Moscow
The first leg of the journey was a flight from the UK to Moscow.  In Moscow we were booked into the Cosmos hotel for one night before continuing our journey to the dive centre.

Luckily for all of us Adam is a frequent9ish) visitor to Moscow through his job as a lecturer at Kingston University.  Consequently Adam had arranged through his friendly students a fantastic meal out for the evening we arrived.  Had it been left up to ourselves it would have been a disaster so a big thanks to Adam and his Russian colleagues.  After the meal we all trooped off to see the Kremlin and Red Square at night.

After a good night sleep we were ready to start the next leg of our trip.

The train journey
The thought of spending 28 hours cooped up on a train did not fill me with delight but I knew that it would be an experience not to forget.  How right I was!!  To quote from the Arctic Circle Dive Center website, "The train journey to the diving site is an adventure in itself".

The train journey took us from Moscow to Chupa along 1,673km of train track heading directly north towards the White Sea.  and if anyone thought this was going to be luxurious train travel then think again.  Each carriage had a number of 4 bed compartments that are designed for people carrying an umberella and possibly a toothbrush which might explain why we had a little (!) bit of trouble trying to arrange all our clumsy dive gear into the minute spaces available to us.

Having settled in to our new home the journey began and we were treated to spectacular views of the Russian countryside interspersed with calls for "more beer", farting, belching and people generally trying to enjoy themselves.  The train stopped regularly, sometimes for a few minutes and at other times for as long as half an hour.  At these longer stops everyone took the opportunity to get off, stretch their legs and buy more beer and crisps.

After 28 hours and some (interrupted) sleep we made it to Chupa.

The Arctic Circle Dive Center
After a two hour transfer from Chupa station to the dive centre we finally saw the place where we would be spending the next 5 days diving.  A beautiful setting with log wooden cabins and snow mobiles.

After settling in we were told the rules of the "camp" and then immediately started our first "lesson" before taking to the ice.  The diving was out of this world and the trips to and from the minas (holes in the ice through which you dive) was equally as exillerating.  Being pulled along on a wooden sled by snow mobiles driven by nutters along the side of the frozen White Sea before cutting out and travelling across the ice to reach the dive base.

During the day diving we were based in wooden huts on the ice (two or three to a hut).  Despite the tempreatures of freezing and below outside the huts were fantastically warm all with their own gas heaters to make changing and surface intervals as pleasant as possible.  There were also wooden toilet cubicles and a large heated kitchen that always made sure we were well fed.  The best bit of all was that our wooden heated changing rooms we actually dragged by the snow mobiles over to the next mina where we were diving so there was no trekking about.  The whole organisation was second to none.

In the evening there was not much to do, which was a good thing because most of the time everyone was exhausted from the days diving.  The highlight was the Banya, a traditional steam room, where you could relax, warm up and drink a nice cold beer.

The diving
To say the diving was awesome is an understatement.  Or perhaps I mean that the feeling of breathing not just underwater but whilst being trapped under ice (apart from a small hole and a rope tied around your waist) was awesome.  Or perhaps I mean both.

At the beginning of every dive you leave the surface and then just rest with your head pushed up to the underside of the ice just to the side of the mina.  Of course, before you enter the water you take a breath, with the regulator out of your mouth, go under the surface and then put the regulator in.  In this way you avoid freezing of the second stage as warm moisture from your breath in the freezing air temperature could result in ice crystals forming and freezing the first stage.  This vital stop allows you to become accustomed to the temperature whilst also allowing you to carry out some vital safety checks, namely that both your regulators work (each regulator attached to a different first stage in case one freezes).  Once you are both ready you start your dive and descent.

My first ice dive experience led me to only a maximum depth of 4.6m at Big Cross Island but what a view!!  I knelt on the bottom and looked up and around me.  The visibility was fantastic as the water was crystal clear and the air bubbles floating around under the ice is a sight to behold.  Dima led the line (which meant he was communicating with the surface) and I just relaxed and enjoyed the dive.  Toward the end I knelt upside down under the ice looking up (down) and then stood up upside down - a very strange feeling.

After my first ice dive all other dives just came and went so quickly.  For the first two days a few of us undertook the PADI ice diver specialty course which involved a number of instructed dives with various skills to master.  The rest of the time we dived in buddy pairs as we would in the UK.  There are a number of excellent dive sites we went to including Biofilters Bay and Anenome Rock.  Under water (ice) skiing is a must for all divers!

The trip back
The trip back entailed a two hour journey to Chupa followed by a night in Moscow followed by a flight back to the UK.  The highlight of the journey back was definitely taking a slight detour between the dive center and Chupa to go to the official arctic circle.  Due to the consumption of two bottles of vodka no-ones photos are that clear!

A brilliant trip, a fantastic dive center and an unbelieveable experience - definitley one to recommend to others (if you like diving)!