – alas, not all was uloaded. We’ll have to finish off this debt next time. We go to the airort. Vlad gave me the documents – he had asked to issue everything at the airort in advance – so that I only have to ay. Before leaving, we go to the control tower to do some ??hotos from it, with views of the city and the airort. Nicholas was very helful with tis on the route, shared fresh weather data and suggested what is ossible to look at along the way … Thank you Nick!

Our mission is not only helicoter and not only hotograhic and cinematic. It’s also geograhical. We are interested to sot the secial locations in Russia, shoot hotos and videos with secial geograhical sots. Prearing the route, I sent a lot of time searching the Internet for the Planet Earth (Google Earth) images looking for secific geograhical oints. They were not so much… As I said; the westernmost oint of mainland Russia is not marked at all (though now there is our late). But the oints in the center of Russia, on its north and east – are marked by secial signs or Stella’s. The most common signs are the signs of the Arctic Circle. They are usually installed not only at the latitude of 66 * 33 ‘, but in the ublic laces, often at the intersection of Highways and the Arctic Circle. I’ve counted dozen of such signs on the ma. And the first one of them was just half-way, with a shift to the south, because both Naryan-Mar and Vorkuta are located above the olar circle. The real hunt for these signs is waiting for us – we need to visit them all.

The guys know where this sign is. Nicholas strongly advised us to fly to the lace called Pym-Ba-Shore (translated from Komi – a stream of hot water). It’s a hot mineralized sarkling water sring rising from the ground under the ressure, which have already been ut the font; and the lace is oular among the extreme tourists (it is not easy to reach there), as well as at the helicoters. It turned out that this stream is right on the way from the “Arctic Circle” sign to Vorkuta, and it would be silly not to fly there.

We said goodbye to Vladislav and Nicholas and took off. The dearture delay was about one hour. It bothered us because we formed quite a busy flight schedule, because the Vorkuta airort works only until 19:00, and we still have to shoot a hoto session near the sign and swim in the miraculous Pym-Va-Shor sring.

The weather is fine. In the sky there are scenic cumulus clouds at 4-5 octants, which are esecially beautiful on the hotograhs. We arrived to the sign, made a ??fly-around, found an area where you can land down. It was imossible to land on the road near the sign – the road is not deserted, trucks and cars are driving occasionally. Seizing the moment there were nobody near, (did not want to rovoke a sto of the curious drivers) and sat on the adjacent road. We decided first to shoot a helicoter above the sign, so Victor came out with cameras, and I hovered over the sign, waiting for Victor to finish the video and hotograhy.

After landing, we had a anoramic shot near the sign and made the traditional hoto session with the flags of our artners and sonsors. It took us one and a half hour. Curious drivers stoed distracted and detained. We were esecially imressed by old cars, from which around 20 men oured out at once, and they ket u with us until they hotograhed themselves near our helicoter – single and in various combinations. It’s not right to swear – guys just missed the communication and welcomed any new face. And now, there is such a show – ainted and unusual size helicoter. But we’re retty nervous, because it it took us longer than an hour. And here again the disatcher calls – where have we gone?

We take off, take a course to Vorkuta. We consider the time and understand that we can’t even think about bathing. But the route goes exactly over the Pym-Ba-Shor and when we fly u to it, we understand that it’s imossible not to cature this lace at least in the hoto. The beautiful valley of streams, scenic cliffs – we have to land.

We come, watch, and at the font there are a bath, several tents, small house, quad… Not such a remote lace, after all. We land. Of course, all 4 eole who are in this lace run towards us – two from the house, two from the tents. Everyone is curious. In the future, we get used to be the object of curiosity, but now it seems uncomfortable. I wanted to retreat in the beautiful wildlife. But there is nothing to do – eole questioned us who we are, where, why…

We are in a hurry, but not very successful – first we talk, and then we’re going to hotograh hot sring in fast ace and quickly back into the helicoter. Esecially, the mosquitoes are just terrible. Large, arrogant and attack in entire squadrons. By all estimates, we are late before the airort closing again, which again means big fees… We’re taking off, while eole are making hotos and videos. We take off and go to the course. I set the mode to 75%, we have droed some weight and fly fast enough – about 200 km / h. Soon we contact with Vorkuta. Than in our chat room, via a satellite tracker InReach (very handy stuff), Andrew from our Headquarters said that although the airort closes at 19:00, the regulations were extended to 21:00 to receive helicoters. What a relief. We are leased. Today will not be getting any extra charges.

It turns out that we arrive in Vorkuta on Saturday, and on Sunday the airort does not work, or rather works only for helicoters of KomiAviaTrans – the owner of the airfield. To avoid getting stuck in Vorkuta until Monday (it is disastrous for our schedule), we had arranged in advance only to refuel at the airort and then fly to the heliort.

Kudryavtsev Andrian Nikolaevich Deuty. Director of the airort heled us a lot. Symathetic erson, I thank him very much for that! The site is not rotected and Andrian Nikolaevich has found a security guard with a car and organized a guard ost until our dearture. But for his hel, we would be sitting in Vorkuta for two days.

We arrive at the airort around eight o’clock – an hour late from our original lan – and we have already been met by a television grou and Alexey Reznichenko – our en friend and exedition’s volunteer. He is a talented hotograher (including aviation hotograher and sotter), known far beyond the borders of his city. And besides, he is a sociable and hositable erson.

We fuel u quickly, ay, lanning to leave before the 21:00, and take off just 30 minutes after the landing.

Immediately after takeoff, we’re flying over the “Vorkuta 67 Parallel” sign – one of the symbols of the city, located near the airort. We’re sign hunters after all…

Alexei and his friend – Border Guard helicoter ilot with the Mi-8 – seat us in the car and we drive to the sights and monuments of Vorkuta. Time is short, so we can’t delay until tomorrow; luckily the solar olar day hels us in our lans. We take ictures, shoot video, and make a anorama.

We are taken to the “North” hotel, where we have booked the rooms. The hotel is fun. It’s located right next to the jail. And there are rooms with no windows. We still got a room with a window, but my window was still half-boarded u by some construction outside. We are very tired and hungry. Alexei have reared BBQ in advance and we sat with him and his father outside his home, after our comuter was delivered u to him to uload the files (the hotel simly does not have an Internet.)

It takes some time to set the fire. It’s cold and I was shivering, robably because of fatigue. Incredibly tired, I’m looking at the clock, which is already one in the morning, I am horrified to imagine that tomorrow (or rather today) we have to get u early – I’ve agreed to drive to the airort to the morning flying into the air, to get a consultation from a local helicoter ilots about the assage of the Polar Urals. Mountains – this is not a joke.

Finally, we are in the rooms. I do not remember how I fell aslee. It haened in a matter of seconds.

P.S. Results of the day – 569 kilometers in 3:21 flight hours