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An adaptation of my photograph from 1969 in Pelican Bay, Santa Cruz Island, California.  Santa Barbara 20 miles away on the horizon.  Every weekend we would come, my teenage friends and I, in my father's 29 ft. sailboat, SEA COLT.  We brought half the food we needed and spent the rest of the day in the water catching the rest.  This is now part of the Channel Islands National Park, but in the '60's this was a glorius rare day warmed by the Santa Anna winds from the mainland, crystal clear skies.... and the sea was all ours. So I remember my father on this day for his generous granting of my freedom to have this day, he reveled in such places.

I have had a lot of discussion about this image in my Caribbean gallery so I am going to elaborate more on it.  I did an exploratory trip of the Caribbean in 1978 on an old 1930's schooner for six weeks.  I traveled from the Grenadines to Antigua.  May 15, 1978 was the first time I saw English Harbor (I kept an extensive written log so I know the dates).  There were not any boats in the outer harbor then (lower part of the image with a lot of anchored sailboats) and I took a small dinghy and rowed over to the far end of the bay.  For the next few hours I snorkeled the entire length of the shallow bay, repeatedly diving to the bottom.  The whole expanse of water was full of shimmering schools of juvenile fish, and with each plunge toward the bottom the fish would open a "hole" to let me through and then close behind me, covering my view of the surface.  It was magical.  I was 28 years old and had been free diving and SCUBA diving since my mid-teens in California, but I had never experienced anything like this.  It was an enthralling, interactive contact with nature.   I did not visit this harbor again until 1990 when it became my first landfall after sailing across the Atlantic.  Another visually intoxicating experience with the elements. This trip was only my third visit over this 31 year history.  I knew that there were steel drum bands playing on Shirley Heights on Sunday evenings, having been there before, so we set off just before sunset in Pele's Taxi, the driver a local personality.  I knew the view, I was armed with a basket full of memories and I knew exactly want I wanted to convey in an image.   Which I might add as was quite different from the throng of commotion behind me... a hundred steel drums, children & adults dancing, beer and wine flowing to the staccato of the drums... even some palm fronds being woven into baskets. 

This image was published in the March 22, 2009 issue of the Austin American Statesman as it won their "Win in a Flash" contest.

Image at left: Anchored off Norris Point, in Gros Morne National Park on the northwest coast of Newfoundland, +49° 30' 36.70"N, -57° 53' 11.19"W, we are greeted by amazing light of the morning sun.  A lone Zodiac driver waits for his call to duty on the side of the ship.  Meanwhile, he/she was the perfect scale for my photo.  The rest of the pictures are here in chronological order.  I'll start a small gallery of the best dozen soon, meanwhile they are all included in this 150 or so.  If you want to see people and food pictures, they are found here.  Both of these galleries will be annotated as I get to it, but for right know, what you see is what you get.

Often I wonder why I like to travel.  I examine, consciously, what it is that makes it work for me.  It has changed in my experience over time, decades I mean, something to do with scale and contrast, light and dark, times that we are in now and times that are forgotten, or nearly so.  When one leaves the comfort of familiar surroundings and are thrust into the world beyond your doorstep, possibilities exist for a greater chance of something unexpected happening.  Seeing, smelling, tasting or otherwise sensing a new environment.  We frame our plans around increasing the odds that what we will experience will match our expectations.  Therein lies the trap that nature has laid for us.

The conundrum is to observe but not quite participate if the activity is not what we expect.  However to truly observe, one must participate.  This seems to me to be the fulfilling act of travel.  To engage in the activity that intertwines and highlights differences with your own life experience is the plum of the event.  The act of observation in and of itself often affects the outcome of an event.  So we try to balance the expectation and the experience in our mind.  What is really important?  I think the answer is to accept the outcome of the travel experience for the plums it offers and not to twist it into something else (like what you had planned).  Sharing journeys, written, spoken or photographed (or all) helps others to reach a value in their own planning.  With each iteration the act of travel gets closer to the "planned" experience.  Which of course, if the journey is truly an "expedition" then it's purpose has little chance of occurring at all.  I think I prefer the term exploratory.

Depending upon one's life experience the simple act of just crossing a road can be a life changing experience.  Michael Fay in his epic "megatransect" of 1200 miles of central Africa several years ago was accompanied by a Pygmy crew who had never seen a road before.  As he said, they were something akin to kids on an escalator for the first time... "You can go so fast!" they exclaimed as they ran back and forth on the dirt road surface.  For other travelers, nothing short of a ride to the edge of space would be enough to satisfy their expectations.  The rest of us, somewhat thankfully, fall somewhere in between.  Michael Fay's trip, was an expedition with a defined purpose.  Silversea's PRINCE ALBERT II, was very much a luxury cruise, even calling it "expedition light" would be misleading.  It is a smallish, 354 ft., lavishly appointed, cruise ship with some Zodiacs.  I loved it for what it was, not for what I thought it was going to be.  It does not however execute a travel experience that even remotely begs for "expedition" to be included in the title.  No matter what it says on the side of the ship "expeditions" don't arrange for buses to transport you to lovely museums six blocks away from the ship.  An expedition with a purpose, would have headed north into the waves and wind from St. John's, Newfoundland, however since the purpose was not expeditionary, but moreover luxury cruising and comfortable explorations, we turned south.  Here is the story.

My friend Pam and I left Austin, Texas late morning on August 13th, 2008 for New York City and onward to St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.  My expectations were high, and that was in part to see as much of Newfoundland & Nova Scotia as one could via ship and some land excursions given a lot of time constraints by the published itinerary.  I also wanted to know about Silversea and it's new "expedition" ship, the PRINCE ALBERT II.  I am interested in the other places she is going as well.  What I learned in the process, is what I learned on my trip to Iceland last summer, to accomplish an intimate observation of the large island land masses of the Canadian Maritimes, will require a return trip and slower methods.

The PRINCE ALBERT II only went into service under this name, officially, on June 12, 2008.  The refit was begun last fall to revive a ship once known as the WORLD DISCOVERER.  I won't go into the full history, but millions have been spent on polishing her up, and by and large it shows.

We arrived in St. John's on the evening of August 13th.  Well it was actually 12:14 a.m. August 14th when we were finally exiting the airport.  My new friend, Terry Adey, was there to greet us.  A charming and talented photographer during the day, and a registered nurse by night.  He drove us to Signal Hill to the the flickering lights of St. John's harbor, then on to the Balmoral Inn (38 Queens Road).  After some sleep we were off for a walk and then met Terry and his wife Debbie for lunch and a tour of the environs.  I cannot thank Terry enough for his warm welcome and help.  On a future trip I am sure we'll have a lot of photography to share.

August 15th turned out to be a damp, cool and breezy morning, but after at least 10 hours of rain, heavy at times, the night before, it was a welcome respite to have the late morning clearing.  At least we could move our luggage from the Inn to the wharf without getting soaked.  The transition from the dock to the ship was fast and efficient considering that the PRINCE ALBERT II was receiving one hundred plus new passengers in addition to the seventeen or so that remained aboard from the sixteen day trip from Reykjavik, Iceland.  Champagne was plied upon us as we waited in line to get our room key and a quick photo taken.  In line with us was our soon-to-be new life-long friend, Dr. Arlene Segal.  A veteran of Silversea and almost any other outfit you can conjure up.  From the North Pole to the Antarctic peninsula, she has a bucket full of memories and I was eager to listen (and still ready now).  Fate would have it that Arlene was also just across the hall from us.  Perfect planning.

One of the first items of business shipboard is to have a life boat drill.  The Silversea routine was quite different from my drill on the Russian ship, PROFESSOR MULTANOVSKIY.  Silversea has you try on the life vest, secure the straps.... and you're done.  I have no idea which lifeboat I would go to should there be a problem.  The MULTANOVSKIY had us go all the way to the lifeboats, board them (it was raining too, a lot), and start the engine.  In retrospect that was a very good exercise after I heard about 3 of the 4 lifeboats from the now sunken EXPLORER last fall having engines that would not start.  So this seemed to be just Lifeboat Drill 101 on Silversea.

The first disappointment came when the ship's captain and the Silversea staff concluded that the weather system that moved in the previous night had created an itinerary-changing set of wind and swells from the north.  Rightly so, it would have been a very tough go to head north to L'Anse aux Meadows, so it was scratched.  A big blow for me as this was the one spot, along with Gros Morne National Park, that I had really wanted to see, and was much of the reason I chose this particular trip.  I could not argue with the logic however.  We turned south to the port of Argentia to visit a historic site there.  In retrospect I think this stop could have been skipped in favor of saving the time for better experiences at Gros Morne National Park.  The gritty photo opportunities that I sought were still eluding me, but I learned long ago to focus (literally) on what is in front of you when what you are expecting is not there.  I found one of my best images of the trip in a bright yellow cleat that the PRINCE ALBERT II had her bright blue "spring line" on, complete with a contrasting red edge and the uniform black hull of the ship.  I was very pleased, and it made my day.  The other good image of the day turned out to be of Camille Seaman, the resident photographer on the ship.  Unfortunately she was too preoccupied with her family and ship-board duties to talk much about photography to me, so I just took her photo and will give her a lesson on how I made it another time.

That evening we set off to the Ramea Islands, a bit of a forlorn fishing community off the south coast of Newfoundland.  It was an interesting to see, but the weather was being uncooperative during our visit.  Next we headed north to Gros Morne National Park.  Again the Silversea staff had shortened our visit here.  There is a disconnect between what is published in the itinerary (that I purchased) and what the ship's staff says we are going to do.  I provided copies of these documents to the staff leader.  He said and did nothing in response.  So much for being expeditionary.

Gros Morne provided a beautiful morning arrival for us.  It was here I took the photo at the top of this journal entry.  The best weather day yet.  I made a panorama of the morning light on the south side of the bay from 10 images.  We had a choice of a three mile hike to the foot of the Western Brook Pond (initially reached by motor coach) or just a coach ride around the park with little or no walking.  It seems about half of the ship went for the hike.  The other half, many of whom had never been in a Zodiac before, opted for just motoring around the park.  This was an out and back hike, flat, paved, gravel or board walk for the most part.  They had a nice local fellow who tried to say that he was going to walk as fast as the slowest person.  That remark pretty well eliminated Pam and me, along with my new friend Fred, from the interpretive stops as we were not going to walk at one mile per hour no matter what.  We were even told to "stay with the group" at one point, and I chose to walk on rather that to tell the fellow to "get lost" on the trail (it was impossible to get lost unless you believed you were on an expedition and had completely lost your senses).  Nice walk, too bad we had no time to do the famous boat cruise up the fjord.  Just enough time to walk back, board the bus and subsequently the ship and depart for St. Pierre & Miquelon to the south.

St. Pierre remotely reminded me of St. Barthélemy, French West Indies, albeit a lot cooler.  I think the French as a colonial power left some good systems and traditions in place in the islands.  We took a short boat ride over to "Sailor's Island" which is inhabited by summer residents now.  It was a pleasant and quiet little place but they could use a good patisserie to liven up the populace.

Soon we were sailing for Fortress de Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.  This is a very interesting cultural stop in the history books of North America.  A partially restored Fort of quite a large scale.  What has been done, is very well done, and well worth the visit.  From here we sailed to Halifax.

We pulled into Halifax in the early morning where I spied Harlan Crow's yacht, MICHAELA ROSE, stern to at the wharf.  We tied up a short distance away, then boarded buses for Halls Harbor on the north side of Nova Scotia along the shores of the Bay of Fundy where the tides range up to 40 feet or more. First was a quick stop in the old part of Halifax to visit the cemetery where many of the TITANIC victims were buried.  An odd tourist site for any "expedition."  We also were able to squeeze in a 45 minute stop at the maritime museum that was quite interesting.  In a whirlwind of bus riders we were headed north to the Grand Pre winery and a tasting.  Perhaps with time and a bit more global warming their grapes will catch up with Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California.  Meanwhile, this slowed us down so much that we had a VERY late fresh lobster lunch at 3 p.m. in Halls Harbor.  Time enough to see the water rise during lunch and refloat the harbor boats.  A nice tour for what we did although they tried to micro manage the passengers to the level of telling them how to cross the street.  I bolted again.  Back in Halifax at about 5:45 p.m. we were told that the maritime museum would be open until 8 p.m.  Sadly it was only open until 5:30 p.m. and most everything else was closing rapidly.  Why we stayed in port for several more hours remains a mystery to me. One hightlight of the departure was the bag piper and drummer that serenaded us.  They were absolutely outstanding.  I have it all on HD video.

Next up was the very pretty little town of Lunenburg, where we got a morning sail of sorts on the BLUE NOSE II.  More of a motor sail really, but that was the weather in the morning.  I had some nice chats with the crew on the vessel about their life and sailing experiences as contrasted with mine.  Always fun to talk to a sailor.  Arlene, Pam and I had lunch at the GRAND BANKER restaurant overlooking the harbor.  Then we were off for a walking tour of town.  I photographed several interesting wind vanes from quite a distance.

The next morning was perhaps the best of all, more or less an unplanned nature-in-your-face experience cruising the mouth of the Bay of Fundy off the west coast of Nova Scotia.  We saw more whales than I saw the year before in Antarctica, and ten times as many breaching whales (jumping).  I'll put the video online soon too, but the stills are in the gallery now.  We cruised into the sunset and towards America.

