Tuesday, June 13, 2023
We were told to expect 55°and torrential mist. We popped open our porthole this morning and were surprised to see the sun shining. It has been shining all day. Fabulous.
Yesterday we had to sign up for activities for today. There was a cultural hike, two different bog walks, a bike ride, and a zodiac ride.
I failed bike ride. It was supposed to be a 2-hour bike ride that would go 5 miles along the shore. I figured even I could handle that. Wrong. We stopped twice at rest areas, to use the bathroom (we had been gone less than 20 minutes) and to look at the water and mountains. We were on a slow incline for the whole trip. I was definitely the slowest one, although I was not in the back of the single file line. A couple people passed me as we neared the rest areas. I’m not proud, I was happy that they moved past me. My gear shifter thing was broken and I couldn’t change gears, so it was hard. That is not an excuse that is just a statement of fact – also a statement of fact is the fact that I did not get younger and fitter before I got on this trip and it was hard going for me. I did my best and enjoyed the breaks. When we were going to leave the second rest area, Keith got on his bike and it had a flat tire. One of our guides said she would call to get a pickup and I suggested that I just go back with the pickup and I wouldn’t be slowing everybody down. She talked with the other guide and they agreed that I could get picked up. Everyone biked away and one of the guides stayed with me. She said that she couldn’t leave me alone because it was not part of the deal. That made sense, but if I wasn’t taking the bike back, I would have just gone ahead and biked the rest of the way.
The guy came in a pickup truck in about 6-7 minutes. As soon as he pulled into the rest stop three ravens flew down next to his truck. He admitted that he’d been feeding them for quite some time and that they recognized his truck. It was exciting to see them very close up. He is a fisherman and told us lots of things about commercial fishing. He even went out of his way to show me some equipment that was near the marina to further explain some of the things he was telling us.
I was very surprised as we pulled in near our ship and the bikers were all back and Keith was the only one left, waiting for me. Apparently they went about 50 ft farther than our second rest stop and then coasted downhill all the way back. Huh. The whole trip took just less than an hour. It wasn’t exactly the leisurely bike ride along the water that I was expecting for 2 hours.
We went on a zodiac ride around the marina and learned more about commercial fishing inside different kinds of boats – trawlers are bad. Keith and I wore all our waterproof boating gear, but we were the only ones. After a few splashes, we had to go back and dock because the people didn’t want to get wet.
There was a choice of chili or fish for lunch, so I went for the chili. Unfortunately, it had cilantro and I was out. It came with a half a baked potato, so after I ate that I was feeling pretty satisfied. Breakfast here is fabulous and I had eaten enough then to actually last the day. One of our table mates ordered the fish and it did not get a good review. He said I was better off eating the chili and he didn’t even know I hate fish. When our waitress came to clear the dishes I said that I did not like cilantro that’s why I hadn’t eaten the meal. She asked me if I wanted something from the Young explorers menu. I didn’t know that was a thing, but the ham and cheese sandwich sounded awfully good. The guy who had the fish was wondering if he could get a ham sandwich. It came and it was a grilled cheese with ham and it was delicious. I may have failed biking but I won lunch.
Keith and I went downtown Petersburg in the afternoon. We looked through some shops and we went to the grocery store – a gallon of milk costs $8.29. A lot of other things were a little bit higher than home, but a few were about the same. We checked out the museum and the library and some totem poles and enjoyed the sunshine.
A terrific day!
I sympathize! Those long inclines will get you, especially when you’re not expecting them. People who describe proposed bike rides should be more detailed and accurate. Jerry and I had a memorable ride once in the area around the Augusta, Wisconsin. The route was described on a brochure as having “gentle, rolling hills.” I don’t know who wrote that copy, but I’ll bet they’d never done that ride. There was *nothing* gentle about those hills–those hills were vicious!
It sounds like the impromptu nature encounter and fishing “lecture” on your way back to the ship made a great alternative activity. Maybe not so much a failed bike ride as an alternative success.