Volunteer Point

Wow!! Where do I start? I guess I will start at the beginning. We had the wakeup call arranged for 6:15 and room service scheduled to bring breakfast at 6:30. The cruise critic group had arranged for a special tender just for the group that was going on the tour with Patrick Watts. As a result we did not have to wait at all and we were lead to the tender in a group. We were so pleased to see the sun rise and to see that the sea was calm. The big concern was that we would have too much wind so the ship would not be able to tender. The gods smiled on us and it was calm seas. In fact it was the calmest we have ever experienced. We were able to step from the ship to the tender with ease. The distance was about 2.5 miles and it took about 10 minutes. As soon as we disembarked we found our guide/driver. We were paired up with Howard and Janeen from Anacodes Washington. The drive to Volunteer Point started off tame enough. Soon the road ended and we were on what was essentially a moto cross route across fields and peat bogs. There was no way of knowing if you were going in the correct direction because there were no signs. In fact there were times when all we could see ahead of us is a grassy field with lots of bumps and humps and holes. Sometimes it was so bad I just had to close my eyes and hang on for dear life. The trip was 2 hours long and there were 10 miles of this terrain as well as about 10 miles of gravel road. Soon after being shaken beyond belief we arrived at Volunteer Point. To my delight there were penguins everywhere, hundreds of them running and marching and sitting and sleeping and squawking and even checking us out. We took so many pictures. At one point I was sitting taking what was to be the perfect photo, when out of nowhere came a whirling twirling dust devil. Unfortunately I didn’t see it coming and my camera was open. The camera is toast. The lens cover will not open and the photo department is not equipped to repair it. I had to buy a new camera. I was not a happy camper. BUT it could be worse; I did not lose any of my pictures. We arrived back at Stanley around three and we shopped a little. I got a few stamps and sent a couple of post cards. Then we boarded the tender and returned to the ship. What a wonderful adventure this was!! One more thing off of the bucket list