The Drrons shoot a killer and other delights.

[drron]

Just in time bomber command arrives.

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See how they wheel in over those pesky sea lions beside the other zodiac.

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Finished the day with a hot rocks meal and a wonderful sunset.

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[drron]

A small break in transmission with a few observations.
First US officialdom.The turn around day in San Diego was horrendous for the staff.We were fine as we went out for a walk,some shopping and a nice seafood lunch.Reboarded ~ 1.30pm and the dining room was still closed as the US authorities had not finished their galley inspection.Those who returned to the ship for lunch had to wait until after 2.30pm for lunch.Those boarding for the cruise to Vancouver had to wait until about 2pm to be able to board.again due to US officialdom/arrogance.
Next on the 3 days to San Francisco virtually no fruit,certainly no berries.Also no grilled tomatoes for breakfast.Last night found out that it was due to the US quarantine officials making the ship throw out fruit and some vegetables that had been loaded in Mexico.

Next is the subtle reduction in services.At night instead of having petit fours with one of each for every guest at the table it is now only 1 piece for each guest.At lunch most dishes are very simple-a daily version of a Shepherd's pie and 2-3 stir fries with little animal protein.We are often amongst the last few for breakfast.I am cutting down on the amount of food so generally a small plate of fruit followed by a small plate of cold cuts.,The last 3 days the smoked salmon has been removed before I get back to the buffet.

Next is a problem not entirely due to Silverseas.talking to a few onboard who have done several SS Expedition cruises.We all think that the organisation of the various activities is not of the former standard.A lot is due to the explosion of expedition cruising.We are told that at least 24 new builds of expedition ships coming on line in the next 2-3 years.SS is losing experienced staff to these new entrants to this field.Kara Weller for example has now gone to Scenic for their expedition ship Eclipse which is due to launch in August this year.She was of great value and has been followed by other SS staff.
We are lucky on this cruise to have Robin Aiello as one of the expedition team along with Travis who has just rejoined and Chris Habard the birder who is great value.But you do notice little things such as errors in the chronicles which didn;'t happen nearly as often in the past.

The most recent problem has been the near complete loss of internet access over nearly 3 days.Began in San Francisco and I suspect it may be because we observed boxes being loaded on to Deck 7 then construction noises such as drilling above us-we are on deck 7 and above us is the main communication equipment.

So there it is off my chest.However still enjoying the experience and we are looking forward to September when we do B2B cruises on the Explorer.But cant help thinking that the loss of experienced staff is likely to continue.

 

[drron]

The next morning it was an early morning start for Isla Partida del Norte.

The choice was a snorkel or a walk over the island.Now I had only just awoken and back home you should never go into the ocean at dawn or dusk so it was the walk for me.It was spectacular.

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Great geology as well.

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[drron]

There were even birds on the beach.

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But as we climbed the island the sunrise was the star.

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As well as the sunrise there is more interesting geology.

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[zig]

Enjoying your trip.
Interesting observation about the expedition activities onboard drron. I feared that with Kara (and potentially other SS expedition staff) joining Scenic that there would be an impact on quality and organisation of activities. Staff of that calibre wouldn't be easy to replace.

 

[drron]

Zig there has been a slow leak of the SS expedition staff over the last few years as more companies get into expedition cruising.Robin west went to Seabourn and took some others,some have gone to Ponant with their new ships and others have drifted off elsewhere.There are even more companies getting into the field and SS has a good name so I am sure more will go.But SS now has a training academy for expedition staff.I feel if this is to work they will need to bind them to SS in some way.
Back to the TR.
But the sunrise is not finished yet.

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Lots of cacti.Big,very little and flowering.

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[drron]

Now to the other side of the island.

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Lots of those holes.Said to house a beetle.
More of the dark side.

Sun shining on the island acroos the water.

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Meanwhile on the bright side.

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And the real top of the island.

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[drron]

Interesting dead things.

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A surprising amount of rubbish.

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Local fishermen come out to the islands and often overnight hence what looks like a campsite.In the second picture the gull is using the trash as a nest.
Then back to the Explorer.

 

[drron]

That afternoon and a short cruise to Isla San Esteban and the Chuckwallas.You will find out in due time what they are.

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The obvious feature of the island are the large cacti.

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But the rock layers are interesting.

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The cacti were in flower and new growth evident.

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[drron]

Amazing what the cacti attract.

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More flora and a hidden animal.

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So did you spot the animal.No not the dinosaur in the 4th picture.
If you look closely at the third picture there is a little bird at the right hand edge.I didn't realise I had caught him in the shot until I downloaded to my computer.

 

[OATEK]

Drron, between cactus and birdsh*t you seem to be having a real time of it!!

 

[RooFlyer]

So pretty much contemporary with Rooflyer?

Hrrrmph. Yesterday I burned off my 30-40 yo guide in 40+ conditions. Left him floundering as I scaled 400 steps to a viewpoint at the end of the day.

Sorry drron, loving your pics of rocks. Shame about the bloody animals spoiling the view.

 

[drron]

Now to the lizards.first the zebra lizard-

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And now the Chuckwalla.lives around the base of cacti-

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I also spotted 2 types of whiptail lizard and a smaller unidentified light brown one.The photos though weren't great as nearly impossible to tell the lizard apart from the earth.great camouflage.
More flora.

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[drron]

More of the cacti.Impressive roots.
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I also found a dead chuckwalla.

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Time to get back to the ship.

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You had to get past this angry mother.

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More geology.Note the fault line.

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[drron]

The dinner that night.An Indian theme dinner which we mostly avoided.Just didn't hit the markI did have the samosas and a Rogan josh-it wasn't even worth taking a picture of.Mrsdrron doesn't even do good Indian food.

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Rojaan's prime rib.

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Desserts.

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Basically not quite up to previous experiences on the Explorer.There was another Asian themed night with a couple of Thai dishes which were poorly executed.Probably smaller portions but that isn't a problem!

 

[drron]

The next day it is lectures in the morning-good ones too.after lunch we are off the island of Santa Catalina.The zodiac run to the beach.

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We cruise past elephant rock.

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[drron]

A tricky landing as a sharp drop off and the beach was slippery rounded stones.

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The island is known for these large round cacti.

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[drron]

The round cactus flowering and a quite tall specimen-

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The zebra lizard also exists here.There was a pretty green lizard but it wouldn't stay still!

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There was also snorkelling but the reports weren't glowing.

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[drron]

Time to go back to the zodiacs.

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Showing the rocks that make up the beach.

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Once again with the sharp drop off and the slippery rocks it was a little difficult getting back in the zodiac.The fellow who wouldn't follow instructions of getting off and on the zodiacs with the legs facing the water not the beach found out why.As he was in the process of putting his first leg up he was hit by an unexpected wave.
Leaving we were taken on a short zodiac tour.first to see why elephant rock got it's name.

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Then to see rocks.

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[drron]

Then to see rocks.

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More beautiful rocks.

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And Santa Catalina recedes into the distance.

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