The morning was clear as we entered Gloucester, MA.  Captain Fabien Rocher did a remarkable job of backing the PRINCE ALBERT II down the length of the harbor to the dock as there was no room to turn around mid-harbor.  A tug stood by, but I don't believe she was ever used.  A fog bank raced down the harbor about as fast as we were backing in and reached us only as we we throwing lines out to secure the ship.  Job well done.  After the lengthy process of clearing US immigration we were able to disembark and make our way to the excellent CAPE ANNE MUSEUM.  Highly recommended.  At lunch we were off to New York City.  I made a panorama of three images of Boston which was clearly seen 19 miles away.  Passing though the Cape Cod Canal we came within three miles of our Austin neighbor Dave Welland's house near Falmouth.  A small world we live in now.

Morning twilight brought us by Coney Island and then under the Verazanno Narrows Bridge.  It was not the clearest of days, but a warm and humid one.  I made a panorama of the New York City skyline as we approached it.  We had to be out of our cabins by 8 a.m. so the staff could prepare the ship for hosting travel agents and other visitors.  We were not able to get off the ship until 11:35 a.m.  After securing a taxi we had just enough time to drive by Dean & Deluca on Broadway to pick up some lunch and then head to Newark Airport.

Some side notes:  our new friends, Fred and Julia, who were a deck above us in Cabin 411 (Silversea calls them "suites" but with only one room, again, it is a bit of a linguistic stretch) and HAD NO AIR CONDITIONING - THE ENTIRE TRIP.  The only solution by the Silversea staff was to give them a fan, and after complaining for days.... they got a second fan.  I think they could have fixed this almost immediately by switching their cabin with one of the staff members.  Several of whom I know were in cabins comparable to ours, a less expensive class from the forth deck, but nonetheless cool and comfortable.  I hope that Silversea makes some reparations with Fred.  If they do not, I will make some contract changes on any future voyages with Silversea.  It should also be known that Silversea allows smoking in the cabins.  A door away from Fred was a smoker who has his door cracked open as was polluting the hallway and their non-ventilated room.  I felt terrible for Fred and Julia with the inaction of the staff and Silversea headquarters.  

There was also a pot smoker from time to time somewhere in deck three down the hall from our cabin 313.  I never identified exactly where, but the aroma was very strong and distinct.

On deck five, there was one "suite" (and up here it really might have been one) that was overwhelmed with the odor of the head (the toilet to landlubbers).  Little was done to fix this situation either.

Cabin 313 was more or less perfect save for the television.  They seem to have a satellite tracking system for receiving live TV but the only channel they offered was FOX NEWS which is pretty much no news at all.  I thought it was so embarrassing that they should have just turned it off altogether.  That's what people say (inside joke about Fox News).  So sadly, no Olympic coverage at all on the telly.  While I am on the TV.... the movie system worked perfectly and had a wide range of choices.  I was quite impressed, no DVD fumbling or check outs, just click and play.

There is also a pay as you go ($0.50/minute), or package deal, on Internet service.  It was amazingly reliable and fast, probably twice the speed of a 56 kbps dial up line at its best.  I purchased a block of 250 minutes time for $85 and by typing mostly off line and then cutting/pasting my messages I was usually off in 4-6 minutes.  I could log into my accounts when and where I wanted, respond to emails, upload photos/comments to my blog.... even look out the side window of our house with a live web cam WHILE WE WERE AT SEA.  This was pretty amazing.  I ended the whole trip with 30 minutes left over that I never used (no refunds).  Some people complained about the service but they were using the computers in the "internet cafe" in the library.  I was always using my own notebook and logging on wirelessly from anywhere on the ship.  Geeky stuff and it worked.  Also while I am on telecommunications, the AT&T cell service works with Silversea.  Once one has international roaming, taxes and fees make each minute cost about $3.50.  We never did use it, but I know it works from observing others.  I never could get Skype to show a connected signal on the internet connection or I would have tried a Skype VoIP call from the ship ($0.02/min usually, plus the internet connection fee of about $0.35).  Anyhow, I would suspect that this sort of thing could work, but perhaps they block those ports so AT&T can keep the monopoly while onboard the ship.

Lastly I have to say that the staff for the most part was exemplary.  While I've said little of the food in my notes here, but if you look at the photos of it you will see 10,000 words.  There is nothing more I could improve upon in this category.  Top drawer, A+, top to bottom, it was the best.  Cindy, our cabin stewardess was perfect.  The expedition leader did have one huge faux pas by showing an off color joke series on the LCD projector in the theater.  Very low class and out of place.  Bad judgement all around on that one.  Otherwise his bungling of Fred & Julia's accommodations was my only added complaint aside from his itinerary problems.  I should also note here that the wait staff, bar tending and wine sommelier were exceptional.  Always remembering the preferences of the crankiest "expeditioners".  Brent Stephenson, a.k.a. the Birdman, was fun and fascinating to talk to as well. The geologist, Juan Carlos Restrepo, was my favorite of all.... great story teller and no matter which passenger he engaged them in real conversations.  I would go anywhere with these two guys.

Here is the route we did take.  Just follow the green line from St. John's to New York City.  Google Earth and a GPS great for creating such maps. I left this image large so it can be seen easily.  It is 1762 x 1342 pixels.

Cheers, Rj.
September 3, 2008
in Austin, Texas.

P.S. Septermber 14th I added a ZIP file off all the Google Earth KML files with the tracks of the ship, hikes, drives, etc.  Download it here.

Commentary on blogging:  It is best done when traveling alone.  That said, I'll do a paragraph to get from St. John's Newfoundland to Halifax, Nova Scotia where we will arrive in about 10 hours.  Ramea Islands were rainy, foggy and interesting, but not very special insofar as photography of my interests.  Gros Morne was wonderful, but we had had barely enough time to do a short walk, let alone a boat ride up the fjord and a hike at the end.... so only the former was accomplished.  I'll be back without slow moving guides.  Today we were in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia... one of the last defenses of the French.  Begun in 1713 and elegantly preserved in that period.  It was a superb historical tour of the early province.

I have new life long friends from Los Angeles and Kansas City.  Who would have known.  It's just the way the stars aligned.

More from Halifax where we will have an all day tour across the island and an evening in Halifax to catch up before leaving for Lunenberg, Nova Scotia.

Aboard the Prince Albert II, leaving the Ramea Islands off the southern coast of Newfoundland.

My first update since arriving in St. John's, Newfoundland.  Upon arriving at the St. John's airport non-stop from Newark, New Jersey on Friday night we have had a lovely welcome to this maritime province.  Terry Adey who lives and works in the St. John's - Twillingate area was there to greet us just after midnight.  We did a quick tour around town in the early Saturday morning hours, even venturing to the top of Signal Hill for a splendid night time panoramic view of St. John's.  Signal Hill was the place where Marconi received his first transmissions across the Atlantic.  

The two nights in St. John's were at the Balmoral Inn (38 Queens Road).  It has a nice self serve cold breakfast available most of the morning, comfortable rooms albeit with a small bath.  The biggest drawback is the necessity of moving almost 200 lbs of luggage (video & still camera gear is more than 60% of this) up almost two full flights of stairs.  However I survived and it was an altogether pleasant stay.

Terry and his wife Debbie were exceeding gracious hosts and tour guides on the Saturday before departure.  Cape Spear, the village of Quidi Vidi, the Battery along with harbor front... all wonderful walks on a picture perfect day.  I'll annotate these days more when I am not uploading posts via satellite and can add more pictures & text easily.

We boarded the Prince Albert II about 1pm on Friday.  St. John's is in the Newfoundland time zone, and it is 1.5 hrs ahead of Eastern Time.... so 2.5 hrs ahead of Texas time.  The night before boarding it has rained for about 10 hours and for sure the weather pattern was changing.  Once upon the ship the 3pm sailing was pushed back to 8:00 pm due to the wind, and sadly our first destination, L'anse aux Meadows, was cancelled due to the high wind and north swell bearing down on our planned course.  Plan B was to turn south and do some of the itinerary in reverse.  The small port of Argentia and some historic ruins there, then then Ramea Islands followed by Gros Morne National Park in the north, and finally returning south to the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon before resuming our original schedule toward Nova Scotia and eventually New York City on August 25th.

The photo is of port side in Argentia of the ship and one of her moorings.

Written at noon, Sunday, August 17th, 2008.

I am heading to France in a month.  Well, not the motherland, but one of the last vestiges of her colonial past, the isles de la Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.  These small islands are the only remnants of the empire of New France that extended from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains.  Along the way I'll circle Newfoundland and touch parts of Nova Scotia slowly heading for New York City on the maiden voyage of Silversea's PRINCE ALBERT II, their new expedition ship.  My last such adventure was onboard Quark Expedition' PROFESSOR MULTANOVSKIY in February of 2007.  Here are the two ships oceans apart and at somewhat similar scale:

The PROFESSOR MULTANOVSKIY is 256 ft. and the PRINCE ALBERT II is 354 ft.  Tonnage wise the PAII is just shy of four times the PM.  The crew to passenger ratio of the PM is 1:2.4 has been cut in half at 1:1.2 on the PRINCE ALBERT II.  The latter carrying a maximum of 132 passengers.

I had an absolutely grand time on the PROFESSOR MULTANOVSKIY, and I expect a lot more from this new ship, PRINCE ALBERT II.  For those that followed along with me on the last trip, I'll be doing the same routine this time as well.  Daily dispatches from the ship and perhaps even a few photos along the way.

The first stop after boarding in St. Johns, Newfoundland will be at L'Anse aux Meadows ("Jelly Fish Cove") where Leif Ericsson landed a thousand years ago.  Inasmuch as I visited the town (Eyrarbakki) in southern Iceland last year, where Bjarni Herjólfsson lived, who had sold his boat to Leif and given him some directions to the land west of Greenland that he accidentally  discovered (but did not land on) when he was trying to find Greenland in the year 985.  Columbus knew all of this, now you do too.  More to come....

A wonderful start for 2008.  My Iceland travel story was just published in the JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHERS.  Here is the link to the full story on the IAPP web site.  If that fails to load, here is the PDF on my server. 

Today I uploaded all of the "travel photos" (food, road shots, story telling images) along with the hopefully, excellent printable images.  They can all be found here:

http://www.terra360.com/iceland/ice_all/index.html

The FINE ART images are now available for viewing (lower left link on front page) or here:

http://www.terra360.com/iceland/iceland_art/index.html

Prices will be posted shortly (really)... enjoy! - Rj.

Day 15 (July 5)

At the airport in Reykjavik... and one last photo of food.  It's only because this one was just so "beyond expectations" as Steve said.  This was breakfast.  $35.00.  And it wasn't very good. What was good at the airport was the free Wi-fi connection to the Internet.

Iceland Air charged me 6,000 Krona (expected) for my extra 20 kilos of baggage.  I don't think at this end they are counting 3 pieces, just weight, so I was glad that in lieu of my bathroom scale to weigh me and my bags, I just loaded up my Lowe Pro Computrekker AW (rolling bag) with all the heavy items I could get into it.  I am sure I moved 10 kilos out of the checked baggage for the return trip.  What was all this stuff you might ask... a short list, of Canon equipment: a XH-A1 HD cam, 1DsMkII, 5D, SD800, 15mm FFF, 16-35mm, 24-105mm, 70-200mm, 400mm DO, 1.4 extender, 2 tripods, 1 monopod, heads/pano brackets, Steadicam Merlin, rain slickers, lots of batteries, parts, and cleaning equipment.  Oh, and don't forget the notebook computer and parts.  I should have left the Merlin at home, I forgot a rain slicker for the 1DsMkII, but most of the rest was used.

All & all it was a lovely time for sure. Almost 4100 km. in total over 14 days.  Thanks to Steve for all the driving.  A great trip.

cheers, Rusty

Day 14 (July 4)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right)

The last day.  We hadn't that far to travel to our hotel in Reykjavik, so like days before in similar situations, we got creative.  Loops, odd roads, going places no one except locals would ever go.  We dashed to the coast just south of Selfoss, the somewhat large town of 6,000 souls that was between our hotel and the sea.  We were heading for the harbor town of Eyrarbakki, where in 985 AD., Bjarni Herjólfsson, a young merchant, sailed for Greenland, but instead reached the shores of North America along the way. Upon his arrival in Greenland, Bjarni told Leif Eriksson of his discovery and sold him his boat, which Eriksson used for his own journey to North America.  I wanted to see where this stroke of incredible bad luck started.  Unfortunately we had our own bad luck when we got there and the museum would not open for another 45 min. after we arrived in town.  So we pressed on to Þorlákshöfn and watched the ferry from Vestmannaeyjar arrive! This is exactly the ferry I want to ride on my next visit to see this group of islands (16 in all, newest being Surtsey).  Along the way we caught a few shots of some swans (Steve said they were swans)... very beautiful.  I wished I had a little more time to photograph them. 

Our energy spent from all this tourist activity we were famished yet again and on the prowl for one last super expensive lunch.  We found it at the Hotel Rangá just east of Hella.  The wait staff was outstanding, the food delicious (salmon on lettuce and herbs), potato soufflé and a nice glass of white wine (standard Spanish import I recall).  Best $120 lunch you can get in Iceland.  Highly recommended if you have no other choice like us.

Starting on the second of these somewhat large impromptu loop tours we could see from many kilometers away, a white streak on a very large cliff.  Being experienced would-be-saga-loving-Norseman-wanna-be's we of course struck out straight for it.  No sooner had we arrived and deployed our digital assets to the field as it started raining, really big drops... with some thunder even.  Steve went left, and I went right, we both managed a few shots before being changed back into our Mitsubishi mud-mobile.  This is Seljalandsfoss falls.  Certainly one of the most beautiful of the hundreds in Iceland.

