August 2019

Hi Everyone Had breakfast and boarded our pontoon at about 8:30 for the ride back to our location yesterday. The location is so good that why go anywhere else. We arrived and set up for the day. With the armed guards on either side of us, we surveyed the bears. There were much more salmon in the water and you can actually see them. This should be interesting. The bears started to work their way down to the water. They are such slow moving creatures, but are very fast and quick when they have to be. The bears put on a performance for us catching their breakfast. Their ability to catch the salmon with their mouth is so unique. The bears learn this technique before they leave their mothers probably by watching other bears do it. My camera clicked away. By the way I forgot to mention what camera I was using for these shots. My Sony A9 did the job. This camera has never disappointed me. The speed and quickness of focus makes this camera my favorite. I had a 100-400 lens attached with a 1.4 teleconverter. We spent all day there or until 4 PM. My legs started to become rubbery due to getting up and down and walking around. The day got warmer and the Kamchatka sun was strong. After arriving back at Camp, I asked Dmiitry to set up a tent shower for me. He led me into an old wooden barrel like structure that also served as a sauna, put down my cylinder filled with hot water and I refreshed myself. After my shower I set up my computer in the dining area to be recharged, download and work on my images. There are lots of Chinese tourists here. They are the majority of tourists. I have not found any Americans visiting this remote place. We share the dining area with a large group of Chinese who will be spending the evening at the Camp. They wandered over to me and started to observe my work and images. They complemented me over and over. Photography is truly an international language. Many of them are traveling with cameras. After dinner we took a five minute walk to a bridge that was built over an inlet into the Lake. The bridge was quite long. We were going to go on the bridge to observe the bears. One problem, bears had climbed up onto the bridge and were using the bridge as a sort of playground. How interesting. The Chinese group arrived with lots of cameras and equipment and we decided to go back to the dining hall. I sat down and worked on my images. The Chinese eventually returned and a group of them surrounded me and were constantly giving me the thumbs up. Vladimir commented that I had become an international celebrity and had taken more great images than everyone else combined. Some members of the group are starting to become jealous and we have playful comments about this. At about 11 PM it was time to wander back into my tent and endure the two sleeping Russian bears on either side of me. Sleep came about 1 AM We are having breakfast at 8 AM and boarding the helicopter back to our hotel. How I can’t wait for a long hot shower, bed and the internet. LoveLarry

Hi Everyone How did your day go? I will bet anyone that they did not have a day like I did. I spent most of the day on a small mound of sand surrounded by thirty to forty brown bears all around us and protected by two Russian Park Rangers with large guns. Now that we know what I did, how did all this happen? We started our day by meeting for breakfast at 7:30. It was so nice taking a long hot shower and reestablishing a relationship with a bathroom. We then got on a different Kamaz for a ride to a local airport. I left most of my clothing at the hotel and gave then laundry since I will return on Wednesday. We all boarded a helicopter for the ride south to our bear camp. The helicopter ride took about one hour and we were able to open the windows to take pictures. The helicopter had no seats. We sat on the sides of the helicopter on one long bench with our gear in front of us. We flew by volcanoes and beautiful green slopes and crevices filled with snow. Eventually we landed in a small grassy area near a campsite. We got out of the helicopter and walked to our home for two days and nights. The tents are large and we were each given our own tent. There are two cots and two chairs inside. After dropping off our clothing and some gear, we all met in the front of a beautiful lake with a large volcano on the other side of the lake. The Camp is surrounded by an electrified fence to keep the bears out. We all met in the front of the lake and immediately saw our first bear. We were then given large boots that go above your knees to wear. A mother bear and two of her cubs followed. Bears give birth in January in their dens. The mother bear is very dangerous and will attack if she feels that her cubs are in danger. The cubs stay with the mother for three years. They follow their mother wherever she goes. The bond seems to be unique and very strong. We waited for the mother bear and her cubs to pass and then boarded a pontoon looking boat with our cameras wearing these weird looking boots and carrying one folding chair each. Dmiitry, Sonya and two guards with large shotguns joined us.Dmiitry brought snacks and beverages. We rode for about thirty minutes to a sort of sand bar near the shore. Along the way, we were pointed out a monument to a Japanese photographer who was eaten by a bear about ten years ago. Last year, a forest ranger was attacked and killed. This is serious stuff and