Blogs from Arctic, Oceans and Seas

Grønland, Sisimiut Så er vi ankommet til Sisimiut. Den hårdeste tur var op ad trappen og med ryggen mod familien hen mod paskontrollen med tårerne silende ned ad kinderne og et stort ? der hobede sig op i hele kroppen. Hvorfor gør vi det her? Men vi ved jo godt inderst inde hvorfor. Fordi vi ikke kan lade være. Fordi verden ligger derude, lidt udenfor Tisvilde og venter på at blive indtaget. Fordi vi har valgt at give vores unger en gave, som er med til at forme dem som mennesker, og som de vil opdage værdien af om mange mange år fra nu. Fordi vi trænger til at være sammen som familie og 'stemple ud en gang' og være sammen om de skønne oplevelser, og nå ja fordi vi vælger køen på motorvejen fra tilfordel ... read more

Hi Folks. We've spent much of this summer on the water, enjoying kayak time with our beautiful white whales. Theresa explained in a previous blog about how close the whales were coming to the kayak and that they were nudging us, perhaps they were getting a little amorous with the mottled white kayak? This "close encounter behaviour" happened time and time again and we began to feel at ease with the belugas. Being totally surrounded by these magnificent mammals is a thrilling and magical experience, and we feel honoured to have shared some quality time with them on many occasions. We could hear the whales vocalizing at times too! An amazing language spoken beneath the waves - undecipherable to us humans. Most of the whales have now left the area, but our kayak remains by the ... read more

Today is the start of two glorious sea days as we head south to Alesund, Norway. The Svalbard Islands have disappeared. Watching them as we sailed past was like looking at the Rockies, if the Rockies were on a shore; craggy, steep, snow covered peaks. Went to the coffee talk. The cruise director interviewed the dining room manager, the cellar master and the executive chef. They were all charming and informative and gave interesting insights into provisioning, cooking and serving wines at sea. Then it was Team Trivia time and WE WON!!!!!!! I have also received my Proclamation from King Aegir certifying that I have crossed the Arctic Circle and I am a member of the Ancient Order of the Blue Nose. Enjoyed dinner as always. I am so lucky to get a great table. There ... read more

Scenic Cruising This morning we slowly cruised into Magdalene Fiord located on the northernmost northwestern shore of Spitsbergen, the northernmost island of the Svalbard archipelago. The latitude here is about 79 degrees. The fiord is relatively small about five miles deep and three miles wide at it widest point. The mountains are stark and steep. The only vegetation is moss but the moss is a carpet of greens, reds and oranges. It’s really colorful. At one time there was a whaling station here but that was long ago and it was surprising to see a two-tent research facility on the shore with a small-beached zodiac. There was a sailboat moored in a little cove. At the terminus is the Lillichook Glacier. That is the only glacier still reaching the water. Others have retreated up the mountain. ... read more

The Arctic I enjoyed a drink before dinner with four Aussie ladies, Angela, Carol, Lynn and Laurie. I bought drinks for Angela and Carol since Angela was so helpful in getting my luggage off the Tilbury train. They are all friends from Sydney and when they got going I had no idea what they were saying. I really enjoy the Aussie sense of humor. Dinner was Parmesan crusted chicken, which would have been grand if not for the mustard sauce. I also enjoyed escargot, a special request from the evening before, and my cinnamon ice cream. Just after dinner we diverted to a small town in northern Iceland to tender a passenger ashore for medical attention. The village was at the termination of a small fiord and the Crow’s Nest was packed. The time was ... read more

AT LAST WIFI IS BACK. HELLO ALL! Another lovely sleep in, today until 7:30. It is still grey out there but the seas have calmed. Found myself a $10 watch to replace the one I lost. At lunch today I met two ladies who live in Nairobi, actually the outskirts of Nairobi because no one lives right in the city. A mother and daughter originally from San Francisco, who moved to Kenya in the mid seventies, came back to the states and then returned to Kenya where they plan to end their days. They are very interesting women and deeply love their African home. They have visited 43 of the 54 African countries. Went up in the Crow’s Nest to read and watch the arctic terns circle the bow of the ship and then went back ... read more

Hello all, just registered for Glastonbury 2010 and plans for La Tomatina 2010 are coming along nicely It's impossible to save money but I know it will all be worth it when I'm throwing tomatoes at some random person until next time Love Erin x... read more

Thursday 25th Back at sea and all caught up with journaling from previous days, I feel awkwardly energized by a long sleep and a few cups of tea. The ship’s historian, Steve, gathered us ‘round the lounge for story time. Today it was Shakleton’s adventure. While Steve is a particularly grumpy old man onshore, he is equally charming at storytime onboard. When he gives his stories, it is like he was there with the explorers recounting what happened as though he witnessed it firsthand. While the story of Shakleton is mostly about the Endurance, the earlier Nimrod expedition was Shakleton’s most successful attempt. Another interesting tidbit was that the endurance was originally the Polaris, a boat made by Belgian voyager ?Gerlache?, who thought it would be a good idea to set up a sturdy ship for ... read more