We ended the day back where we started at the Iceland Air hotel in Reykjavik.  It was noisy this time with many bus loads of tourists arriving and departing at all hours of the day and night (well, early morning, it was never dark).

Day 13 (July 3)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right)

We were heading north again, after fueling up in Vik, which is pretty much at the southern end of Iceland, we headed north to circle the Myrdalsjökull ice cap.  To Landmannalaugar in the interior.  It has a rich history of tectonic activity and it is still very active today with steam vents, hot springs, colorful hillsides, and rocks that have not been there that long!  It is an exciting passage over rivers and pot holes, the roads are fairly well marked but the GPS was a definite help a few times.  It is all a one-track dirt or gravel road, sometimes over riverbeds, crossing and re-crossing streams.  A few times we even had what could be called a traffic jam and had to wait a few minutes for everyone to ford the river.

By this point of the trip our car was pretty trashed.  Dirt flying in the back hatch back was a problem every time we opened it.  We just learned to live with it.  Think of it as "good dirt".  We had lots.

We arrived early enough at our last hotel-on-the-road, the Hotel Hekla/Brjánsstaðir, where I was destined to meet one more new friend, EMMA.  She is a 3 month old Border Collie.  And full of trouble for the hotel employees.  The hotel was comfortable, but not lavish.  The ADSL Internet connection was almost non-existant.  Steve and I had both had dial up connections that were faster in the "old days".

Day 12 (July 2)

Smyrlabjörg to Geirland (thanks again to Steve for the spelling!)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

I have to throw away all concepts of phonetic spelling and study the map two or three times to get these place names typed correctly.  Much like memorizing a password, pronunciation, it's always a shocker when the locals speak to me in their native tongue and says something that does not remotely come close to permutations that dance around in my imagination.  We had a room here on the end of the building, closest to the stairs and hot tub, the latter which we did not use, and the former we heard a bit too much.  We are continually surprised to find Internet access almost ubiquitous around the island, which means we can get updates from the world, and for me, telecommuncation via voice as well.

Cloudy again, we did our usual roll out (that means in the car, gone) about 10 a.m. and immediately headed up the mountain behind us to the Skalafellsjokull glacier.  Climbing up a steep, crumbly road we mounted the lateral moraine of the glacier to almost 800 m.  This was higher than any other point thus far in Iceland, about 2500 ft.  Our arrival at the top coincided with the departure of a follow-the-leader group of snowmobilers across the glacier and the icecap beyond.  Such activities can only be done with a guide due to the always present danger of falling into a hidden crevasse.  A quick look about, some video, a 360, many still shots, and we were off down the mountain again.  My favorite shot of the day was taken on the way back down.  I spotted the location on the way up and nailed it coming back  down the mountain.  The lateral moraine of the glacier is bounded between the thick ice in the center of the glacier with many transitory zones of ice.  One of which, just before the ice goes away, is an almost blackish boundary of progressively thinning ice.  It looks like SEA WAVES.

Continuing our circle we stopped oh-so-briefly at Jökulsárlón. It was likely once a nice place to see the terminus of a glacier in a lagoon.  However it seems to have morphed into a tourist rip-off with surly help.  The thinnest, smallest, and most expensive bowl of self-serve-seafood-soup-from-the-pot (850 Kr. about $15 USD) from a not-so-friendly-tourist-jaded-employee.  Only because we were VERY hungry did we pause here.  It was the worst place in Iceland I saw.  It is just so sad places have to turn out like this sometimes when they become "over trafficked".  Don't go, keep on driving.... you'll pass over this bridge next (right).  Then onward across one of the many one lane bridges in Iceland.  We speculated that retrofitting these to be two lane bridges would be very expensive.  Since many of these bridges are long, they, like the one lane tunnels, have extensive pull outs, for stopping to allow traffic to continue in the opposite direction.

Next after skipping the masses of tourists at Skaftafell National Park (looked interesting, but we were running out of time) we stopped at Núpsstaður, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Stop here, be patient, wait for the tour buses to leave.  It is a wonderful place.  Nestled beneath the cliff of Lómagnúpur, known from the Njál's saga, built sometime before 1200 AD, was the original church.  It is small, still used, and very uniquely preserved.  Check Steve Ginn's web site for interior views.

We arrived at Geirland in time for dinner, and I met a new friend (self portrait of both of us).

There were a few bus loads of tourists that arrived here, with high clearance vehicles for interior travel.  Something we were about to find out about tomorrow with a few dozen rivers to ford.

We were leaving the "ring road" again, and we were happy about it.

Day 11 (July 1)

Gistihúsið Egilsstöðum to Smyrlabjörg (thanks Steve for the correct spelling!)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

A fairly early start for us, we were on the road by 9 a.m. I think.  We had a circuitous route to manage (see link above) from Egilsstaðir to Smyrlabjörg along the winding coast of fjords.  Naturally we skipped the one tunnel that would have shortened this long route but were rewarded with some magnificent views from the end of the peninsula.  We were being watched most of the way by the local residents who did not see many strangers in these parts.  Odd looking I am sure (one of us).

There are more than 50,000 Icelandic horses here, and they never leave the country.  If they do they cannot return as they might bring back viruses and other maladies that could infect the local population. Unfortunately we missed the largest horse show of the year in HELLA which was the end of June.  We were on our march around the island and this wasn't on our short list.

The little village of Briddalsvik is where we found Cafe Margaret.  Look closely for the building in the left photo at the base of the mountain.  Here is a close up (right).  The place was built of Norwegian pine I read, and was, for its construction, quite unique and seemingly out of place for such a small town.  Lunch was one of the best on the road we had found.  I had the pan fried cod with potatoes.  It was fabulous.

In and out we went around the fingers of land that were left by glaciers in the past to form long, almost river-like fjords.  Birds and livestock abounded.  This one goat, who had lost his right horn, was particularly interesting to me as he posed for this shot.  Steve can make the best sheep/cow calls going... his talent was key to these images.

Djúpivogur was wrapped around the end of one of these peninsulas formed by the fjords.  Easily accessible from the sea, it has been a trading port since 1589 when German Hansa merchants were granted a trading license by the Danish king.

Along the way we spotted an odd home.  We drove as close as we could get to it without trespassing, but still, we could not quite believe what we saw.  I think it is a DC-3 converted into a house.

We stopped in Hofn for dinner at the Cafe Hornid.  It was OK, but not on our recommended list.  We reached Smyrlabjörg about 8:30 p.m.  It had been a very long day on the road (and off the road).

Day 10 (June 30)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

Morning came early for me, albeit briefly, when I closed the drapes of one window at 3:45 a.m. as the sun was warming up the room too much.  We were on the road after a slow start to Seyðisfjorður, a fjord to the east of Egilsstaðir.  It is a short and scenic drive over snowbound passes to the village of 800 or so souls.  This is where the first submarine cable for telephone arrived, as well as more recently, a fiber optic link.  There was an odd steel "phone booth" embedded in the rock on the south side of the fjord. It does make an odd sight to passers by, including me (self portrait on right) in the door of the phone booth.

It also is the terminus for the ferry service between Denmark and Iceland via the Faroe Islands (Danish).  Lunch at the Hotel Aldan on the harbor.  Grilled cod on a nice spring salad.  The oldest part of the town was built in 19th century Norwegian-style architecture, which makes Seyðisfjörður architecturally unique among fishing villages in Iceland.   Many are well preserved.  After a photo tour of the north side fjord, mostly old buildings and turf houses (in ruins), and a photo along the fjord's waterfront (yes, clear and cold) we headed west again to try to a northerly fjord.

Along the way, Steve had the great idea to cut the day short, it was already 4:30 p.m., to go back to the hotel to catch up on computer work and perhaps take a nap.  So we stopped in the middle of the road beside the Dyrfjöll Peaks ("Gates Mountains") and snapped our closest photos we were going to get on this trip to the 1136 m. tops. 

We were anticipating taking photos at midnight with the sun and full moon.  It was during this afternoon respite that we discovered that, yes, the moon was full, but would be 1.5 deg. below the horizon for Iceland!!  It would not return until July 2nd!. 

Day 9 (June 29th)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

A little short of sleep today, perhaps a bit less than six hours.  Not my preferred way to start a long day.  So the fix, slam some coffee. The only problem in this country is the cups are about 1/3rd the size I like, so frequent trips to the self service buffet.  Breakfast of some small crunchy biscuit-like bread with jam (blueberry, my favorite) and then some cheese slices, boiled egg slices, ham slices and some juice. Next course was cereal and milk.  I knew it would be a long time to the next meal.  We had gotten our laundry done the day before which was a huge help.  The whole basket full for about $15 (1000 Krona) a relative bargain, and one we both needed.

Walking outside to load the car, I knew the day would be different, the weather was mild for the morning, and the skies clearing.  So we departed for the north country... well that meant going a bit south first.  We passed Lake Mývatn again, then turned north on the road that passed Dettifoss Falls again, but on the east side of the Jökulsárgljúfur National Park.  The downstream portion looked like the Grand Canyon (left image).  Lake Myvatn looked like a wholly different place without the wind and fog, it was clearing in the north and warming rapidly.  We stopped again at Dettifoss Falls, although after leaving the "ring road" (#1) and heading north on #864 was very much a wash board rattle, it was worth it.  Dettifoss was clear, dry (mist was blowing to the side we were on before!) and although many tourists were there, we managed to squeeze in some shots, panos, and video.

The falls behind us, we turned north in a serious pursuit, first stop was the settlement of Kópasker.  Population 175 give or take 10 souls depending on which guide book you read.  We were headed as far north as you can go on Iceland.  About 2.5 km. from the Arctic circle.  Crossing the Melrakkaslétta plain (fox plain) to Hraunhafnartangi point.  We stopped short of the "H" point, to photograph and video an old abandoned farm.  Stone walls, collapsing "turf house" and other structures, all clearly close to a century old, all vacant except for sea breezes.

N 66'31.829 W 016'00.765 is where I turned south.  Steve's GPS says N 66'31.492 (see his image) but he got cold and went back to the car and didn't go as far north as I did.  Oh well, next time Steve!
In February we made it to S65.12 before we turned north.  The Greenland Sea looked very cold, and if the wind was any indication, IT WAS... our day had warmed to 16 deg C (a veritable heat wave at about 61 deg. F) but out here on the plain, it was windy and back down to 9 degrees (48 deg F).  Next stop, or in this case, cruise by, was the village of Rauferhöfn.  And then pressing onward to Þórshöfn.

By the time we arrived at Þórshöfn it was 4:30 p.m. and we had only consumed a granola bar and some English crackers.  So we hit the grocery for some water, Italian salami, sliced cheese and more crackers.  Two "sandwiches" later we mutually agreed we could survive until some real food was available.  Note:  This is about $5 for eight pieces of salami, and $4 for a similar amount of mild cheese. 

This peninsula held the largest fields of lupine I had ever seen.  We stopped a few times to gorge our cameras on this visual feast.  While I was making the image at the right ready for this page, I noticed what I thought was dust on the sensor.  It was not.  It was bees swarming all over the lupine.  The area is also rich with birds, and in the late light of day, wonderfully illuminated as they watched us.

Now it was over two sets of mountains that form the backbone of the Langanes peninsula, and Bakkaheidi range that presses into the northeastern sea.  The latter was covered with intermittent fog banks and banks of snow on either side of the car as we zigged and zagged our way up and down the mountain passes.  We stopped so many times for a while it seemed like we would never make any progress taking so many photos.

We climbed through the clouds one more time crossing yet another peninsula jutting into the sea, too steep on its face to allow roads to ring its sharp edges.  We stopped for diesel fuel in Vopnafjörður (fjord of weapons).  The image at left translates to $7.69 USD/gallon.  So it was $122 for 2/3rds of a tank. 

Finally we were in Egilsstaðir and "home" for the night. 456 km. in total.  A long day.  We'll be here for two days.  Dessert was taken to a whole new level in Iceland here.  But the view of the lake from the grounds of the Gistihúsið Egilsstöðum at 10:45 p.m. was the best of all!

Day 8 (June 28th)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

It's like college again.  Freshman year.  A dance around another's personal space in confinement, studying late, getting up early... dotted with moans of "it's too early" (myself included), but today I was the last asleep and the first awake.  I worked an hour after "lights out" catching up on this travel log.  It's exam time.

Some tech side notes in the saga, Iceland IS the land of SAGAs (this is a double pun in tech talk as ".IS" is the top level domain for Iceland):  Skype (VoIP= voice over Internet Protocol) works great, day in and day out.  I continue to be surprised and amazed.  I can make calls the the USA and I have RECEIVED calls from the USA via Skype.  The photo at the left shows me on the Skype phone (blue) with some help from my new friends.  Most people don't even know they are using VoIP, but this IS my phone number (Dallas and Austin).  Not the cell phone number, just what appears to be the "land line".  In fact, it is not.  It is a technical liberation of my notebook computer, and I have a little blue phone that attaches to the notebook and IT DOES RING when someone calls my Austin or Dallas number.  It rings in Iceland just like it does in Buenos Aires or Bariloche, Argentina.  The other day I had a wi-fi connection at the hotel we was staying in Hrútafjörður.  It was only a good connection in front of the hotel and not in my room, so phone in hand (small like a cell phone) connected to the notebook's USB port, and the operating notebook tucked under the other arm, I walked to the front of the hotel, and still outside, called my friend Pam in Austin.  It was early there, and I got her voice mail recording and hung up.  Disappointed I did not reach her, but knowing Steve was loading up the car, I started to walk away... and the phone rang!  Amazing stuff.

