July 19
The day started bright and early with Kim & I joining our friends Mary Pat & Tom on an excursion ashore to Killarney - another of the 30,000 islands in the Georgian Bay. Today we were heading out on a hike. "Oh a hike, that sounds fun" you say. Well, there are hikes and then there was this hike. I WAS appreciative that we are able to travel again.....that we were able to visit somewhere new.....that we were able to walk through a woods and see a picturesque waterfront site. But today's morning activity is all about perspective. IF you are a hiker, or you are enjoy physical activity then you would have appreciated today's excursion. If you are a vacationer, and you are looking for an enjoyable activity for which you've spent a lot of money to enjoy, then perhaps this wasn't for you. First, by the numbers.......we were gone on the hike for a good three hours and change. Stopped frequently you ask? NO. Flat terrain? NO. Well how far did you go? OVER FOUR MILES. So from a physical fitness activity, it was a great work out. A pleasurable experience on an expensive cruise, ehhhhh, not so much :) The worst part - if you're NOT a hiker by nature, was that for well over 2 1/2 of the three hours what we all saw were roots, rocks, and our own feet. The terrain was up and down - no, not a foot or so, but multiple many inclines over rocky surfaces where you carefully had to watch where you were going. The biggest feeling most people expressed was that they were just constantly trying to be sure they didn't fall. Very much an exercise that even fifteen years ago would have been challenging. But, we all made it and can say we did it.
One thing that was pretty cool about the experience......this is only the THIRD time that the Viking Expedition ship has been here, ever. And on both of the previous two visits, this hike was NOT taken. The first time, the trail was buried in snow, the second time it was flooded from spring rains. So WE were the first guests to "experience" the trip. That's, ummmm, "something" :) After the "hike" Viking had arranged for a fish fry luncheon at the lodge which sat on the waterfront. It was very nice - probably would have enjoyed it more if we weren't exhausted from the "walk in the woods." We finished our lunch around 1 pm and hustled back to the pier to catch the next tender to this ship because we were due below deck at 1:45 pm for a zodiac ride!
The cool part about this afternoon's activity, again like yesterday, was the uniqueness of the watercraft experience the Viking Expedition ship was providing us. Ten guests loaded onto the zodia, sitting on the sides with a rope to grab onto if you felt the need, and we were off! Unlike yesterday we did not go nearly as fast - although a couple of times I was thankful to have the rope! Another thing different was that we could literally cruise right up and bump into the rocks jutting out of the lake. Incidentally, the rocks are the oldest on planet earth, more than a billion years old! We cruised into some inlets and got up close and personal to the outcropping of rocks in search of wildlife while our guide explained about the ecosystem here.
One of the coolest things about the zodiac experience was when the guide explained how when Viking Expeditions goes to Antarctica, you are out on zodiacs JUST like this in the Arctic Ocean and they take you right up to the land where you get off and explore. A few of the guests commented, as did we, that we are so very excited we will be having this experience (ours is in November). And like every other Viking personnel that has talked about Antarctica with us, our pilot said the same thing - it is the most amazing experience we will ever have. Glad we got an opportunity to "play" with all the expedition toys, like the zodiac ahead of time!
After about 45 minutes on the bay we headed back to the ship. Our pilot pointed out how unique our ship was, and talked about how state of the art it is - that's there's nothing like it anywhere. We are so fortunate to be aboard and having this experience, which (again) serves as an excellent preview for our Antarctic adventure.
The day was topped off by a wonderful dinner with a superb view of the Great Lakes passing by through the picture windows!
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