could be quite dangerous.Dmiitry told us that Putin has visited along with dignitaries and he has seen some movie stars as well. We set up our folding chairs in a line with Dmitry and Sonya setting up in back of us. The guards were at either end. When we arrived there were at least twenty bears and more were coming. The bears were looking for sockeye salmon. We stayed on the sand bar for approximately six hours walking around the confined area and sitting down on our chairs. I had to understand and master the technique of taking pictures of bears. For you photography people, I set my camera in manual mode so that I could have control of both the shutter speed and aperture. I set ISO at 200 and eventually raised it to 400 as the day progressed. I found out that my shutter speed worked best at around 800-1000 and my aperture varied how many bears were in the image. In the middle of the day my technical stuff and the skill to anticipate the bears to create exciting images clicked. I took about 2000 pictures of these amazing creatures and was very happy with the results. The pontoon eventually came for us as the day was getting colder. It does not get totally dark here until about 10 PM and light starts to appear at about 4 AM. Upon the arrival at the Camp we were told to hold onto our monster boots since we we were going to use them tomorrow. Dinner was another creative and different feast created by Natalia in a big working kitchen. After dinner I went through my ritual of downloading and started to edit by bear pictures. They are outstanding and I am my worst critic. After talking with Kika for about an hour about this trip and photography, I worked my way back to my tent and tried to sleep. With two Russian bears snoring on either side of me, it became difficult and I got about two hours of shuteye. As Andy says, “You can sleep when you die”. LoveLarry

Hi Everyone  No bear snoring but howling winds and rain. Did you ever sleep in a one man tent during rain and howling wind? It’s not something I would recommend. The fabric of the tent kept on making noise as the wind and rain hit it. Some of the support staff stayed up all night making sure that our tents did not blow away and get unhinged from the ground. They would also put more black sand around our tents. I cannot say enough of the support staff and the work they do handling our needs and wants. The situation is so primitive that it makes it harder for both them and us. They all are true angels.  We awoke at 4:30 for our morning shoot. I got up by myself at about 4 after struggling with my tent and the conditions. Had some coffee and off we went in the Kamaz. All morning we drove around to some truly unbelievable locations and opportunities. Vladimir is a real pro. His eye is amazing. He took us to locations where we just stared and I used my imagination and creativity to capture some great images. The question that keeps on going around my mind is how much I will endure to be put in situations like this.  We returned at about 8 for a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs, porridge and other assorted goodies. Natalia, the chef, is a true magician. After breakfast most of us went for naps but I stayed up because I was excited to see what I had. I first copied all my images to two external drives for safety. I always do this every night but this was the first time on this trip. I then imported the images to Lightroom and started to go through them. I am impressed by what I had captured and I had only gone through about twenty percent. I strive to take images that tell a story and I believe I got some good ones from this haunting and remote location.  I have been trying to hold it in, but finally had to surrender to nature. Took a hike and found some nice size lava boulders and made my mark. I then walked back to the dining room and asked Dmiitry if he would set up a shower for me. Dmitry cannot do enough for you. He and his helpers heated up a canister of water and in I went to the shower tent. What little water I had was hot and felt so good and refreshing. After lunch we all sat around and I continued working on my images. Both Vladimir and Kevin looked at some of my work and both gave suggestions and comments. Vladimir is an amazing photographer who can pick out a scene and Kevin is a professional photographer who I first met through Instagram. Kevin and myself have been having a great time kidding each other about the situation. Kevin has been filling in for Andy and doing a great job under such trying conditions.  At about 4 PM we all boarded our Kamaz for a ride to a hike up a volcano to its crater. One thing I noticed immediately, was that lots of people were arriving and setting up their tents. Why would someone want to come here under the current facilities is something I do not understand. We drove to the start of the hike up the volcano to the crater. The trail went straight up. The fog and mist had rolled in so we decided to wait and see if it lifted. If not, we would leave. We have another hike next week to another crater. I really want to do this and take pictures of the crater of a volcano. The fog never lifted and we decided to go back to the Camp. By this time more people had arrived and our tents were surrounded by lots of others. The one thought in my mind was that the chances of someone snoring had greatly increased.  