Other tech notes... with Apple's iTunes I can download the ABC or NBC national news and a plethora of other information sources (PBS, Internet radio stations, etc.), all free.  Both Steve and I carry Garmin 60CSx GPS units to track where we take photos.  I have my unit configured to generate a daily GPX file (see GPX link) recording all information about where it has been, the unit also generates a Garmin "Mapsource" file (GPB) that I can read into the mapping software each evening before I download my data cards with photos on them.  I then use Downloader Pro (Breezesystems.com) to copy the images from my data cards to the computer, simultaneously saving a back up copy (2nd copy) to an external hard drive.  Downloader Pro also is simultaneously reading the already downloaded GPS tracks and matching the time positions to the images (cameras were synchronized to the GPS time earlier).  When the location times are found that match image capture times, the GPS data is written to an XMP reference file for each captured image.  Then I import these images with the tagged GPS data, into Adobe Systems' Photoshop Lightroom 1.1.  Now with the images in Lightroom, I have the date and time of capture, and the GPS coordinates of where the image was taken.  If I mouse click on the GPS location in Lightroom, my web browser will open and take me to a Google Earth page where a pointer is aimed at the exact location I pressed the shutter button.  This becomes much more appreciated when you take one or two thousand images in a week while you are traveling.  I also have the .KML files that will plot the same GPS journey tracks on Google Earth.

We filled the SUV up with diesel this morning, about 3/4 of a tank... (see picture)... divide the top number by 63 and you'll be pretty close to U.S. Dollars.  Coming to filling stations in America one day soon.

Back to Iceland... today was another visual movable feast from steam vents and boiling mud pits, to steamy water filled lava tubes... all around Lake Mývatn.  The most interesting parts were the hot steam vents which were roaring a steady blast.  Hot magma is just 2-5 km. below the surface.  This is half of the depth of some gas wells in west Texas.  The entire Karfla crater by Lake Mývatn seeming has been taken over by the island's power company for geothermal heat extraction.  Hollywood could not create a more alien like place of blue white stream that steam with heat, fog covered hills, shiny pipes in multiple succession that rise in unison to form an arch over the roadway.  The last big eruption here was about 1724, with some smaller ones after they started drilling into the magma zone... but they are due for the big one.  I read that the warning sign the said "visitors forbidden" has now been taken down as it was just photographed a lot as tour buses with grand parents and children were photographed behind it.  The speculation is that when this volcano erupts, instead of fleeing, most of Iceland's population will want to come for a visit.

It was early, we had circled the lake and had time to search out something new.  Inasmuch as we have a long road journey tomorrow, driving to the northern tip of Iceland, just below the Arctic Circle (shy by a few kilometers only), we went south into the interior of the island.  Still, another journey where we really did not know quite what was at the end of the road, but onward we traveled.  Really a metaphor on life, so many roads and we don't know where they lead.  Some are dead ends and we knew that was a possibility too.  But sometimes you get the prize... It was an epic road, not so much for the path, but for the river.  We stopped to photograph trees, a short forest, a rarity on Iceland.  The sheep were here too, but the trees somehow survived their foraging. 

The end held what was likely the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen, Aldeyjarfoss falls on the Skjalfandafljot River, spilling over volcanic rock which had been extruded in hexagon shapes eons ago.  The flow was astounding, but it was the location... in the middle of nowhere.  Water squirted from springs in the sides of hills that on the surface high above them could be confused with the surface of Mars.  A deafening canyon of water.  Video, still shots, and 360 degree images, we took the time for all of it.  The wide image of the falls was taken with my Canon 1Ds Mark II, 70-200mm zoom (forgot the wide angle up the path at the car) at 70 mm, but 12 images (3 rows of 4 images), hand held, shot in RAW, input into Lightroom 1.1, tweaked, output as 16 bit TIF file, stitched in PTGUI (thanks Joost!).  Better than a wide angle lens!

Dinner by Godafoss falls on the way back in a cute little restaurant... again, soup, fish course, dessert, cheapest bottle of white wine... $150.  We leave a week from today, I hope we can afford it.  I am getting used to it.

Day 7 (June 27th)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

Finally I am caught up more or less with where we are on the green land called Iceland.  Sleep was short, rising at 7:20 a.m.  I shaved slowly and then eased myself into the tiny shower (relative to my almost 2 m. frame) more or less on auto pilot owing to the fog of the previous night's feast.  Eastward crossing the Skjalfandafljot River past Laugar to our new inn, relatively close, called Narfastadir, where we will be for the next two nights.  Quickly we were on the road again toward Lake Myvatn, one of the most geologically active area in Iceland.

Our first stop was at Goðafoss falls on the Skjálfandafljót river.  According to the Saga of Christianity the formerly pagan chieftain Thorgeir threw the wooden images of the pagan gods into the waterfall after Christianity had been accepted in the year 1000. Thus the name of the waterfall, The Waterfall of the Gods, was derived from this event.

Lunch was a surprise at the Vogafjós Cafe on the lake.  The "Cow shed" Cafe is half cafe, half, well... cow shed.  There is a glass partition between the "patrons" and the "resident" and it is the latter whom are milked twice a day at 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.  But the oddest thing was our arrival and going into the restaurant.... we were greeted by two quite affectionate (and domesticated) small sheep.  Lambs I suspect, not being a sheep person.  They were about the size of my Border Collie "Lola" and would have been quite the prize for her.  The lambs tried to stand up on my leg, obviously begging for food.  Their appearance was quite sudden and caught Steve off guard as to what was happening initially.  Later as we dined inside on some "meat soup" (a cousin I surmise) they were outside by the outdoor tables.  Some restaurants have birds to pick up crumbs... this one has sheep.  I should mention that the temperature has dropped over the last few days to all of 4 degrees C (39 deg. F) with a stiff wind.  So I was working inside on my notebook and on a piece of Icelandic carrot cake (more like a spice cake here).

We circled north in a loop from our hotel to the Tjörnes peninsula via Dettifoss falls first passing Mývatn.  There was an eerie fog on the water as we passed.  The road to Dettifoss was much (MUCH) rougher than I thought it would be and over the Mars-like landscape, dotted with some extraterrestrial plants.  It was misting when we arrived at the granular, black sand-like parking lot, and had about a 800 m. walk to the falls in progressively heavier mist.  I had foolishly left my gloves at the new hotel, along with my water proof pants.  Steve had his gloves, but was in blue jeans, and worse of than I in my synthetic pants.  We got doused by the massive waterfall and the wind.  A biting, cold wind it was too.  I think I left my rain slicker for my digital camera in Austin by mistake, so I just took the HD video camera (Canon XH-A1) as I had a rain slicker for it.  With head down, right hand pressed gloveless inside the HD cam cover, and my left hand jammed in my pocket.  The falls were noisy and I am sure on a clear day, spectacular.  However today we were getting soaked in cold plume spray by the frigid wind.  A few quick shots with the video and then I did an "I was here" shot with my Canon SD800 and 15 seconds of video (which I will post shortly).  We wrapped up, shook and dried off as best that we could, and headed north on our very narrow, wash board, wet & slippery dirt track toward the Tjörnes peninsula and dinner in Husavik.

There are 50 m. cliffs along the eastern edge of the Tjörnes peninsula and as that tapered to a low plain at the north terminus of the peninsula we found the remains of turf house from the 1800's.  It was a hard life, a cold life, on the beach at 66 degrees north.  The water here is averages about 4 deg. C.  A few million years ago it was 12 deg. or warmer evidenced by the fossil record here.  We were ready for some warmer water too, and headed on the Husavik to the Gamli Baukur restaurant.  The building appeared to be half a whale watching enterprise, a large one at that with three nice looking wooden vessels just opposite the building in the harbor.  The other half of the building was our restaurant.  Grilled cod with potatoes and vegetables, preceded by some tomato soup, an average Californian chardonnay, and it was $150.  Double the cost of what I think is "normal".  I still can't get used to it.

Day 6 (June 26th)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

This was a long day to drive via Hólar, 400 plus kilometers, making our way to the furthest north point yet to the town of Siglufjörður. 

Our first long stop was in Glambauer at the Skagafjordur Folk Museum.  This was by far the best museum we visited on the road in Iceland depicting early life of the settlers here in the 1800s.  The interior was restored to the condition it would be if all 22 residents were still using it as home.  Remarkable.  It was a tour through time.

Further to the northeast we arrived at Hólar a center of religion in Iceland for seven centuries.  Now a school with about 100 residents.  It also has a stable for 120 horses. We also saw an ongoing archaeological dig across the road from the main buildings.

There were many opportunities to stop along the way and capture the expansive glaciated valleys.  Like waterfalls, there are so many, it almost became routine. Along the crest of most roads crossing the many higher ranges, there were also survival huts.  Placed there for winter transits as a stop of last resort if one's transportation fails.

Siglufjörður was once a prosperous town in the hey day of herring fisheries with 450 ships.  Poor fisheries management led to the collapse of the fishery in the 1960's and it took much of the town's economy with it.  The setting has not changed however, it is starkly beautiful with sweeping valleys and steep mountainsides leading to the sea. It also must be reached via the one lane 800 m. Strákar Tunnel.  A route that is sometimes closed in the winter cutting off the town from the rest of the island. If it were easier to get to I am sure it would be a very hip place to see and be seen.  It is also further north in latitude (66.11) by one degree than I traveled south in February on the Antarctic peninsula.  We toured a museum dedicated to the lives of the herring fishermen and their business.  It was a hard dangerous life, in cramp, and often cold quarters.

South again, late as usual, we called the hotel in Akureyri to let them know we would not arrive before 8 p.m.  But not before driving through one of the longest tunnels in Iceland, if not the longest, it courses through rock for 3.1 km. and is one lane with frequent turn outs for the oncoming cars.  Not for the claustrophobic or anyone who does not like a good game of "chicken" (head to head driving).  No sooner had we arrived at our hotel, did we turn around and head back to Akureyri for dinner at "Fridrik V."  We rushed as we were concerned that the restaurants would be closing soon and it was already 9 p.m.  We had in retrospect no need for concern.  This was the most high-end restaurant we had seen in Iceland, and opted for the "gourmet menu" which was the chef's choice, and our surprise.  We were eating and drinking to after midnight... reindeer pate, fresh trout with a side of smoked eel (freshwater) soup (simply amazing), mussels with pesto pasta, rack of lamb (perfect!), and an assortment of desserts... accompanied by port, white wine, a bold red, and for me a Grand Marnier at the end.  By the time we returned to the room, downloaded out data/images of the day... it was almost 2 a.m.  We had a bit of a laugh about that as we had made it to "dawn".  Sunrise was at 1:45 a.m.  Mind you, it had only "set" at 12:36 a.m.  At left is a photo of me in the parking lot at 1 a.m.  It never gets dark.  I fell asleep with my soon-to-be-exercise-regime fixed in my mind.

Day 5 (June 25)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

Sleep does not come until late in the evening.  Between time zone shifts, and latitude drifts north, there is no darkness, time is an improbable measurement.  So I get what I can, and try to hold on the rest of the time to a schedule.

We head north again, to Stykkishólmur, on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula (do ask for pronunciations when I return).  This was where I took my first 360 degree cubic VR of the trip, and was the site of my first disappointment.  I had not realized until this morning, how vast Iceland is in fact.  I wanted to go to the western fjords, but alas this was a trip that would require another week to accomplish.  Stykkishólmur is where one can take a ferry to the fjords and bypass many rough roads, a ferry I will take on another trip.  We checked in early at our new inn, but decided to have dinner nearby early as well since lunch eluded us.  Freed of dinner and accommodation issues, we went east and north to the Vatnsnes peninsula, to circle it before midnight in the great light of the day.  We passed through Osar on a great alluvial plain on the east side of the Vatnsnes peninsula.  The wind was roaring from the north but we managed a few shots of the large bay between Blönduós and the Vatnsnes peninsula.

Good fortune was upon us stumbling into the path horseback riders herding 100 Icelandic horses down a rural road.  We followed slowly for half an hour.  Stopping and starting as they did on the road. Then, after speaking to some of the participants at the rear, we were informed that they were on day five of their trail ride.  We were allowed to pass, so we could photograph then from in front.  It was all about the light, and that was just about perfect at 4 p.m. These are beautiful horses.  Unlike other horses of the world the Icelandic breed have another gait that they can execute and it's as smooth and fluid as the Icelandic tongue.

We stayed the night at the head of Hrútafjörður fjord on the north coast of Iceland.  Returning late, almost to the hotel, I looked across the fjord to see the "earth glow" from the late evening sun off the low clouds.

Day 4 (June 24)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

I'll get in the swing of things here soon I am sure.  Like the first time I heard  "Icelandic" spoken on the airplane, it was a shock at first, but then it comes to sound  like the flow of a babbling brook, smooth and continuous.  I should speak so well, let  alone write.  I have so many images I am working on simultaneously that it is hard to let  go of the fact that I will not get to finish all of them in the space and time I have, I should just close this box and keep shooting.  Which I will do in a moment... but I had to  show my girlfriend of yesterday (I type this on the beginning of day 5).  She was  somewhat short, but lovely, and had an eye for me, as I did for her.

We headed further west out the Snaefellsnes Peninsula towards the entrance to the center of the earth in the Snaefellsjoekull volcano (see:  Jules Verne, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH). 

