Goodbye Palm Springs, Hello Vancouver

And no, I'm not happy about it.  The season seems to have flown by - it feels like I just got here - the weather is just about perfect, and aside from a few opera opportunities, which I am really looking forward to, and a bridge tournament, there is nothing drawing me to Vancouver.

Immediately on my return from the Galapagos, Sue called to remind me that I had signed up to go to the Metropolitan Opera in the Movies to see Wagner's Walkure.  I was tired, and almost bagged it, but decided to go anyway.  I am so glad I did.  Some people (read friend Peter) think Greer Grimsley is getting too long in the tooth to sing Wotan, but I (and apparently the rest of the audience, both at the Met and in the movies) loved him, and Christine Goerke as Brunhilde and Eve-Maria Westbrock as Siglinde (and Jamie Barton as Fricka) were grand as well.  The five hours flew by - as is now usual for me, it ended too soon....

The following day, I had a new - and very Palm Springs - experience.  Dale, a friend from Zumba - had invited me, and several of our classmates, to lunch at Smoke Tree Ranch, an old, private club in Palm Springs.  Very old money (no Jews, blacks or Mexicans allowed until recently), great service, great food, great location.  ...

.

......sorry, guys, invitation only.

My friends the road runners haven't forgotten me while I was gone...

.....and the three classes I was able to sign up for were all wonderful, in very different ways.  The Man Without a Face was about Putin, his rise to power and his absolute control of the Russian State (scary);  The Desert encompassed geology, water, Native Americans, and our Pioneers (very informative - the desert is a very special place); and All Ashore Who're Going Ashore was about the glory days of trans-Atlantic travel.  The instructor, Vinnie Stopia (previously mentioned in these pages, Vinnie lives just down the street from me), is always a showman, and dressed for the classes.

Very entertaining...

As happens every year, there has been a round of going away dinners (and exhortations to live here year round).  One night it was Thai Smile with friend Chaya, another it was Greek, with friend John and his new beau Tom...

.....at one of my new favourite restaurants this season, Yianni's...

....and, finally, dinner at my friend Sue's place, the first time I have seen it.  And, of course, lots of hugs and kisses all around, at the bridge club, the gym and zumba.

So, I thought I would show you my new ride....

The Audi is still alive, but on its last legs, so I thought I would be proactive.  Besides, these don't come up all that often, and bridge partner Alex thought it would be fun to have matching cars.... (2000 Chrysler Sebring, don't you know...)

....that's him, below, my bridge partner, that is, although he is much handsomer in person....

......taken yesterday, at our last hurrah at the bridge table for a bit (although, he lives in Vancouver as well, and we will be playing throughout the summer after he arrives back next week). We did pretty well, coming in third overall and scoring some master points.

What else?  I have months of books to catch you up on, and it has been good reading recently, so here goes (in no particular order):

The Great Believer, by Rebecca Makkai, about the AIDS crisis, but from the point of view of Chicago (as opposed to San Francisco or New York, which we usually read about).   A good book, and a good reminder of the fear and dread of those times.

The Lamorna Wink, by Martha Grimes.  Found it on my book shelf, and realized I hadn't ever read it  Grimes never disappoints; in fact, this may be the best of the lot, as it goes into the psyche of the main characters.

Behold a Fair Woman, by Francis Duncan.   This is one of my library finds, and as good as the other three of his that I have read.

On my trip, I read All my Puny Sorrows (depressing, about the effects of suicide on a family);  The Magpie Murders (I had read it before, but it was the only thing in the ship's library left to me, and it was worth re-reading); Darwin's Finches, about two researchers (studying, interestingly enough, Darwin's finches, and more fascinating that you might imagine); and, finally, The Mapmaker's Wife, by Robert Whitaker, based on a true story about one of the early explorers of Peru (now, partially, Ecuador) and his native wife - amazing how much world history I don't know.  I liked it.

And, since I've been home:

Lethal White, by Robert Galbraith.  Apparently, everyone else in the world knew that this was the pseudonym for J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame.  Just as well I didn't know; I'm such a snob, I wouldn't have read it, and it was an amazingly good read.

The Family Tabor, by Cherise Wolas.  This is a novel which takes place mostly in and around Palm Springs, which is always fun, about a rich Jewish families and the lies they tell themselves, and each other.  I was gripped by it.  Ending a book is tough - often, I don't think the authors have got it right - but this one was perfect.  

And, last but not least, The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides.  This was billed as a page-turner, and it was.  I don't usually go for thrillers.  Murder mysteries, yes, but of the gentle, Miss Marple variety.  This one, though, sucked me in, and I literally didn't put it down until I finished it.  This is a first novel; this guy's got a future, I think.

Well, that's it folks.  Sue is picking me up in an hour, and we are off to breakfast (destination unknown) and then the airport.  When next heard from, I will be in Vancouver.  Talk to you then. 

Ecuador and the Galapagos, Part 3: Finally, the Galapagos

Yes, there is an airport, albeit small, on the (one of two) inhabited island, and it is tightly controlled, for number of people and goods permitted.  But, as with everything else, all has been well prepared, and on landing, we are greeted by our new minder, Paola, who, of course, does not look old enough to vote, but is charming and organized, and shuttles us all off to our waiting boat, a small catamaran called the Archipell II.

