granted beautiful weather - sunny skies, fluffy white clouds, and golden
sun to warm us.
During this morning's landing we walked along the beach at Whaler's Bay
and met up with a pair of chinstrap penguins who, for the right price,
would pose for photos. Needless to say, we paid up - and shot until,
with a wave of their flippers, they dove into the incoming waves and
left us. When we got back to our landing spot we had the marvelous
opportunity to "swim" in a thermal pool. This "pool" was dug by
members of the crew, was directly on the edge of the bay, and was
DELICIOUS. Those of us who took the plunge changed out of our many
layers of clothing behind a rusted out whaling station. It was GREAT. I
didn't bring a bathing suit, but I didn't care. Clothing back on, we
headed back to our ship and were greeted with hot cocoa laced with rum -
mmm, mmm, good!
After another wonderful lunch, and a few moments to nap, we donned our
gear and headed out to Telefon Bay - no wildlife (other than all of us),
but the stark beauty of life amid volcanoes. The entire landscape looked
as if belonged on the moon - stark and empty. Black and white or brown -
those were the choices. We had a long walk up a steep incline to get to
the top where we could have an incredible view of the entire Caldera. I,
and many others, hiked half way up, rested a bit, and hiked back to the
beach. Every so often there were strong gusts of wind to remind us that
we are not in charge. When we were safely back in our Zodiac, we took a
bit of a tour and found out that the mountain we had been hiking on was
actually a glacier. Back to the ship - no cocoa waited for us at the top
of the stairs this time - and out of our gear for the last time today.
For those of you who are asking "How are Bob and Felice?", here's the
story. Felice is fine. She and I went ashore together this morning, but
after lunch she fell asleep while studying and missed the shore
excursion. Bob? He's been asleep the entire day. Perhaps we'll see him
out and about this evening. This is NOT mal de mer. This is a virus that
is traveling the ship. We are all making every attempt to keep ourselves
germ-free.
There is a briefing that begins - oops, five minutes ago, after which
there will be dinner and a couple of movies. It seems to be getting
choppy. I am headed to the briefing. Talk to you soon.
TheWanderingJu ~ Judi
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