We stopped at a black church in Búðir. N64° 49' 18.92", W23° 23' 5.89" exactly, all of these images are "geotagged".  First constructed on this site in 1703, and again in 1850.  This apparently is a modern day replica of the 1850 church.  Few churches on Iceland have such a stunning location.  The photo of Steve (upper left) in the car, is the parking lot of the church.  A group of "birders" were there in the parking lot too, on tour with multiple spotting scopes.  One showed me a Ptarmigan which was nesting on a chunk of lava.

There were several farms/homes that appeared to be built next to other entrances to the underworld as well.  The rumbling earth must give them pause for a whole new appreciation of life in their home!  The one on the right looked like they had built next to the entrance to hell.

The road is long and winding in places, varying from good to very bad. It seems to constantly flow between clouds and the sea.  This was a particularly good stretch of road pavement as well.

Along the way we stopped at Anarstapi for a dramatic walk along the cliffs of extruded volcanic rock now graced with black sand beaches... then on to Hellnar for lunch in a spectacular setting above the sea and below Snæfellsjökull volcano.  The Fjöruhúsið Café on the water (right image) is highly recommended.  I wish that we'd had the time to hike along the coastal trail back to Búðir.

Some of the cliffs seem to form a strange face, frozen in geologic time.  We circled the volcano along a rough dirt & gravel road, passing a bicyclist, who walking with her panier-laden conveyance, had written all over her face, "what have I gotten myself into now."

Day 3 (June 23)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

It's fitting that this is the place where the great rift in the mid-Atlantic ridge  surfaces.  A point at which the continents are being driven further apart by dynamic  forces beneath us.  Forces that in our terms, have little consequence, for the most part,  in the span of time that we as living organisms can even comprehend. But I am here.  Out of the big city.  At first we were like space aliens looking trying to figure out the populace.  We did not know what a grocery store would really look like, a good idea, but no names or styles.  Then we saw it, a big pink pig, BIG PINK PIG, with flags flying all about it.  It has what appears to be a slot in the graphic, like a "piggy bank"... and the words BONUS next to it.  Some bananas, raisins, cookies and we were set.

We headed inland for Þingvellir and the Öxarárfoss falls, a place where Mother Earth spreads her wings (left image).  Albeit it at 1-5mm a year.  Given time, it's significant, so best to buy property that spans the divide, it will be good for your 10 great grand children.  Meanwhile, it has a nice waterfall.

My second night on this new land was near the settlement of Borgarnes in the southwest.   A little inn call Ensku husin, simple room, private bath, dinner for two with wine (and one for "inventory") ran up a $145 tab.  This was not Argentina.  However the place had wi-fi and sat on a beautiful river with a waterfall (these I am finding are ubiquitous in Iceland). After dinner we drove the coast for a few hours looking eternally for the right place and the right light.  I know this seems nuts, but if one does it enough, it really does work... you find it when it finds you.  I have pictures to prove it!

Day 2 (June 22)

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, Google Maps lacks data for much of Iceland).

I am in Iceland.  More information will come later this morning.  Or perhaps day four. Is  that today? Between sensory deprivation and subsequent overload on the journey here, to this point in the earth, I am not so sure anymore.

So with our late arrival, by the time we had cleared customs and immigration, and packed up the 4x4 we rented, a Mitsubishi Pajero (sort of like a Montero in the USA)... it was almost noon.  We headed west out the peninsula from Keflavik Airport through the towns of Sandgerdi and Gardur. The act was not so much as we knew where we were going as we wanted to immediately get the feel of the land, and that meant not driving into the city of Reykjavik immediately.  It was cool and dry when we departed overland. The first thing I noticed was the staggering quantity of flowering lupine.  A few plants in Colorado  were always appreciated, but I have never seen vast fields of the beautiful bluish purple flowers.

On the way back into Reykjavik we were both famished with the thought of the long ago, smallish and not so tasty meal of Iceland Air... and no breakfast service whatsoever.  So we did the unthinkable and stopped at Taco Bell for some Gorditas and a diet Pepsi.  It wasn't the rotten shark and "special" dishes I had read about made from all the parts of a lamb, but it was quick and I was fading faster than the memory of the food.  We found our room a few minutes later at the Hotel Loftleidir (and Iceland Air hotel!) next to the old airport in Reykjavik.  For three hours that afternoon, the world stopped, sleep came like a great drug at a hospital.  I embraced it.

Click here for the Google Map (then zoom out, and click on "Hybrid" in the upper right, last half of the day "2.5").

After reviving now it seems on Day 2.5 we headed to downtown Reykjavik to the main drag.  A drag it is... the locals on Friday night are cruising the place looking for interaction.  Dinner was at a nice little trattoria that had a real pizza oven.  Steve and I had garlic bread as a starter (which looked very much like a pizza) and I had Monk fish.  This was also our first real introduction to Icelandic prices. We learned that tipping was NOT the custom as prices were already so high, and that everyone was well compensated.  Here is the bill from the first evening, you can divide by 63 or so to get USD.

Still marveling at the late evening light, it was now 10 p.m., we headed to the port where we stumbled upon the Hamborgarabullan (hamburger joint) that was mentioned in the Washington Post in mid-May.  They even had a sign in the parking lot declaring that the place was now "famous."  It was in fact closed at 10 p.m. on Friday night, but the fellow who came out the door kindly said we could park next to the joint.  There in the port we discovered four old, rotting whaling vessels.  They seemed just a few decades of rot away from the state of the PETREL in Grytviken, South Georgia Island, so many miles to the south. Another round of photos... then off to the tip of the peninsula which protects Reykjavik's harbor.  Sunset was not cooperating with the clouds above us, but we had a thin line at the horizon that kept us intrigued from our dead end road.  Mind you, it was 11:15 p.m. and people were still out jogging, bicycling, walking... not many, but they were there.  The sunset eluded us, but I took photos anyway, after all, it was day 2.5 of our new journey in the far north.

Day 1 (June 21)

My Delta flight from Austin to JFK was only an hour late.  Plenty of time to arrive well before my friend Steve Ginn came in from Beaverton, Oregons (see sginn.com) whom I would be traveling with the next two weeks.  Iceland Air was three hours on the tarmac at JKF International  Airport, 70th in a line of 120.  The pilot informed us that he could not ask how long it  would be before we could take off as the pilot of the last plane to ask was summarily  told that he would be LAST if he asked again.  So we ate dinner and watched a movie,  then, mercifully, we took off just over 3 hours late.  Perhaps I slept an hour, perhaps  two.  Awakening to a glimpse of Greenland below the wing and engine.  I was lucky, as I was in the front exit row with ample leg room, albeit the narrowest seats I can recall.

The images of the rooms at the Estancia are not complete yet, but the rest are now online at http://www.terra360.com/argentina/index.html

- Rusty

Also here is a Google Earth image of Estancia Alicura and the surrounding area.  Bariloche is just off the lower left corner of the image.

_____________________________________________________________________

RE-POST:

February 23rd, 2007, 1pm
El Calafate, Argentina at the airport.

Greetings one and all,

Thanks for the many nice notes awaiting me upon my return to a "normal" connection to the Internet. After I wrote the note yesterday we had some WILD waves and weather just before Cape Horn's protection... Seth Resnick and Kevin Burke (he works for NBC) went out on the top deck (unknown to the ship's crew) and climbed to the crow's nest which is probably 60 ft. above the water surface. They came down after the waves that came over the bow sprayed them heavily. I thought Seth was going to overdose on adrenaline he was so excited (and wet). They got some amazing action shots. Shortly after that we entered the Beagle Channel and saw it in the evening light just as Charles Darwin did on the HMS Beagle. It was quite, calm, and lovely to cruise after our 3200 mile voyage. We anchored for dinner and awaited the pilot to help guide us to the dock in Ushuaia.

I cannot say enough nice things about the crew. They were all delightful, kind, considerate and willing to do almost anything to help a crazy set of people "get the shot". I started doing some short name/city of origin clips of passengers and crew to add to the end of whatever comes from editing almost 9 hrs of video. The second Quark crew member who did this, suddenly added at the end, "and I am the expedition leader" (he was not)... so then everyone else realized they could do the same so I shot them again, each saying something to this effect. I told the story to the Captain Sergey Nesterov (sp?) who speaks a little English, and he said he would be on the tape too. First think out of his mouth was "I AM THE EXPEDITION LEADER"... then we had to cut as he and I, along with most of the other people on the bridge started crying we were laughing so hard... a special moment. None of us expected this from his lips.

Last evening we had everyone contribute six images to a slide show... the breadth and depth of the work was truly inspiring. Attached are a few I submitted. The seal with my point/shoot camera (I was in the water with him)... a large tabular ice berg... a "flat" version of the 360 image I took from the top deck... a view of the ship in Stromness Bay, South Georgia Island, where Ernest Shackelton found help after crossing this incredibly rugged island in 36 hrs. There is a LONG panorama, 11 images I think went into it, from one of the channels we were in.... the light took my breath away. I'll upload a slide show after I get more of these tweaked. Meanwhile, I'll keep the attachment level low.

I left the ship about 8 hours ago in Ushuaia. Paul Allen's yacht OCTOPUS was still anchored in the bay. The dock was lined with four QUARK ships. I am now in El Calafate awaiting my next flight to Bariloche to go to Ward Lay's estancia. I talked my way into the Aerolineas Argentinas VIP lounge and found the only plug to power the notebook behind the bar. The view from the lounge is fantastic too.

I keep trying to speak French to the Argentines... they smile and laugh. I'll have to learn some Spanish, it's worth it just to come back here. I just used Google's translate window to figure out that DEMORADO was not the end of the world (been there)... just DELAYED, my flight that is to say. But then, I already knew that it was an hour late... heck, it's not "island time" but it's close. More soon...

Rusty

###

February 26th 2007, 6:40pm
Estancia Alicura, near Bariloche, Argentina

Hi again, did you think I fell off the edge finally?

Perhaps the edge of the dining chair in my new fatted state. Surely it will be a happy stumble from plate to floor, sweetened by the crepes or the home grown raspberry tart... one of which followed the hearth roasted pig, organic corn on the cob from the garden, courses which came after the empanadas and chorizo that were washed down with copious quantities of Malbec or Cabernet that came after the smoked trout & cheese that had been melded into one incredible infusion of flavor to compliment the family grown Chardonnay. Let me tell you... I can't take much more of this. Its all becoming confused in my head. I need a tugging dog to drag me around a park and retrain my Frisbee throwing brain. To think only last week I was eating oatmeal for breakfast made by a German, served by a Russian... and I liked it.

I turned in last night exhausted at 1am. The day had begun with a 5:30am wake up call so I could take a sunrise photo from "inspiration point". I was accompanied to the spot by Pedro, the handsome, exceptionally polite and gracious employee of Estancia Alicura. Another guest, Colin, from Sausalito, CA, came along as well. I promised Colin it would only be about 15 minutes once we got there. Well, 2 hours later Collin was glued to my Leica binoculars looking at a red stag 700 yards away prancing about in an early stage of "rut" the mating season "roaring" his heart out. Finally we left and returned to the estancia where Colin was whisked off to the river to catch (and release) some 22 inch rainbow trout with Fernando, the most elegant fly fisherman around. The rest of us, were off for a Sunday drive to the country side. In the span of about 7 hours we toured areas that looked like the high desert of Arizona, to the forests of Chama, New Mexico... to lunch in a village that looked like Kitzbuel, Austria... then back past lakes that appeared to be dug by glaciers last week. We were home by 8pm, time enough to clean up for dinner at 10:30pm... towards the end of which I saw about five minutes of the Oscars before I had to pass out.

Today I wisely decided after I began taking photos at 7am that I would only have ONE of the homemade scones.... well, it ended up being two after putting some homemade raspberry jam on the first one, it was irresistible. They reminded me of my grand mother's biscuits more than scones, rich and flaky, better the next day toasted with some honey and butter.... maybe tomorrow, I'll check to see if any are left. Sliced down the middle... when toasted then have this wonderful aroma.... oh, sorry, I am getting lost again. It's intoxicating. I suspect the gauchos get some of these leftovers as we never see them again. The gauchos or the food. There are 27 people here working at the estancia. I have seen the house keeper, Nadia (funny, sounds Russian), once I think. My clothes disappear from the floor and reappear in the closet the next day, clean and folded. I didn't even fill out the laundry ticket and leave the bag on the bunk in my cabin.... or was that last week?

One has to make a leap of faith sometimes to get to places of the heart, the physical places that prepare the body for opening the mind. Antarctica certainly was one, and this place in Argentina certainly is another. Ward, my hat is off to you even if my shirt can't be buttoned... mentally I am just a receptacle for recipes now. I look for good light with the camera in the smoke pit now. Here is a night time shot of the southern sky just a few yards away from the Quincho ("BBQ place")...

Argentine Night 1 and Argentine Night 2

You will need Apple's QuickTime installed to view it. They are each about 1.5 MB, so be patient. You can see the Milky Way. Look for the Southern Cross, Magellanic clouds, Alpha Centurai system...

And here is a "flat" version of the dawn image. I left it large so you can see the detail.

The mountains on the left are not on the estancia but are in Argentina, but the pointy one is in Chile. The rest of what you see is all Estancia Alicura. It is an amazing place and I am grateful for the invitation to photograph it.

So tomorrow we leave for Buenos Aires for two nights before returning to Texas on the evening of March 1st.

The FatIceMan is coming back. I'll wear my yellow Quark parka... it's roomy.

