Day 3: Georgian Bay - Parry Sound

 July 18

So the BEST part of the day was the second half of the day on our Special Operations Vessel adventure.....but let's start at the beginning........

During dinner last night we set sail from Mackinac Island on the upper Michigan Peninsula heading for Canada.  This morning about 8am we arrived in Georgian Bay, Ontario in Parry Sound.  There are over 300 islands in this area and you can get a sense of where we are on the map above.   We took a tender to the dock, then the group boarded a bus for about a 45 minute ride to the actual Parry Sound waterfront area.  There we met with the guide and began our hike first through the woods, then over the rocks.  While on the hike she explained the importance of saving the rattlesnakes in the area.  Go figure!

We finally emerged from the woods and were pretty much walking over uneven rocks that were at times steep up and steep down.  But nothing too bad.  And then we eventually ended up on the waterfront with some scenic overviews.

We walked further, around the bend and got another scenic point for photo ops before heading back to the bus and then another 45 minute ride back to the ship.

Once on board, Kim and I went upstairs to the World Cafe and had a burger & fries on the Aquavit Terrace before readying ourselves for the second half of the day.

At 4pm we met with a small group to head out for a "Scenic Sail" over the harbor in what's called a "Special Operation" vessel.  These are identical (except a little longer to hold more passengers) to military special operations boats used for example in Vietnam.  And they are strong enough that when Viking uses them in Antarctica - where we will be with them ON THIS SAME KIND OF EXCURSION - that the vessel can cut through the ice.  The first very cool thing is that these vessels, as well as the "zodiac" which we will ride tomorrow (and the submarine, which we will ride later in the week) are housed in "The Hanger" on the bottom deck.  And as you can see in the photos below, they are lowered and raised right into the water from the ship.  JUST amazing to see this, but even more so to be onboard while it's happening.

So we got on board, were lowered into the water and then TOOK OFF.  Kim quickly removed her hat as we flew across the water at speeds reaching 45 mph.  Several times as we turned the boat was at such an angle that I was several feet above Kim and vice versa.  Just a wild ride.  Slowed down to look at some scenery, go through a narrow passage between small islands, and then circled the ship for good vantage points.  Speaking of the ship....it was pointed out to us that the anchor was NOT in the water and never has been - WHAT?  The technology is so advanced that they lock in a GPS position and tell the ship to "stay there."  Then using the thrusters and other engine maneuvers the ship never moves.  WOW.  C-L-E-A-R-L-Y the coolest thing we've done yet and why this isn't your everyday cruise.  These vessels will be used for all kinds of scientific purposes - for example, they can put a sonar on the back of one of these and they plan to map the bottom of the Great Lakes and the Antarctic Ocean :)