They are different from those fur seals I saw in Antarctica and much less aggressive. What we see here on the rocky beach are mostly youngsters, only 7-8 months old. Their parents are feeding themselves in the sea. They will come soon togive the birth to the new puppies. Those youngsters are playing in the shallow water, learning how to swim and haunt – now they will be on their own. Oh, oh, oh! – non-stop barking you can hear at any time of the day. Coming closer you will see them jumping on the stones and trying to bit each other. But you will see no blood during these exercises – it is just a play. Orca or killer whale is the main enemy of the young seals. So far I saw only one orca on approach to Amsterdam. It was probably already after lunch. We took a walk (about an hour) through the high grass to the air-control station. Amsterdam has a strategic position in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is almost the same distance – about 5000 kms – from here to Africa, India and Australia. The air is free from the pollution, and that’s why they can use values measured here as a reference. I left my rubber boots on the ship. Amsterdam is very dry island and they have a problem to collect enough unsalted water for those people who live here. They collect rain water from the all roofs to the special, plastic tanks. I wish them to have enough rain for their showers! So far strong sun is shining over Amsterdam and I have to protect my neck from the sunburn!..