Antarctica Fine Art Images (~100)

OR

Antarctica Fine Art Images with Travel Photos (~400)

The following are letters I wrote to friends from my journey south from February 2nd to March 2nd 2007. I have done some limited editing of these letters to delete the non-relevant parts now that the adventure is over (instructions on communications etc.).  You can post your own comments about the photos and letters at the bottom of this page (see: comments)

January 26, 2007 9pm (central time)

Hi friends,

This is new news to most of you... but LONG story how it happened... I am going to Antarctica with some of the world's best photographers next week. Following that to a friend's estancia near Bariloche, Argentina for several days to photograph it. I will return to Texas March 1.

This is the generic version of the voyage I am going on... my group has chartered the entire vessel and it will cater to imagery, light and the photographer's passions.

Itinerary - Detailed

Day 1: Ushuaia, Argentina
Arrive in the southernmost city in the world and transfer independently to the Hotel Los Nires or similar hotel. The remainder of the day is free to explore this 'frontier town' at leisure.

Day 2: Ushuaia / Tierra del Fuego National Park
Spend the morning with a local guide on a group excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, and then enjoy a traditional Argentine BBQ asado lunch. Embark in the afternoon, settle into your cabin, and meet your Expedition Team before the ship sets sail along the scenic Beagle Channel.

Day 3: At Sea
As you cruise these wildlife-rich waters, your expedition staff introduces the various species of birds and marine life that you will encounter on your voyage. Wandering, Black-browed and Sooty Albatrosses, shearwaters, Giant and Cape Petrels and numerous other seabirds accompany you. A program of lectures will help prepare you for the many adventures that lie ahead. You will also attend safety briefings and familiarize yourself with the guidelines for visitors to Antarctica.

Days 4-5: Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
You will spend these days in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), renowned for their amazing wildlife. On Carcass Island, highlights include Flightless Steamer Ducks, Magellanic and Gentoo Penguins and a colony of the rare Black-crowned Night Herons. Peale's and Commerson's dolphins are often seen along the coast. Nearby New Island boasts fantastic Rockhopper Penguin rookeries, along with Black-browed Albatrosses and Blue-eyed Shags. You will also explore Stanley, the charming capital of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). Don't miss the chance to visit the small, but interesting museum.

Days 6-7: Southern Ocean
Continuing east, marine mammals and seabirds lure you to the decks as you cross the Antarctic Convergence, a biological barrier where cold polar waters sink beneath the warmer waters of the more temperate zones.

Days 8-11: South Georgia
Sharing many of the biological characteristics of Antarctica, South Georgia has awe-inspiring scenery with towering, 7,000-foot mountains and mighty glaciers, but also low-lying, grassy areas, deep fjords and beaches. First sighted by Captain James Cook in 1775, the island attracts an astounding concentration of wildlife and is viewed by many as one of the most inspiring places on earth. Thousands of King Penguins greet you at Salisbury Plain. Wandering Albatrosses nest at Prion Island, where luxurious tussock grass provides a habitat for a variety of seabirds - and camouflage for thousands of breeding fur seals. Huge elephant seals, King and Gentoo Penguins crowd the beaches along the coast at places such as Gold Harbor, while Light-mantled and Sooty Albatrosses nest in the cliffs behind. The island also played a significant role in the story of Shackleton's epic journey after the sinking of his ship, the 'Endurance.' It was here, at the whaling station of Stromness, that he finally arrived after a harrowing voyage in a small boat from Elephant Island across the Scotia Sea and over the never-before-climbed mountain range of South Georgia. You visit his grave at Grytviken, a once-active whaling station.

Days 12-13: Scotia Sea
Two days at sea to relax as well as to review your adventures in South Georiga. The first icebergs appear on the horizon as you head south to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Days 14-17: South Shetland Islands & Antarctic Peninsula
Approaching the rugged South Shetland Islands, your first landfall could be Elephant Island where Shackleton's men found refuge during the epic 'Endurance' expedition. Places such as King George Island and Livingston Island support huge numbers of nesting penguins while seabirds nest in the cliffs and elephant seals wallow along the shores.

Deception Island is still considered an active volcano and sailing through the narrow passage into its huge, flooded caldera is a thrilling experience.

Sailing around the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, we hope to navigate the Antarctic Sound, often referred to as ‘iceberg alley.’ Huge tabular icebergs drift north from the Antarctic continent. Pending weather and ice conditions, you may land on Paulet Island. This crater island is carpeted with nesting Adelie Penguins that surround the remains of a primitive hut where Captain Larsen and his men of the ‘Nordenskjold’ expedition sought refuge in 1903. Cruising Palmer Archipelago, several thousand Gentoo Penguins wait for you under the dramatic cliffs of Cuverville and Ronge Islands. Sheathbills, Antarctic Terns, skuas and Blue-eyed Shags nest in this area. Navigating the Neumayer Channel, you enjoy extraordinary vistas of Anvers Island. Your plans also include a landing at Port Lockroy where bleached whale bones commemorate its time as a favorite anchorage of the whalers.

You sail into Paradise Harbor on the Danco Coast where a series of huge glaciers flow into quiet waters. Your Zodiacs take you along rugged cliffs with nesting Cape Petrels, Blue-eyed Shags and Kelp Gulls. You keep watch for humpback whales and groups of crabeater seals on the ice and land at Almirante Brown, an Argentine research station located on the continent. Lemaire Channel is another narrow passage between towering rock faces and stunning glaciers. This channel is one of the highlights of a visit to the Antarctic Peninsula but it can be choked with icebergs and pack ice.

Days 18-19: Drake Passage
You leave Antarctica and head north across the Drake Passage. Your expedition staff will review the adventures of your journey as you return to Ushuaia.

Day 20: Ushuaia
After breakfast, you disembark and transfer by bus to the exit of the port which is centrally located in town. Continue independently to the airport for your flight back home.

###

I anticipate I will send updates at a minimum of every two or three days. Quick "rushes" of the photos will follow in early March, maybe even Feb. 28th from Buenos Aires. I'll be taking video, audio (hydrophone) and still images (thousands), and have a full show & tell later in March or April.

So please join me, it will be an adventure to the edge of life on this planet.

Cheers, Rusty

###

February 1st 2007, 11:40am (central time)

Hello all,

When I was 18 years old, a curious geology student (early geekhood at right), I walked across the Yukon River on six foot thick pack ice, 66 degrees North latitude, on an ice road to the North Slope and Prudoe Bay, Alaska. I drove further north that one could drive on the then inter-connected highway system in north America. Now I am venturing to almost 66 degrees South latitude, the Antarctic peninsula. I was have always been awed by the contrasts from the far north, and I think it is the wildness of this and other wild places that I love (including underwater!). They are humbling, awe inspiring, and recharging for the soul. A reminder that we are but a small part of a much larger picture. I hope I can capture this with a camera (taking 3).

I leave on this adventure at 5pm today... and when the plane takes off from Dallas it will be exactly one year to the hour since I was in the hospital in Dallas having a near-death experience. The contrast has not been lost on me. Live every day that is left in front of you, for all can be lost in one day, don't waste any of them.

Most of this trip, I will be THREE HOURS AHEAD of Central Time (UTC/GMT -3)

On February 23rd I will transit from Ushuaia, Argentina to San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina to photograph my friend's estancia.

http://www.estanciaalicura.com/

I am almost as excited about doing that as Antarctica. Maybe in March I can get some sleep. I will have Internet access (full) again from there beginning the evening of the 23rd of February.

More from Argentina as I go. Now go enjoy this day.

Cheers and a big loving hug to all of you, Rusty

###

February 5th, 2007 5:11am (central time), but 8:11am in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Hi all,

After an aborted departure from Austin on Feb 1 due to ice in Dallas... I finally got in the air the next afternoon. Luckily I got my upgrade and the 10 plus hour flight was much nicer from Dallas to Buenos Aires. After some quick touring and and an overnight in BA we were off to the airport again. This time a closer, domestic airport, near the city center. We had many delays.... finally left the ground at 7pm and arrived last night in Ushuaia. The airlines changed planes on us and I lost my seat reservation. Another sorted tale.

Anyway, we are all in Usuhaia, it is cool and lovely... the view from the bedroom window at 6:45am is here:

We'll go to the Parque Nacional of Tierra del Fuego in an hour... board the ship late this afternoon... and depart about 6-7pm in the Beagle Channel (named for the HMS BEAGLE).

Gotta go.... Rusty

###

Summer is optional 102
Feb 6, 2007

Hello all,

After arriving at the southern most airport in the world, and on a VERY late plane in Ushuaia (pop. ~60,000), we had dinner in the hotel about midnight. The next day was a short tour and some 25 min hikes through parts of the Tierra del Fuego National Park. Then we had a few hours in town, which enabled me to straighten out my airline ticket. If you ever wonder where IBM PC's go to die it's this office.

We left Ushuaia in Patagonia last evening about 6pm and entered the Beagle Channel, named for the HMS BEAGLE. The view has not changed since Charles Darwin saw it in 1832. Several hundred meters from us as we left
the harbor was the yacht OCTOPUS at anchor. Paul Allen's amazing yacht.
The helicopter was sucked inside the ship just as we passed. So it appeared they were leaving too.

Almost all that signed up for this trip made it. One unfortunate fellow as mugged by six men in Buenos Aires, and fractured his hip. So sadly for him, he has a 10 day hospital stay in BA, then back to his home in Australia. As we were waiting in line to board the plane, I walked up to one man and told him he looked very familiar... then he said he was a from Austin, and I said that he had a shaggy dog. Then I informed him that it was me that plays with Frisbee with LOLA in the park. He had walked by so often these last 4 years (Lola is now 4). Alan McMahon lives on Wheeler Street. Two doors away from Jim Creswell. The world down here is very small. There is even a couple that lives on Sinclair Rd. in Snowmass Village, CO, just around the corner from where I used to live.

The food is very good. The two dining rooms are just down the companionway for me on my deck level. Quark Expeditions has a staff of about six on board, then there are a few dozen more in the crew, mostly Russian I believe. I was very lucky with my last minute booking and I have a double cabin all to myself. It only has a wash basin, and the other facilities are just across the hall. It has a small desk and couch, next to a port hole that will open (presently getting splash by waves however). The Scapolomine patch was applied yesterday about lunch time before we boarded the ship, and I have been weathering the 3 m. swells of the following sea just fine. Weather now is overcast, 30 kt. Wind, and a very rolling sea, all coming from behind us. It is in the 40's F, outside. I have been taking numerous movies with my GL2 and a few with the u/w housing on the SD800 (outside in the wind/waves and spray). I have had many offers to give me some hands on pointers about my high end Canon cameras and will doing that soon.

We should arrive at the western edge of the Falkland Islands (las Malvinas) sometime this evening. From there it is over to South Georgia Island. Then we'll be following Earnest Shackelton's 1915 voyage more/less in reverse towards the Antarctic Peninsula... to be continued.

Rusty

###

Summer is optional 103
Feb 7, 2007

Hello again,

Today was for the lack of better words, our first penguin day. All sorts of them. We landed at Carcass Island, where two couples have been living for 33 years. They operate a small (very small) B&B there. We traversed the island in a 2.5 mile walk over five hours, taking photos (and getting rained on a bit) along the way. Our “hosts” at the B&B had prepared an amazing spread of homemade baked goods, and some hot tea. It was most welcome after the walk. Nearly everyone had a somewhat heavy pack, some folks on this trip use the highest end of digital photo equipment currently made in the world. My combination of the dry bag, and waterproof back pack is perfect. The landings are very wind blown in these climes with flying sand and salt spray.

After lunch aboard the Professor Multanovskiy, we motored to Saunders Island, just to the NE of Carcass Island. Here we made our 2nd landing, although I was so tried with only 5 hrs of sleep that I pondered not going for a moment (only a moment). I ended up taking most of my photos of tide pools and videos on the island. I spoke to the owner of the 31,000 ac. Island to thank him, and inquired how long he had lived here... he said “all my life”. I think he was about my age. There are less than 3000 souls living in the Falkland Islands. Two thousand of them are in PORT STANLEY, the only major town. We will leave for there tonight after dinner. We'll have half a day in Port Stanley, then depart for South Georgia Island, a long and potentially very rough trip. It is more than 1200 miles from Ushuaia. Everyone is excited to get to South Georgia. The geologist aboard says I will be amazed as it is such a “young” island.

One of the Quark people today asked me if I would like to be a videographer for some of their journeys, no pay, but a free trip with airfare. I said sure... we'll see if this really develops.

Tonight is the “Captain's Party” for all of us to become acquainted. He is Russian and I am told a very nice fellow.

I feel great, took the “patch” off today, but may reapply one for the crossing to S. Georgia. More from the Southern Ocean as it happens.

Cheers, Rusty

###

Summer is optional 104
Feb 8, 2007, 9pm
Southern Ocean

Greetings warm friends,

A busy day here... after an overnight cruise from Saunders Island we arrived in Port Stanley just at dawn in the Falkland Islands. It was a little rainy and our fearless leaders (or so I thought) opted to hang around town, and have the ship depart 3 hrs early, at 11:30am for South Georgia Island. I was the lone soul who commandeered a taxi to take me to the end of the island, near Mt. Kent and Mt. Pleasant where the “stone runs” are to be found. Fascinating river-like features entirely of quartzite metamorphic rock, that appear to “flow” down the hill sides. These are suitcase size rocks, some larger, some a bit smaller, but nonetheless deposits that appear to have been laid in the ground somehow by some un-natural act. They are indeed from frozen earth pushing them out from the hillside.

