David's Images of the Day Photoblog
Views of people from around the world
During a Field Trip, we visited and did a tasting at the Glengoyne Distillery in Scotland. If you need to ask, that bottle cost more than the Semester at Sea voyage. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 6.7-13 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 13 mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec).
To end a great two-day visit to Paris, I went on an impromptu Photowalk in Parc de Bercy with photographer and friend Thomas Paris. I had been on photography trips before with Thomas in Patagonia (Photo Workshop in 2010 with Thom Hogan) and most recently Tromsø, Norway earlier this year chasing the Northern Lights. In his spare time Thomas Paris leads Photowalks in Paris. I was staying at the Pullman Bercy Hotel – a modern hotel in Paris that caters to foreign tourists. We walked to the local Parc de Bercy. Spring had arrived in Paris. The trees were green, and flowers in bloom. Lots of locals with families were walking through the park enjoying the warm late afternoon sunshine. The park was bigger than I thought. We passed through a gate that separated an area only opened during the day and heard some drum music and soon found a group sitting in a circle watching a man and woman doing what looked like slow-motion martial arts moves choreographed to the music. I had read about Brazilian Capoeira before, but never seen it in person. The following images were taken while watching the performance. Notice at least one other photographer working the performance.
Hiker taking an image of the lava in the mist. On the trail to the Volcano. Pacaya Volcano National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 24 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 320, 24 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec).
After a long day of travel – Overnight on British Air from Tampa to Gatwick, then Gatwick to Barcelona we made it to the Semester at Sea MV Explorer. The ship was not docked at the location that the SAS folks indicated, but we saw it in the taxi when we got near the port. Once on board we found our cabins and had dinner. We spent the morning visiting Barcelona. The weather was great with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Our first stop was the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. There were many, many tourists visiting the unfinished Cathedral. My parents had online tickets to visit the inside of the Cathedral. If you plan to visit, get the online tickets – it will save you a line that was blocks long. I went to find Xavi, a friend and fellow student from 30 years ago when I went to Graduate School at Caltech. We had a great lunch of Tapas at Cerveceria Catalina. Xavi also recently retired and is spending his time traveling and doing photography: Xavi’s Blog. Then back to the ship for our mandatory safety drill before sailing off to Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Early to bed, early to rise. I received an e-mail overnight from PSE&G indicating they expected a winter storm back in New Jersey with the potential for power outages. I was glad that I remembered to turn the water off before leaving the house. I had a hearty Scandinavian breakfast at the attached Egon restaurant. I didn’t need to checkout of the hotel until noon, so went for a walkabout in Bergen. The rain had stopped, but it was a bit chilly. It was still dark out, with sun not rising until 08:59. I first went to the fish market, hoping to get some early morning pictures of fresh Norwegian fisk. The tents that remember housing the fish market in the past were missing. I then walked out to the location on the map listed as the commercial fish market. When I got there, I realized that wasn’t what I was looking for.
I then walked back to the entrance for the Fløibanen Funicular. The Funicular is a cable driven train that provides a ride to the top of Fløyen mountain. During the winter season, the ride is free with the Bergen card. I missed the first ride at 07:30, but was able to catch the 2nd ride at 08:00. This would still get me to the top of the mountain before sunrise. Even though the ticket office wasn’t open (needed to get the ticket) the Funicular operator let me in and got me the front seat. While waiting for the train about 20-30 pre-school/kindergarten age children were dropped off by their parents to ride to the top of the mountain. The kids were all wearing heavy winter coats and had backpacks. When the kids and their 3 adult guides got to the top they stopped to sing a song, and then went for a hike. It was cold at the top of the mountain, and I put on another layer before taking pictures of Bergen at dawn. The kids seemed to have disappeared into the woods. You could hear them yelling and having fun — It surprised me that they were running around in the still dark woods.
After the sun rose, I returned to Bergen and walked to the Akvariet i Bergen (Bergen Aquarium). Again free entrance with the Bergen card. There were some interesting displays of northern and arctic fish, a room with tropical reptiles and snakes, and a hands-on display of sea creatures that would be found in tidal pools. Outside there was a pool for seals, and a display with Penguins. There were at least 3 groups of pre-school/kindergarten age kids at the Akvariet.
When I walked back to the hotel to check out, I saw why I didn’t find the fish market earlier in the morning. They moved the fish market (and a flower market) indoors under the Bergen Tourist Information center. The same place I went yesterday to buy the Bergen Visitor card. I had a fresh salmon sandwich and Coke for lunch (120 NOK). I passed on the Fisk Soup (200 NOK) although it smelled good. The folks working at the fish market said they moved into the new location last year. They still do have the tents up in the summer when more tourists are in Bergen.
One thing I noticed during this visit to Bergen were a number of folks sitting out at corners with cups begging for change. They did not look local, and the locals did not appear to be giving out any change. I checked out of the hotel and continued to walk around Bergen. I found the Japanese Photography shop where I went to look for some lens cleaner. They didn’t have any in stock – but went to the backroom and gave me an opened bottle for free.
Later in the afternoon, I went back to the top of Fløyen mountain to watch for the arrival of the Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp. I wondered how many of the folks watching the MS Nordkapp arrive would be riding on the Northbound voyage that evening. There were also a number runners doing a race up the mountain that afternoon. I think some were making it up the mountain faster than the Funicular (which does have several stops).
While wondering around on top of the mountain, I did find where all of the kids went running earlier that morning. There is a path going through the woods that has a number of large wooden trolls. Ultimately, the trail ends at a day school. By the time I got back to the top of the Funicular there was a long line of kids, runners, and tourists waiting to take the trip down. I was glad that they doubled the frequency of runs to handle the rush. By the time I got back to the hotel, it was time to get to the Hurtigruten terminal. The taxi ride cost 175 NOK. I could have walked the distance, if I didn’t have the luggage to carry
Check-in at the Hurtigruten terminal was fast. No passport or credit card required. They took my heavy bag and delivered it to my cabin. Before boarding the ship, there was a mandatory safety program. One notable difference between the Hurtigruten ships and the Semester at Sea MV Explorer is that the life vests (and all weather suits) for the Hurtigruten ships are kept on deck 5 with the lifeboats. On the MV Explorer, the life vests are in the cabins.
My cabin on deck 3 had a set of bunk beds and a couch that could be folded open for a 3rd bed. The desk was very small and barely held my laptop computer and various battery chargers. Unlike my previous Northbound Hurtigruten voyage out of Bergen, there was an open seating buffet dinner before we departed. Once on board, we were told that there was a German TV crew that was going to be filming the Northbound voyage. Included with the TV crew were a couple of radio controlled helicopters (drones) to do some of the filming. The ship departed on time at 22:30. Once I downloaded the GPS track for my Bergen walkabout, I realized why my feet were so sore. During the day I walked over 14 miles (not counting the two trips up and down the Funicular).
