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a gull-ridden tour

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This morning we went on a boat cruise in Matsushima Bay. The tour swept out through the islands to the Pacific, then back into the harbour. Along the way it took in many of the pine-covered islets, seeming remnants of a plain of soft sedimentary rock similar to that on the shoreline which had been carved to make the rooms and statues and cemeteries and whatnot we'd seen the night before.

One thing that I found infuriating as a photographer was the flock of seagulls that swamped the ship whenever there was something to see. It was because people would come to the deck, and while doing so they'd feed the gulls. I couldn't believe it when I first saw it -- dozens of angry squawking gulls diving the boat, flying into easy arm's reach and even passing inside the open rear of the deck! Mari tells me that it's considered good luck in Japan, but I just wanted to take some photos without a gull stuffing its beak into my lens.

Once the gull-ridden tour was over, we went to look at the glass museum in town. It was rather good, and I picked up a vase that mum "loved". Then we realized that we were quite late getting back to the hotel, and it was only with a certain amount of dashing about that we made the train on time. But we did it.

Travelling with an infant seems to mean that every little thing will take twice as long to accomplish. No big deal, really, it just means more planning. Also, more lugging around of stuff. I was very glad that I hadn't brought my tripod with me, even though it was really just an overnight trip. The tripod would have been unbearably heavy.