Signs of the zodiac

I've got the wet landings down now, more or less. I may misjudge the waves and end up in deeper water than I'd anticipated when we disembark, or spray my fellow passengers with nice cold seawater when I swing my legs back into the zodiac going back to the ship, but I manage.

The journey from the ship itself to the zodiac and back again is another matter. It's easy if the water is calm -- step from the steel steps on the side of the ship to the rim of the zodiac, to a wooden step, to the bottom of the zodiac, do the same in reverse order when coming back. There are always at least two, usually three, arms to grip along the way.

When the sea is rough it's not nearly so easy; the zodiac goes down, the ship goes up, and you really have to time your step or a gap of a couple of inches turns into a chasm of a couple of feet. This afternoon the zodiac bucked just as I was stepping into it, and I missed the wooden step and ended up sprawled across the bottom of the zodiac. No injury except to my sense of dignity, and of course, it could have been worse -- I could have fallen into the water. Fortunately, most of us keep our cameras in plastic bags while getting into and out of the zodiacs so I don't think anyone recorded the moment for posterity.