BEECHY ISLAND

BEECHEY ISLAND

Last night we met with Jim and Hugh for dinner at Tastes. They both had been ill and Phil was down with a bad cold. We enjoyed the small plates restaurant and will definitely eat there again.
We were disappointed to learn that we had been scheduled for a helicopter ride at $699US each for our Unexpected Adventure so turned in our tickets and asked to be put on the waiting list for a zodiac landing instead. As luck would have it, there were many cancellations and at 8 o'clock we got at call saying we were on the excursion departing at 11:25. We had two landings on Beechy Island - the first one was at the Franklin camp where we saw the headstones of the men who died here on the Erebus, Terror and North Star. We saw a post office where metal tubes were used to transmit messages. One ship would leave a message and the next ship would pick it up and leave their own message. Large stone circles indicated where their tents were pitched. Our second landing was at the ruins of a supply depot, Northumberland House, and again several memorials were constructed honouring people who were instrumental in finding the North West Passage. Rusted tin cans were used to form a cross at this site.
Birds seen here: Black Guillemots (lifer), Thayer's Gull, Northern Fulmars.
Back to the ship for lunch, art class, walk on deck, nap (hopefully) - then dinner at Prego, the Italian specialty restaurant.