Natalia, of course, made us a fabulous dinner out of these primitive working conditions. By ten I had decided to crawl into my tent and try to get some sleep. I was right. The snoring was back with a vengeance and two girls were talking in Russian near my tent. I tossed and turned hoping that this horrible situation would end. I had started an hourly countdown at 8 PM knowing that we were leaving by 8 the following morning. I finally fell asleep from exhaustion and woke up at 4 AM. I decided I had enough and made my way to the dining room. Made some coffee and just starred into space.  At 5 Vladimir, Dmiitry and Natalia arrived. Natalia started to prepare breakfast and both Vladimir and Dmitry had some coffee with me. I wanted to take a nap but decided I could not tolerate the situation anymore and stayed put. At 7 breakfast was served. I can state I will really miss Natalia’s porridge when this trip is over. Magnificent is an understatement. We finally boarded our Kamaz for the trip back. This was the moment I had been waiting for and then it happened. All hell broke loose in my stomach. I guess Natalia’s porridge had done its damage. I ran out of the Kamaz, grabbed some toilet paper and found a nice cozy place on the side of the volcano. How many people can say they did this on the side of an active volcano? An experience I will never forget.  I then boarded the Kamaz for the twelve hour trip back to our hotel in Petropavlovsk. What can I say about my five nights of camping and specifically the last three nights in this horrible place? I can say I survived and endured. At 70, I was able to put all my comforts aside and deal with the situation at hand.  Our Kamaz then started the long journey

Hi Everyone Vladimir woke us up at 4:30 for the hike. I slept for about two hours and decided I just might kill the bear snoring. We all met in the dining hall for some quick coffee and then off we went. The hike was over lava sand and started to rise. We went up and up. I started to lag behind. Our Camp is 4500 feet up and we were hiking higher at a rapid pace. The group started to gain more and more distance from me. I saw some of them climbing a steep ridge and decided I had enough. I told Dmitry that I was stopping to take pictures and then would return to Camp. I took some great pictures of a volcano in the distance with a huge lava field in front. Dmiitry joined me to return to Camp. The others kept on climbing. I had reached my limit. I had never done this on a photo workshop. The environment, place and my age had all caught up to me at once. While walking back to Camp, my stomach started to churn and I came to the realization that I had to endure what was a toilet. We first went into the dining hall. I picked up a roll of toilet paper and off I went. I tried to make the experience as painless as possible, but to no avail. How far will I go and endure? As I previously said, more on that later. I then sat in the dining hall, had some coffee and waited for the others to return. While starring at my coffee, two men decided to talk to me. Just what I needed. One was a Canadian from Calgary named Derrick and the other was named David from the UK. They asked me what I was doing here? By this time I could not give them a sane answer. They then asked me my age. When I told them 70 1/2 they were amazed that someone my age would come to a place and environment like this. Derrick was 48 and David 45. They were here for hiking. They said that I give them hope that when they reach my age they could do this. I then wandered into the cooks primitive kitchen and saw her making some great looking porridge. I asked her if I could have some before the others. This really hit the spot. The others started to wander back in. They said that the remaining part of the climb that I missed was hard and very windy. I am so glad I listened to my mind and body. After breakfast I went back to my tent for a short nap and Dmiitry told everyone that the shower was ready. I decided to take the plunge. I needed to wash myself and change my clothing. The shower was nice and hot and fresh clothing did me wonders. The rain returned and I decided to hide out in the Kamaz to write and try to stay warm. Lunch was served around 1PM. Of course the lunch was amazing. Our cooks name is Natalia. To be able to create food the way she does, in such harsh conditions and working space is a true feat. At about two thirty we boarded the Kamaz for an afternoon of photography. We first went to the dead forest. We drove for about thirty minutes over black lava sand and then we saw it. A whole forest of dead trees in the middle of no where. Dispersed amongst the dead trees were small flowers and grass. The eruption that created this happened during 1973. You could see how nature was starting to be reborn and reclaim the environment. We all got out of the Kamaz and started to wander around. I started to take pictures and quickly realized that I was at a location that told such a powerful story from such a remote place. Every time I moved and looked through the viewfinder I got a different perspective. What a location. I wandered around constantly adjusting the camera and positioning myself on the ground and standing up. The images were unfolding from my mind as I let the location and story pour out of my creativity. I was one of the last photographers to board the Kamaz and sort of felt sorry that I had to leave such a harsh and