No fireworks here – natural or otherwise.
Yesterday, I was away from my computer and Mikura Island, only returning this morning. I had the opportunity to visit Miyake and visit a few friends. To see for myself that everyone was okay. Other than having the water turned off while pipes are fixed, everyone is fine. And, I experienced more earthquakes than on Mikura for all last week. The 'jishin' are still occuring but less than last week. These are stronger as well than the ones I felt on Mikura. The threat from the volcano has subsided and everyone is almost returning to normal life. However, the earthquakes and threat of the eruption have hurt the summer tourism business. Most potential guests have canceled their plans to visit Miyake (and Mikura). This will hurt the local economy … sort of a double-edged sword. It will give the wildlife (dolphins included) a sojourn from boats and swimmers (to a limited degree) but it will hamper the economy including 'minshuku' (local bed & breakfast places), restaurants, and 'omiyage' (souvenier) shops. The senchoo will have fewer boat trips (thus we have fewer data collection trips) as well. I came back to Mikura this morning along a very foggy sea. A few guests came, so now I will head out and see about any trip potential for this week. If not, more data analysis to be done. I hope you all have a great holiday and enjoy the BBQ's! Cheers Kathleen