On the Boat Again

stuff about breakfast and other things deleted - maybe I'll work them in somewhere else

11:20 AM -- on the boat

We took bottom sediment from one site near the harbor already. It looked oily and smelled a little of oil too. Andrey called it an example of the anthropogenic factor. We're slowing down approaching the next site..

The Next Site

I dove for an hour or so off a rocky beach where fresh water comes down from a cliff and flows into the bay. Sergey and Andrushka and I dove near the shore. Alex and Vladimir went out deeper in the rowboat. Sergey found one mussel. I found none. Andrushka found none. Alex and Vladimir came back with a small bag of them thanks to Vladimir's scuba expertise.

The water was somewhat turbid. In places the bottom was covered with new sediment washed down by recent heavy rains. I saw lots of small to tiny crabs scuttling among the rocks, a few snails (moon snails I think), a few oysters (not many) and lots of sea grass. No jellyfish. Other molluscs were whelk-like things I don't know the name of. We rowed back to the boat and now we are on our way over to pick up Margery, Maurice, Genia, Tania, and Andrey who went ashore at the fishing pier before we left to go diving.

3:55PM -- on the boat

Our next site after lunch was even closer to the fresh water outlet from the river. Alex and Vladimir did not find any mussels here. They took some bottom sediment samples. The rest of us went swimming off the boat. The water was warm. I swam laps around the boat and stayed in longer than anyone else. It felt good to be in calm warm water under a clear blue sky surrounded by green hills - summer at its finest!

What else? Oh yeah, after our first stop I helped clean the rocks and seaweed off the mussel samples. Alex took my picture doing it so I'll have something to show the folks back home.

thoughts on the long ride back to port

Andrey and Yaroslav (Slava) are eating crackers with chocolate peanut butter. Vladimir is putting away his diving gear. Margery is reading a novel, High Flight, which she promised to give to Andrey when she leaves.

The water at both sites has been fairly warm. These guys think it's cold, but for me it was a treat to swim without breaking out in those little red cold bumps I get at Salisbury.

Genia brought us plums from her garden for breakfast, and she cooked a chicken and dumpling soup for lunch that would cure anything. We also had some kind of fried egg thing with lunch. And apples, pears, and more plums for dessert.

Slava is reading English Through Pictures.

This journal is fairly random. By the time I sit down to write I have often forgotten what I wanted to say. Culture shock and jet lag are both to blame I guess. Either that or I really am developeing early Alzheimer's.

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