Hi Everyone
How did my day start? Woke up at about 6 AM. Not too comfortable sleeping in a tent between two Russian bears snoring. Got my old tired bones up, dressed and went to the dining hall for coffee and to edit some more pictures. I can tell you I really got some great bear shots. Vladimir told me that I had gotten more quality bear shots than everyone else combined. One he is drooling over. Where else to go to see and do bear photography but to Russia and specifically to Kamchatka? The brown bear is a symbol of Russia and is one of their national treasures. I will always remember the beauty and grace of these magnificent creatures. How the mother bear protects her cubs and how they follow her around for three years. Talk about strong relationships. I hope my grandchildren get to see them one day in such an environment.
Breakfast was served at 8 AM and we were supposed to leave via helicopter at 10. The problem is that there was fog all over. The helicopter could not take off from Petropavlovsk until 11:30 and we finally lifted off at 1 PM. The helicopter ride took about an hour. We finally landed in Petropavlovsk and saw our friendly Kamaz waiting for us. Our luggage was loaded and off we went to the same hotel we left on Monday morning.
I was given the same room and immediately took a long hot shower and shave. How good it felt. Met everyone for lunch at 3 PM. Had fish dumplings. Very tasty.
Some of the other photographers went into town for street photography. I need to mope and rest my tired legs and hands. Your hands and fingers get tired taking pictures everyday.
Dinner is at 8:30. We will then go over tomorrow and our final tent camp. We will be sleeping again in single person tents for two nights. I have endured everything up to this point and will certainly plow through the remainder.
Love
Larry