South of Cape Dezhnev, Russia, on the far northeast corner of Asia opposite Alaska lies the Chukchi village of Uelen. The village offers spectacular scrimshaw carvings and an interesting local museum. Villagers make their living by hunting walrus and evidence of this occupation can be seen throughout the community. You can go ashore in Zodiacs where Chukchi women dressed in traditional brown, beaded costumes may stand in a line beating skin drums in a gesture of welcome. There may be villagers selling crafts - seal skin slippers with beaded decorations, fur hats of fox, seal and reindeer calf, ivory carvings and dolls. You may also be welcomed with a dance performance by a local dance troupe or a boating race in umiaks. This is an opportunity to explore a modern Russian Eskimo community down the muddy streets among leaning electric poles, dog yards, and Soviet-era apartment buildings.
