Thurs Jul 9, 2009 Dad and I woke up at 4:30 to get me to the airport on time. Even so, I nearly missed my flight. My pocket knife was still in my purse, unbeknownst to me, and so I set off the security. In the end, I had to pay some ungodly figure to mail the thing home and made it to the gate just as the attendant began paging me. However, I made it to Cincinnatti without further mishap and met up with my cousin, Jess Claudio. It was good to catch up with her: she had driven down [View Full Entry]

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Mon 7-28-08 Besides having read about the Arctic in books and having seen the glossy photos in magazines, I had never really given much thought to what lay north of me. I live on Lake Erie, and so “north” is zebra mussels and maple-leaved flags. When mum sent me the scholarship application, I filled it out on a whim. It would be wonderful to travel, and as an aspiring biologist and a life-long nature lover, I was sure that I would find myriads of interesting flora and fauna . . . in the mean time, I had studying to do . [View Full Entry]

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Friday 8-8-08 Today we are awakened at 6:30 with a humpback whale sighting. Amanda and I bundle up and trip out into the cold air (38°F, a mere 4°C). On the observation deck, a Scandinavian in shorts and tee-shirt (he does admit that it is cold) points out the sighting. I race down to the bow of the ship, joining Richard the bird-man and the voyage photographer Kevin. There I watched a humpback and a minkie surface, blow air through their blow holes a few times, float about, and then dive once more. According to Richard, this behavior is typical [View Full Entry]

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Farewell Old and new: we’ve seen both on this journey. Iceland: a new island of the old world. Greenland: a land of old traditions struggling to come to terms with new ideas. The Explorer: an old ship with a new face on her inaugural voyage. Tonight: the end of an expedition and the start of new school years for Amanda and I. Despite being “new” members of this old Lindblad family, we have been welcomed whole-heartedly. We’ve been shown such kindness, so to all of you: Quyanasuaq! We’re especially grateful to Karen Copeland, our “mentor” on [View Full Entry]

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