Dennis, my driver, gave me a lengthy spin on his love of this island to which he immigrated to 32 years ago. There is actually a 747 that flies here from the UK, twice a week, via a refueling stop at Ascension Island, an 18 hr. trek altogether. There are no flights to near by Argentina since the war in 1982. We also drove by numerous fields of land mines, well posted, but of the 36,000 the Argentines laid, 30,000 are still in viable. We also saw two RAF fighter jets fly overhead, otherwise we are largely ALONE on this end of the island.

I arrived back in Port Stanley at 11:15am, just in time to catch the 11:30am Zodiac ride back to the ship. (yes, Stan, I did think of our adventure in Durban, almost missing the ship!). So I never saw anything of Port Stanley, but my 50 mile foray into the wild part of the island was really nice. I'll have a lot of movies and stills of this.

So after lunch aboard, we headed to the east, and then turned south for the 700 miles journey to South Georgia Island, deep in the southern ocean. The sea is rolling, but only causing us a 15 deg. roll aboard ship. Less than the 20 deg. Tilt we were experiencing on the way from Ushuaia. The Captain last night explained that the ship COULD roll a maximum of 73 degrees... then the same in the opposite direction. We'll hope that does not happen. He has been on the ship for 13 years and said that the worse waves he has seen were about 60 ft. (four times the largest I have seen in my life!).

We will cruise non-stop for the next 2.5 days and hope for good conditions so we can see the rugged west side of South Georgia where the glaciers meet the sea.

I am doing very well, I applied a second patch today for sea-sickness avoidance (have not felt bad in the least). I think this may be the last time I feel the need to do this. I definitely walk funny on land now.

Cheers, Rusty

###

Summer is optional 105
Feb 9, 2007, 6:15pm
Southern Ocean
S52 43.955 W48 38.015

Greetings,

All is well at 52deg South. We are about half way to South Georgia Island, still 450 miles distant... cruising about 14-15 mph (not knots). Today was spent doing hardware and software seminars on various things to do with photography. We will continue to cruise through the night, all day tomorrow, and part of the next day. We are more/less traveling east south east, and after landfall, we'll turn further south to Antarctica. Then the waves could get interesting. Right now it's not so bad, but showers are a bit challenging. They will be impossible if conditions worsen during the next long passage south.

Happy birthday to Alden Feist (a day late, but nice to recognize FOUR years old!). I'll bring you something from the land of Happy Feet.

Cheers, Rusty

###

Summer is optional 106
Feb 10, 2007, 6:00pm
Southern Ocean
100 miles from South Georgia Island

Hi all,

We are starting to spot whales and seals now running near the ship. But with 160 glaciers on South Georgia Island we'll see a lot more penguins that ever before too. We should arrive there about 3am (midnight in Texas).

Cheers, Rusty

###

Summer is optional 107
Feb 11, 2007, 11.14pm
Southern Ocean
Stromness Bay, South Georgia Island
S54 09.398 W36 42.688

Hi landlubbers,

It was another lumpy night at sea last night, arriving at dawn in
Elsehul Bay at the far NW tip of South Georgia Island. We made a Zodiac boat (rubber boat) tour of the bay at first light in a light rain that later turned to snow. It looked very much like Monterey, CA to me, and the 44 deg water I learned to SCUBA dive in long ago. Lots of seals, kelp, birds, but more of EVERYTHING. We are surrounded by jagged peaks that reach over 9000 ft. in places. A few hours later we landed in Right Whale Bay just to the east. I cannot describe the sensation that this is nature without man. Landing on the beach we had to be careful not to hit the incredible number of seal pups... all born mid to late November I am told, and smaller than my 32 lb Border Collie. There were thousands. Penguins there were 10's of thousands. The snow continued. High end digital cameras both weathered the storm and bit the dust (temporarily, but not mine)... I shot mostly videos after a few stills, the rain slicker I got for the video camera was perfect.

Before lunch we cruised through the Bay of Isles (and past our first iceberg), where we had planned to land, but the winds off the glacier were in excess of 30 knots so that was canceled. We could however, even from the sea, observe the 250,000 plus penguin colony that dwarfed one's imagination.

Next we landed at Stromness Harbor, where Earnest Shackelton made
contact with the whaling station in 1916 after crossing the interior of South Georgia. This place is such a remote and isolated corner of the globe it is difficult to comprehend the difficulties of life here almost a century ago. It has now been taken over by Elephant and Fur seals, to say nothing of the vast number of penguins.

Tomorrow we'll head to Grytviken. A huge complex of bays just SW of Stromness Harbor. But tonight a night in bed without a rolling sea. We have changed our clocks again, and are now five hours (GMT -1) ahead of Central Time.

Thanks for the replies...

Cheers, Rusty

###

Summer is optional 108
Feb 12, 2007, 7pm (GMT -1), Southern Ocean
Ocean Harbor, South GeorgiaIsland
S54 20.098 W36 14.854

Dear fellow penguins,

Surely this is our fate, to turn into penguins as they will rule the world after the warm up and cool down. We are just lifting anchor at Ocean Harbor and heading to St. Andrews Bay where there are close to 200,000 happy birds waiting for our arrival in an hour or so. But I am jumping ahead. This morning, after a wonderful nights sleep, albeit short, as we had changed our clocks two hours ahead for South Georgia and bedtime came about 11:30pm, but we did not rock until we upped anchor in the early twilight at 4:45am. Breakfast at 6am, the usual scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, bacon, hot oat meal, coffee, tea, juice, yogurt, six different cereals, and today PANCAKES. God these were good.

Before we made our first landing we were in for a great view of the
Nordenskjold Glacier. This is a HUGE bit of ice that flows into the sea. Everything that you have ever thought of in a glacier and more. The captain brought the ship in close enough to the face of it that when a grocery store sized piece of it calved off we were rocked by the mini-tsunami. I would bet that 20 G. of images were captured in a few seconds by all the hardware on deck. It was spectacular.

By 8:30am we were fighting our way against 40 kt winds into Grytviken,
an old whaling station, and now the home of a superb little museum run by a couple of people on 7 month contracts. This island is virtually devoid of human habitation. Ernest Shackelton is buried here
overlooking the harbor, a fitting place. (QTVR is here)
We landed on the rocky shore just below the cemetery and next to waterfall that cascades into the sea. We have to dodge some heavy tonnage of fur seals to get to the grave site. After walking the old settlement with all my gear, first time I took the video camera, pano head, tripod and large camera all at once... the weather was clearing with beautiful blue skies. I finished my 2nd hour of video tape here. I was ashamed to say I was HUNGRY before lunch time. Surely I have been eating twice what I normally would do. I fell fast asleep before our next landing an hour later.

Next was Ocean Harbor, a short motor around the corner into the next bay and past our first nice pointy ice berg. More spunky seals, and one little one had bitten Jeff Schewe (some of you saw his web site photos from last year) in the leg, so we were all a bit more wary. This time I went “light” with just my point-shoot camera in it's u/w housing. There is an old steel wreck of a three masted ship in the harbor, now covered with nesting birds... the rest is seals and penguins... the little pups trying to be territorial like the adults. They think its working until you bend down to look at them and then they turn and wiggle away just as fast.

A bit further down the NE coast was St. Andrews Bay with an enormous population of penguins... but the winds coming off the Heaney and Cook Glaciers that feed into the bay forced us to abandon our landing. So we are now headed for Royal Bay and the Ross Glacier, where we will spend the night in a protected anchorage. Short of a hurricane these are the wildest winds I have experienced. Time to find the bar!

Cheers, Rusty

###

Feb 13, 2007, 6:30pm (GMT -1)
Southern Ocean
10 miles south of Cape Disappointment
South Georgia Island

Hello Sea Faring Types,

We started the day with a hot croissant and out the hatch to watch the Ross Glacier in the first light of dawn at 6:15am. The mountains on this end of the island are as majestic as I have ever seen. The island has been craved with the sharp edges of ice, and its evident everywhere from the black sand beaches to the razor tipped peaks. We spent three hours in Gold Harbor near the southern end of the island hiking among 30,000 penguins and seals that seem to grow from the tussock grass. This clumpy grass dots much of the low lying areas of the island, three foot piles of long blades with just enough room to walk between the clumps. However it seems that behind every second one there is a seal, and they are very territorial. Bluffing the fur seals seems fine most
of the time, although one bit a sun shade on someone's camera as he was defending himself today. The one ton plus juvenile elephant seals require physical detours, as they don't move for anyone. I did take a very funny movie of one snoring today, and another that was blowing bubbles and he lazed nearly upside down in a stream with one nostril underwater. They are molting their skin and do not want to be bothered for a few weeks. Meanwhile on the fringes of the penguin colony where the “unattached” are still squawking and roaming about we are all eyes with great curiosity. A few folks today even were batted by their wings, which is what the males do to each other while vying for a particular female. This was our last landing on South Georgia.

Our last visit was to cruise the Drygalski Fjord. It was SPECTACULAR.
I think yesterday I said it was windy. It was nothing of the sort compared to today in the fjord. The wind must have topped 60 knots. I (and others) had their first experience of “if you don't grab the rail, you are going over the side”. It was that windy in the gusts. The streams of water coming down from the glaciers all around us, at times went vertical into a mist. The air on the water was in the 60's... lenticular clouds formed at the mountain tops above us. The streams rained on us, and the ocean wave tops were blown off by katabatic circular winds (like a dust devil in the desert but this was on the water). Everyone was so thrilled to be here, then we turned around at the end of the fjord and did it again.

We are now south of Cape Disappointment, named by Capt. Cook when he
realized that it was an island and not a continent. We are in the furious fifties with a steady 50 knot wind and all the hatches are dogged down tight. We are heading to the South Ornkey Islands, a day and a half away, and the leading edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. I am “patch” free, can't walk straight, and having a great time. More soon, hang on.

Cheers, Rusty

###

Feb 14, 2007, 7pm (GMT -3)
Southern Ocean, heading to Coronation Island
South Orkney Islands
Below 60 deg South.

Hello again,

Valentine wishes to my friends who are so very far away. I write this first paragraph the evening of the 14th, after a long night and day at sea. We are making a good 9.5 knots with a pounding sea and 40-45 knot winds in our face. I feel neither badly, nor particularly good, but sleep is difficult with all the motion. 250 ft of vessel bounces quite easily in large enough waves. The German chef continues to churn out a diverse menu for our multinational guests, aided by the Russian & Argentine service staff, directed by the Quark staff (4). Last night was poached salmon or lamb curry “Madras style”. I opted for the latter but it was very mild to my curry palate. We filled the rest of the day with lectures on “digital work flow” and Adobe Lightroom. I was in bed by 8pm.

Feb 15th.
Nothing beats a good night of sleep. Apparently I slept thought some
rough waves from what I hear. We changed our clocks back to GMT -3 (Central time is GMT -5). We'll stop at Coronation Island within the hour, less populated than the 22 souls that occupy all of South Georgia Island. Apparently it snows here 280 days a year on average, and has only 520 hrs of cloudless sun. We are stopping here only briefly as we have another 850 miles to go to the Weddell Sea on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Home of the largest icebergs in the world. It is a little foggy as we approach with sea ice becoming more frequent, lots of radar and eyes are pealed forward. Cape petrels glide effortlessly around the ship and the occasional seal porpoises in the waves as we pass. Everyone is still speaking of the Drygalski Fjord on South Georgia. It was an “E” ticket at Disneyland, the best ride.

Cheers, Rusty

###

Feb 16, 2007, 3:30pm (GMT -3)
Southern Ocean, heading to the Weddell Sea.
S62 48.739 W52 12.529

Hi Non-frozen ones,

We had our brief visit at the South Orkney Islands yesterday afternoon, most of us setting foot on land only for a few brief moments and then opting to cruise by the glaciers adjacent to Shingle Cove where we landed. The light was spectacular with a dark ominous sky in the distance, and more direct sunshine than the Quark crew could remember falling on or near us. The contrast was breathtaking. We cruised out through this surreal landscape watching the play of light, direct sunshine, breaking through on the fantastically rugged spires that make up these glacier carved islands.

Morning came early with first light at 2am something I noticed as I rolled over, so only six hours of darkness... but it was a peaceful night with lake like conditions and near glassy dawn on the water surface as we relentlessly headed south. The ship froze last night with ice on the decks. Today was all cruising, but not without a bit of fun. 3-4 times circling icebergs, one about a kilometer long and about 50 m high, another with an arch built into it this ship could have almost driven through. Then we circled a few more times for some beluga whales we spotted. We should be in the Weddell Sea by dawn, and we'll spend the day there. This is on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, then we'll cruise over to the eastern side the next day.

So... have a glass of red wine, get a map, and look at the bottom of it. I am somewhere near there.

Here is a 360 degree image from the top of the ship in the Weddell Sea.

Thanks for listening... you'll like it better when I add photos!
cheers, Iceman.