beautiful place. On we went. Vladimir was sitting next to the driver. Marcela, another one of the photographers from Madrid, asked to return to the dead forest to fly her drone over a crater. Three of us have drones including Vladimir. I have been contemplating purchasing a drone, but have decided to hold off until I am able to free up more time at home so that I can master this different type of photography. We went back to the dead forest and Marcela put her drone on the ground and it lifted off. The drone was last seen hovering over the crater and then she lost its signal. The drone had disappeared inside the crater never to be seen again. Photographers are constantly loosing things. In the Galapagos, I lost a new underwater camera while snorkeling. The camera fell off my wrist and I saw it go down to the bottom. I know how Marcela felt. We then drove to an amazing landscape location. Two volcanoes were almost next to each other. There was snow streaking down their cones. The clouds here are quite different. They create large and sort of flat patterns. The only other place I have seen clouds that were different was in Patagonia. The clouds there were flat and looked like large pancakes. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of these two breathtaking volcanoes. I walked around constantly changing position as I took in this site. We then boarded the Kamaz for a visit to the lava fields. I had previously seen these lava fields in the

Hi Everyone Why am I writing two days as one? You will understand soon enough. We woke up yesterday morning and the fog was so thick that we decided to not do our morning shoot but wait and see if the fog lifted. Breakfast was great. We all sat around a long table. The breakfast that our Russian woman cook makes is spectacular. She made pancakes, eggs, bacon and great hot oatmeal. The Russians have caviar with their pancakes. I decided to see if I liked it and found the combination to be excellent. The hot oatmeal hit the spot. The Russians put lots of jam and marmalade in their hot oatmeal. After breakfast the rain hit us. We just sat around. I went back into my tent for a nap. Am still dealing with jet lag. I decided to take a shower after lunch and change my clothes. After lunch my shower was set up. A separate tent was used as the shower tent. Hot water is heated via gas and pored into a large canister similar to a fire extinguisher. There is a spray hose attached and you first lather up and then spray yourself off. If the water pressure gets low you pump the canister. I felt so good after refreshing myself and changing my clothes. I then went into the Kamaz to read and of course, took another nap. Dinner was served at 7. The cook is quite creative. We had some tasty soup and chicken with rice. I need to talk a little bit about the coffee. There is a coffee thing that is used here that I have never seen. The product is named “Blendy”. It is from Japan. The coffee is sealed in a small filter with a hanging arm on each side. You tear open the filter and hang it in the cup. You then pour water into the filter and the cup fills up. When the cup is full you then throw the used filter away. Google “Blendy” and read about it. Makes an excellent cup of coffee. After dinner we all crawled back into our tents hoping for the weather to change in the morning. We were awoken by Vladimir, our Russian Pro photographer at 4:30. He said there was a chance to capture the sunrise over the three volcanoes we were near. All seven of us had some coffee and then went for a mile hike to hope for the sunrise over three huge volcanoes. The fog never lifted and our chance of seeing this supposed amazing scene was gone. We then had another great breakfast and watched the traveling crew breakdown our camp and load everything into the two Kamaz. It was now time to return to the land version of the Drake Passage. Up, down and bouncing around as we drove over the hilly plains and finally entered the forest. The forest was more of the same ride as our Kamaz continued to remind me of the Drake. Finally we left the dirt road forest and drove onto a semi normal road to a small village. What a scene. In the middle of no where were these square and rectangular shaped three to four story apartment buildings with single family homes amongst these structures. A small Russian style church was there. We wandered around and I ventured into two convenience style stores. Most of the people were either walking or on bicycle. There were some large dogs, without collars, resting in the middle of the road. I could only imagine what it was like to grow up and live here. To be so isolated from the rest of the world and live in such a barren place. We then boarded our Kamaz for the drive to our second isolated camp. It was back into the dirt road in the forest for more of the bouncing. We finally arrived at what looked like a dry river cluttered with branches and trees. The ground was black lava like sand. The crew stopped for lunch and I saw our driver look into the engine area of the Kamaz. He pulled out a metal wire and spoke some Russian. We were told that the Kamaz needed to be repaired and the other Kamaz, with our supplies, was going back into town for a new part. It seemed like we were dealing with Murphy’s Law. Three hours later, the other Kamaz finally returned. Our driver took out a small sodering torch, heated up the flame and