tidewater

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 to Cinci over the course of several days, staying with friends from school, and we were both excited to be heading off. Rob Kaderly picked us up in Fort Myers, took us to his home ... read more

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 this voyage. From our initial calls and emails, to staring at a rock in Nanortalik, Karen has encouraged our curiosity and guided our footsteps. We’d like to leave you with some of our favorite memories. Takuus! Thursday 8-14-08 We start ... read more

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 . One of my references, Tim Catalano, lent me Barry Lopez’s “Arctic Dreams” when he heard of where I might be travelling. Despite the press of finals (especially chemistry) I devoured the book. Lopez’s book brought ... read more