Kamchatka Day 10

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.

Love
Larry

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