put some screws on the metal part. He then proceeded to install the new part. It seemed like we were driving in a mobile repair shop as well. Off we went. Back into the forest for some more bumps and bounces. We were told we were still four hours away from our final destination. After about two hours we stopped in the middle of the forest for the bathroom and and to walk up to the end of a lava field. The lava came from a volcano that was ten miles away. The flow started in late 2013 and lasted for nine months. I could just image the scene as this was happening. Of course, we had to board our Kamaz for the final two hour drive to the Camp. When we pulled in I saw about fifty tents set up and two small wood dining halls. The ground was all volcanic ash. We were on the side of a volcano. The first thing I had to do was go to the bathroom. Everyone knows that I have used all types of bathrooms and endured them all. This was horrible. A hole in the ground surrounded by dirty looking wood and some human waste behind the wood. What will I endure for unique images and how far will I go? More on that later on. The crew set up dinner and we were served Siberian Dumplings. They are small dumplings with either pork or beef

Hi Everyone How can I describe this day? Let me try to explain where I am and what I am doing here. Let’s start with where I am writing this blog. I am laying down in my own one man tent in the middle of one of the most desolate places I have ever been to. I keep on thinking of what I put myself through to get my images. We started the day by waking up at six, shaving, showering and packing for the journey ahead. We all met at 7 for breakfast and then boarded our Kamaz for the long ride ahead. What is a kamaz? I will try to describe. A kamaz is a six wheel all terrain vehicle that can go through anything and over anything. There is a box like structure that you climb into and sit in seats like the economy seats on an airplane. The climb to get in is high since the wheels are huge and the passenger box is raised. There were two kamaz at our hotel. One was the passenger kamaz and the other was used to transport our tents, food, water and other items to our campsite.Our luggage was stored in the back of the passenger kamaz and off we went. Our little caravan. The drive was pleasant to our first stop. We stopped at an area that had small stores where coffee, food and other items were sold. I first went to the bathroom and then had a great cup of strong coffee. This seemed easy. Little did I know. We then hit the road. After about ninety minutes we made our next stop. We just pulled over on a deserted highway to stretch and go to the bathroom where ever. We then boarded for our next stop. Our next stop was for lunch. We stopped in a town that was very clean and orderly in the middle of no where. We then entered a building and I went into the bathroom. The bathroom was the hole in the ground. My eyes lit up as I enjoyed myself. I then stood on a line and was served cafeteria style. I could honestly tell you I did not know what I was eating except for the bread. The food was almost uneatable. We then stretched our legs around town. There was an apartment building that had a spaceman painted on the side. Dmiitry told me the painting was of Yuri Gagarin. He was the first man in space. He also told me that this building was built during the Communist era. There was some nice street art that was very well done. We then boarded our Kamaz. Shortly the road turned into dirt and we were driving through a dense forest on either side. After about ninety minutes we stopped for a rest. Then it first happened. Mosquitos attacked me as I found a bathroom where ever. I quickly finished and climbed back on the Kamaz. We then kept on driving and driving. It seemed like I was back on my spinning wheel from the flight over here. I started to feel like a hamster just spinning around that wheel with no end. We then stopped again and the mosquitos visited again. I quickly did my thing and boarded the Kamaz. When will this ever end? We arrived at a small village to pick up some helpers and more supplies. There were enormous amounts of cut logs in front of each house. I can just imagine the winter here.  After leaving the village we drove into the woods. We were told to fasten our seatbelts since the remaining drive would be very bumpy. I could never describe how bumpy it was. We constantly went up and down. It seemed like I had found the land version of the Drake Passage. We stopped in the middle and I got out to go to the bathroom. The mosquitos were relentless. I was consumed by them and rushed back into the Kamaz. The Kamaz finally left the forest to open ground. We eventually arrived at our campsite. As soon as I disembarked, I was consumed by mosquitos again. The helpers started to set up the tents. All of us sprayed repellent all over and we put our mosquitos hoods on. The drive time was almost twelve hours. How am I going to survive the next five days? While the helpers set up our camp we hiked down to a small pond that had some beautiful reflections of two volcanoes that we were camped near. Both volcanoes had snow on the peaks. We then hiked back over rough uneven terrain with mosquitos all around us. While we hiked down a red fox walked right by us. That was truly an amazing sight. Back at camp we chose our tents and got set up. Dinner was served. I then crawled into my tent for the evening. We are getting up at 4:15 for our morning shoot. Pray for me to survive the relentless mosquitos LoveLarry

