First let me be straight about the trip. This is as close as I could get. It was 2005 (time flies), and the trip was "Realm of the Russian Bear." All 100 of us swarmed ashore at Gabriel Bay, Kamchatka. We thought it was a deserted fishing village, but it wasn't quite as deserted as we imagined. There was a family living there...a couple and their teenage daughters. The first thing the wife did was want to make tea for all of us. They'd probably been using the same tea bag for the last year, but she was willing to share it. I'm not sure I could be as hospitable if 100 strangers suddenly showed up on my doorstep. We politely declined. We spent a while asking them about their life and snapping photos. When we left, Shirley asked if there was anything they needed. I'm not sure if they were entitled to a landing fee, but all she said was "Could you spare some salt?" We left them a big bag of salt and some educational materials for thier daughters. They left us (me, at least) with a renewed feeling of what hospitality is like and a refreshing realization that there are still some places in the world where salt is worth more than money.

Trip: Northern Ring of Fire: Kamchatka & the Kuril Islands
First Name: Terry
Last Name: Shumaker
City: Astoria
State: Oregon