We see the ship......

....this is my cabin (each cabin with a name, mine is Iguana)....

..... and go over the itinerary over lunch...

The Galapagos are located 600 miles west of Ecuador's mainland.  It is an archipelago, and, as Darwin discovered in 1832 (or thereabouts) full of marine and bird life.  More than half the plants and birds - and nearly all the reptiles - exist nowhere else on earth, and there are no predators, human or otherwise.

There are 11 islands in the archipelago, but access is tightly controlled, as I mentioned, with boats only allowed to access those islands assigned on the days allocated, to minimize our impact on the Islands' ecosystem.

Our assigned itinerary (for those of you who like knowing these things) is to be as follows:

Monday - North Seymore Island.

Tuesday - Santiago Island - Bartolome and Buchaneer's Cove

Wednesday - still on Santiago, now at Egas Port and Rabida 

Thursday - Santa Cruz, including the turtle breeding center and Manzanillo 

Friday - Floriana Island, stopping at Punto Cormorant and Post Office Bay

Saturday - Epanola Island, including Gardiner Bat and Punto Segues

Sunday - San Cristobal Island (which is the capital of the province

                including Punta Pitt and Cerra Bruja

Monday - Still on San Cristobal, seeing the Charles Darwin Interpretation Center,

                 and then, sadly, the airport for the trip home...

We had two shore adventures on most days, and often several other itinerary items, such as snorkling, or a dinghy ride to another cove - or island - to see what we could see.  There were sometimes docks, but most often we had wet landings.  The terrain was varied, with sandy beaches, of course, but often volcanic landscape and hilly terrain, sometimes too difficult for me, although I did try, and only missed three of the 24 plus outings overall.

I debated not bringing a camera - I wanted to see things with my eyes and not through the lens of a camera - but couldn't resist taking pictures of the wildlife.  Since it doesn't matter a whit what island I saw what animal on, what follows is the photographic, chronological record, more or less unedited...

.....there were seals everywhere ....

.......and iguanas too, marine and land, of an amazing variety of (evolutionary, of course) colours....

.....the male frigates puff out their red chests to attract the females...

.....and the infamous blue footed boobies (there are red-footed ones too, and nascas) do a little mating dance.....

....this is Paola, our fearless leader for this part of the trip.  She's not only incredibly knowledgeable, but so enthusiastic that's impossible not to join in the enthusiasm....

....I, on the other hand, am just happy to get to whatever elevation we were going to.....

.....on this particular day and on this particular island, there was a wooden walkway and a railing (a luxury not to be seen again, I might add), but with 392 stairs to the light house at the top, it was still a hell of a climb...

.......here we're off to our first snorkling adventure....

.....some of my fellow travelers shared some of their snorkling photos....

(I also have a PDF file of some of the many fish that we saw, but for some reason this site won't let me download it, or, indeed, the film that Paola made of our adventures.  If any of you are interested, send me an email, and I will see if I can send these to you directly.)





Well. I tried.  Let me know whether it worked...

.....back on board ship, the meals, while not exactly foody food, was always substantial, and nicely presented....

.......finally, the infamous turtles.....

...Charles Darwin Scientific Station....

........this was a fish market.   The herons, of course, know that.....

...and more turtles....

......everything here is such a patent example of evolution in action.  All the islands are volcanic, but all of different ages, and different stages of decay, and different vegetation.  Where the only thing for the turtles to eat is the fruit of a cactus, which is high, the turtles develop longer necks and legs to reach (those that don't don't survive).  Those on different islands develop differently....

........and the skeleton of a dead.....???

.....the iguanas are endlessly fascinating.  Such a prehistoric looking animal...

Back on the ship, lots of other activities....  more eating, of course....

....but also cooking lessons from our cook, whose name, interestingly enough, is Darwin.....

...a trip to the galley...

...... and instructions on towel folding from Christina....

.......I love these guys......

(....that's the picture in my room....)

....a visit to the bridge, of course (as always, thinking about David....)

.....other activities as well.  movies, including a nature channel about the Galapagos, and a movie called the Galapagos Affair; the Devil Came to Eden, about an attempted settlement by German's here in the 1930's (very strange), and talk about a book, Floreana, by Margaret Wittmer, one of the settlers, and, of course, a last night party....

........  a final visit to the Darwin Station....

.... and, maybe, one of Darwin's finches...  (again the finches on each island different, depending on food supply, changes in their beaks different within one generation - there's a book called Darwin's Finches that is fascinating)

.....and, the airport at San Cristobal...

....... a brief stay at the hotel by the Quito airport, with Marco back with us, for a debriefing and fond farewells....

So, debriefing it is.  I'm not sure what I was expecting.  It was a wonderful trip, though, with its own rhythm, ebbs and flows, and the people were friendly and inclusive.  All in all, five stars - well, maybe four.  (I would have liked to have spotted more animals - they weren't teeming, as I had expected, and as they were in Antarctica).....and would like to have been steadier on my feet, but a great trip nonetheless.

The flight home included a connection that was a bit too close for comfort, but I made it - with 5 minutes to spare - and was otherwise uneventful, if long.

And now, you are almost up do date.  I amgetting ready to leave Palm Springs for Vancouver, and will try to post again before I leave.....