Hi Everyone Our Aeroflot jet took off at about 8 PM from New York on Saturday night. After settling in my nice large premium economy seat I immediately fell asleep. Airports tire me out. Going through security and walking with all my gear tires out an old man like me. I was awoken by the stewardess coming by with dinner about two hours into the flight. I had the lamb chops and the food was one of my best meals on an airplane. Had some coffee then read some. I tried to view a movie, but all the movies were in Russian. A woman sitting next to me was from Belarus and she talked fluent English so we had a nice long conversation about our countries, my photography and why I am going to Kamchatka. She has never been to Kamchatka so she could not give me any thoughts on what I am about to experience. When the lights were turned down, I fell back to sleep for the long trip over the Ocean. I was awoken by another stewardess serving breakfast. We were about three hours away from landing so I decided to eat breakfast and then stay up. We then landed in Moscow at about 11:30 AM. By the way, when I checked my suitcase in at JFK, I was told that my bag would be routed all the way through to Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka. I would not have to pick up my luggage in Moscow and would only have to go through immigration there and customs later. I thought to myself. What are the chances that my luggage makes it all the way? Good luck on that. The international airport in Moscow is named Sheremetyevo Airport for a Russian poet of this name. None of the airplanes pull up to the terminals, but you disembark on the ground and take a large bus to the arrivals terminal. Odd for such a large airport in such a major city. I am traveling with two other people in the group. Donna is from New Jersey and Rich is from Connecticut. We found a nice lounge near our gate and settled in for the layover until we had to board our next flight. At about 3 PM we met two other participants in the workshop. Marcela is from Mexico and Kiko lives in Lima. Both Marcela and Kiko have spent a day in Moscow before the second leg of this journey. At 4 PM we went to our gate and got on the bus to be taken to our airplane for the trip to Petropavlovsk. So lets rehash a minute. Moscow is seven hours ahead of New York and Petropavlovsk is nine hours ahead of Moscow. This means that our final destination is sixteen hours ahead of New York. I settled into my large premium seat and was sitting next to a beautiful Russian woman who spoke no English. We were first served a full course meal and then myself and my aisle mate tried to converse through an app and my photography. I got much further with the photography and realized that photography is indeed a universal language. I then fell asleep again. Could not stay awake even if I tried and I really tried. About six hours into the flight I was woken up by another stewardess offering another meal. I turned her down. I could not eat anymore airplane food if I tried. I then stayed up and read for most of the remaining trip. We finally landed in Petropavlovsk Kamchatka at about 10 AM Monday morning. What a voyage. It seemed like I was traveling forever and on a spinning wheel going around and around. We disembarked on the tarmac and where then led into a large bubble covered room where there was a large conveyor belt to pick up your luggage. How I wished I would see my large black suitcase. There were lots of people crammed into this small area and then I finally saw it. my beautiful large black suitcase. My heart was pounding with joy. The five of us then walked out the airport and no customs check. The airport looks like it was left over from another era. Most of the buildings were old looking plain buildings with some interesting smaller homes and buildings amongst the plain box like structures. I had previously seen these kind of buildings in Western Mongolia. We then all boarded a large van for our forty minute drive to our hotel. Dimetri, one of our guides, told us that it starts to snow in early October and doesn’t to end until the beginning of May. Our hotel is quite basic. My room has two single beds and is very plain. In the lobby is a large stuffed bear. We were told to not wander far outside since the local bears are foraging. At 2:45 we met for a drive to a volcano museum and an explanation of the volcanoes we are going to visit. A young man, who was very knowledgeable and spoke perfect English, gave us the grand tour. Kamchatka sits on top of three large plates in the earth and that is the reason why there is so much volcanic activity here. A volcano is a crack in the earth to relieve some of the pressure that has been building up underground. Smoke, steam, hot ash and lava could be emitted from the earth or a combination of them to help relieve some of the pressure. Hopefully we will experience most of these releases. At about 4:30 we boarded our van for the drive back to the hotel and dinner. One thing that I have already observed is that I have never seen such beautiful wild flowers as are growing here. The colors are simply beautiful. We arrived back at the hotel at 6 PM for dinner. I am so exhausted and can hardly stay up. We had a wonderful dinner of various