###

Feb 17, 2007, 5:00am (GMT -3)
Antarctica, Tabarin Peninsula, Brown Bluff
S63 31.081 W56 52.883

We have landed. Awake at 4am for a 5am landing in the first light. We
were greeted by about a dozen penguins and a beautiful sunny, largely windless morning. They are so curious, coming within inches of us when we slowly approach. I finished the 4th hour of video tape with a high speed run in the Zodiac through the icebergs (not my idea, but really fun). I came close to freezing my fingers sticking my little digital camera in its u/w housing under the surface... then tested out the hydrophone with the digital audio tape recorder. A full press techno filled morning before breakfast. The hydrophone works great for the cacophony of dripping iceberg sounds, now we just need some whales. After breakfast we cruised the Prince Gustav Channel toward Devil Island and then were met by some two foot thick pack ice. The ship busted into this for a few horizontal meters, more for drama than forward navigation, and then we turned around. We're now head back north a bit to round the Antarctic Peninsula to the western side. This is about 250 miles altogether, a day's journey to where we are going. The wind has returned and most of the mountains (smallish ones) have created their own clouds over their tops. The wind chill must be close to zero F. Mid afternoon we ship cruised by Hope Bay, where the Argentine's have a permanent base of about 80 people, including families and children. It was a bitter cold and barren place with their little orange huts. Not far away we moved past the wind swept glacier and saw a lone fur seal high atop the bluff of the soon-to-be-calving edge of the seaward side. We could not figure out HOW the seal got itself into such a position, but certainly knew it's departure would be much more dramatic than its arrival.

So I am off to the bar for an evening recap (now 5:30pm) with the other 45 souls as we make our way south.

###

ADDITION:  This QTVR of our group of shipmates was added on March 26, 2007.  Click on the image for medium size preview, and here for a 6x17x240dpi printable version.  Click here for the QTVR (approx. 2MB).  It was taken on Feb. 17th in the Weddell Sea.

###

Feb 18, 2007, 6pm
En route Neko Harbor to Paradise Bay for BBQ on deck
S64 50.648 W62 32.071 (Neko Harbor)

To the well rested:

I should explain... I still have a stack of magazines I brought with me, and dozens of things to listen to, learn from on my iPod too that were fresh a few weeks ago. I have had time to do none of these things. My legs are tired from being on my feet all day, and today was 4:15am up with the video (now just past six hours)... 30 min nap before breakfast... then we spotted what ended up being seven humpback whales in total. One breached completely from the water... this lasted till noonish, all outside on the decks... my feet and hands only seemed to stop tingling after lunch. A dozen penguins floated by on an iceberg re
pleat with an aquamarine blue swimming pool on top, they all jumped in for a plunge in the fresh water, and hopped out before it had all pasted. I was lucked out and was on the top deck, video rolling, on the correct side, and caught it all on tape. Truly unbelievable.

Then we had our second landing on the continent (rocks, not snow) at Neko Harbor. Amazing light, thunderous glaciers, calving while we watched from high on the shore with many very friendly penguin chicks. It sounded like a war zone at times with the cracks of “ordinance” and the waves across the bay from the ice dropping. I did get a very funny video of four penguin chicks trying to figure out the reason and action of the taught,vibrating mooring line attached to the Zodiac dinghy.

Steve Johnson pulled out his scanning digital large format camera (requires backpack, computer, hood, tripod and lots of patience). Each image is over 2 Gigabytes. This is HUGE folks. Most computers have less memory than this. I print 250-500MB images five feet long, these are 8X larger. Major geekdom here in the wilds of Antarctica.

Then one hardy soul made a polar plunge in the icy water without benefit of thermal springs here. I wisely chose to just record the event on video and offered heat packs for his semi-frozen feet afterward. Seth (the plunger) and I were on the first Zodiac returning to the ship through a frozen margarita mix of sea ice and penguins frolicking. He then headed for the sauna.

I managed to squeeze in a shave and shower quickly before most folks
returned, download my images/change tapes in the video, and before we had barely left Neko Harbor the call rang out on the intercom that some “God like” light was playing across the mountains and sea before us. Get on deck. If hell is hot, heaven must be cold. Really cold. Somewhere in between all of this I downed a “hot toddy” an offering to all guests of Juan, the bartender, (great jovial would-be-lawyer from Buenos Aires). My back hurts a bit, not quite sure why, and we're about to have a Zodiac cruise around Paradise Bay before we have our traditional cruise BBQ on deck. Hopefully the sun will set by 9pm and I can go to sleep.

Well I am just back from the Zodiac cruise... and it's just after 8pm, dinner, is now a buffet setting up in the companionway outside my cabin on the way to the dining rooms further down the hall. It is snowing out and became quite heavy while we were CHASING MINKE WHALES, six of them, for the last hour, these were spotted while we were in awe of yet another glacier. I am closing in on 7 hrs of un-edited video now. These whales come very close. Maybe sleep can be had by 10 pm before it all starts over again.

We'll go a little further south tomorrow, and then turn north again. We are S64 54.742 W62 51.572 tonight. - RRJ

###

Feb 19, 2007, 7pm,
En route through Lemaire Channel towards the Drake Passage.
S65 11.445 W64 06.705 is as far as we got.

OK... I'll keep this short as I want to go get a drink. It's 7pm... day more/less started at 4am, short nap before breakfast... then it was non-stop. More of the same you-have-seen-em but WOW mountains and glaciers. Plus an iceberg that should make the cover of Iceberg Magazine. You won't believe the photos. However, this afternoon was different. In the 10 years of experience that Delphine, one of the long time Quark employees aboard, has had in these waters, she said it all lead up to this afternoon.

Two humpback whales came and played with our Zodiac for 20 minutes. They bobbed from the depths like puppets on a string, looking at us, then pushed the Zodiac with their noses. We were all both numbed, humbled, stunned, screaming, and speechless. It was truly remarkable. I had my hydrophone going the whole time, and I think I got some sort of sounds... but I have not caught up with the day yet. We all agreed in the raft today, that ANY urban environment will seem confining after this trip. The world is so large here.

Perhaps another note later tonight.... we head north this evening.

Cheers, Riceman.

###

Feb 20, 2007, 6pm
En route north toward the Beagle Channel across Drake Passage

Hi all,

Another short note, drugs are a wonderful thing. I learned, this year especially, the power of what doctors' can prescribe and/or administer. Some make you feel really good, some make you sleep like the dead. Scapolamine is a good one for sure. Some weird side effects (dry throat), but it works. I applied a patch late this morning when I saw that the graph of the recording barometer on the bridge, seems to be running out of paper. The recording needle was stuck at the bottom of the graph. I think they will have to reset it somehow for it to go lower. Not many on the bridge are talking about it, but a rumor is floating about (bad pun) that we could experience some 20 meter waves. Hence, I opted for the drugs. Best to lay on the floor happy rather than sea sick.

We saw some friendly whales from the bridge and upper deck (this is above the bridge, about 40' or more off the water, and wide open) about mid-day. Early on there was a little snow on the deck so it was not too friendly for stomping about. We were in and out of fog/rain/snow much of the morning as we snaked our way out amongst the islands of the Antarctic Peninsula toward the inevitable open sea. Our plan is to be in the Beagle Channel for the last six hours of entry into Ushuaia by midnight on the 22nd, perhaps as early at 4pm if the weather is cooperative. Meanwhile, it's the old rolly polly. So far it just seems “normal”. We have to be off the ship by 7:30am on the 23rd.

I tried to help a fellow aboard who works for NBC to get an satellite uplink going so he could send a bit into the TODAY SHOW, but alas whales were spotted. So the ship started circling, and the uplink went no where since it could not be aimed. My job holding the base of the uplink was short lived (this kept if from falling over). I took a video to show that we did make the effort. So much for news beyond email.  Kevin's story is here.

So not much else to report from 64 deg south today, but I want some more of this country. This place is very special.

The iceman cometh.

###

Feb 22, 2007, 2pm
En route north toward the Beagle Channel across Drake Passage
Less than 100 nautical miles to go.

Greetings again:

Not so many bumpy waves yesterday so not too bad. We had a few photography related seminars and that was pretty much the excitement for yesterday. Today the wind shifted as we are moving north and we are taking huge waves almost broadside. One hit just after I left the dining room at breakfast, and from what I gather, CLEARED all the tables as the “tilt meter” up on the bridge hit 30 degrees. The Captain said that his personal record was 50 deg. 30 was bad enough in a sudden roll. I had a large water bottle go airborne in the cabin and hit the far wall as I sat in the couch on the opposite wall hanging on. Then the rebound and it came back to me, fortunately just rolling. Within the hour we should be a little in the lee (wind protected a little) of Cape Horn and the wind/waves should lessen. I feel great, but everyone is walking like severely drunken sailors.

We depart the ship tomorrow at 7:30am in Ushuaia. I have 10:30am flight #1886 to Calafate, then a five hour layover before departing to Bariloche.

Meanwhile, I am off to the bridge to deliver this last message from the ship. My next will be from Bariloche unless there is Wi-fi in the Calafate airport (doubtful). From then on I'll start adding some photos. Also check out MSNBC.COM and look for a post by Kevin. He did get off three images via his suitcase satellite box late on the 20th.

Cheers, Rusty

###

February 23rd, 2007, 1pm
El Calafate, Argentina at the airport.

Greetings one and all,

Thanks for the many nice notes awaiting me upon my return to a "normal" connection to the Internet. After I wrote the note yesterday we had some WILD waves and weather just before Cape Horn's protection... Seth Resnick and Kevin Burke (he works for NBC) went out on the top deck (unknown to the ship's crew) and climbed to the crow's nest which is probably 60 ft. above the water surface. They came down after the waves that came over the bow sprayed them heavily. I thought Seth was going to overdose on adrenaline he was so excited (and wet). They got some amazing action shots. Shortly after that we entered the Beagle Channel and saw it in the evening light just as Charles Darwin did on the HMS Beagle. It was quite, calm, and lovely to cruise after our 3200 mile voyage. We anchored for dinner and awaited the pilot to help guide us to the dock in Ushuaia.

I cannot say enough nice things about the crew. They were all delightful, kind, considerate and willing to do almost anything to help a crazy set of people "get the shot". I started doing some short name/city of origin clips of passengers and crew to add to the end of whatever comes from editing almost 9 hrs of video. The second Quark crew member who did this, suddenly added at the end, "and I am the expedition leader" (he was not)... so then everyone else realized they could do the same so I shot them again, each saying something to this effect. I told the story to the Captain Sergey Nesterov (sp?) who speaks a little English, and he said he would be on the tape too. First think out of his mouth was "I AM THE EXPEDITION LEADER"... then we had to cut as he and I, along with most of the other people on the bridge started crying we were laughing so hard... a special moment. None of us expected this from his lips.

Last evening we had everyone contribute six images to a slide show... the breadth and depth of the work was truly inspiring. Attached are a few I submitted. The seal with my point/shoot camera (I was in the water with him)... a large tabular ice berg... a "flat" version of the 360 image I took from the top deck... a view of the ship in Stromness Bay, South Georgia Island, where Ernest Shackelton found help after crossing this incredibly rugged island in 36 hrs. There is a LONG panorama, 11 images I think went into it, from one of the channels we were in.... the light took my breath away. I'll upload a slide show after I get more of these tweaked. Meanwhile, I'll keep the attachment level low.

I left the ship about 8 hours ago in Ushuaia. Paul Allen's yacht OCTOPUS was still anchored in the bay. The dock was lined with four QUARK ships. I am now in El Calafate awaiting my next flight to Bariloche to go to Ward Lay's estancia. I talked my way into the Aerolineas Argentinas VIP lounge and found the only plug to power the notebook behind the bar. The view from the lounge is fantastic too.

I keep trying to speak French to the Argentines... they smile and laugh. I'll have to learn some Spanish, it's worth it just to come back here. I just used Google's translate window to figure out that DEMORADO was not the end of the world (been there)... just DELAYED, my flight that is to say. But then, I already knew that it was an hour late... heck, it's not "island time" but it's close. More soon...

Rusty

###

February 26th 2007, 6:40pm
Estancia Alicura, near Bariloche, Argentina

Hi again, did you think I fell off the edge finally?

Perhaps the edge of the dining chair in my new fatted state. Surely it will be a happy stumble from plate to floor, sweetened by the crepes or the home grown raspberry tart... one of which followed the hearth roasted pig, organic corn on the cob from the garden, courses which came after the empanadas and chorizo that were washed down with copious quantities of Malbec or Cabernet that came after the smoked trout & cheese that had been melded into one incredible infusion of flavor to compliment the family grown Chardonnay. Let me tell you... I can't take much more of this. Its all becoming confused in my head. I need a tugging dog to drag me around a park and retrain my Frisbee throwing brain. To think only last week I was eating oatmeal for breakfast made by a German, served by a Russian... and I liked it.

I turned in last night exhausted at 1am. The day had begun with a 5:30am wake up call so I could take a sunrise photo from "inspiration point". I was accompanied to the spot by Pedro, the handsome, exceptionally polite and gracious employee of Estancia Alicura. Another guest, Colin, from Sausalito, CA, came along as well. I promised Colin it would only be about 15 minutes once we got there. Well, 2 hours later Collin was glued to my Leica binoculars looking at a red stag 700 yards away prancing about in an early stage of "rut" the mating season "roaring" his heart out. Finally we left and returned to the estancia where Colin was whisked off to the river to catch (and release) some 22 inch rainbow trout with Fernando, the most elegant fly fisherman around. The rest of us, were off for a Sunday drive to the country side. In the span of about 7 hours we toured areas that looked like the high desert of Arizona, to the forests of Chama, New Mexico... to lunch in a village that looked like Kitzbuel, Austria... then back past lakes that appeared to be dug by glaciers last week. We were home by 8pm, time enough to clean up for dinner at 10:30pm... towards the end of which I saw about five minutes of the Oscars before I had to pass out.

Today I wisely decided after I began taking photos at 7am that I would only have ONE of the homemade scones.... well, it ended up being two after putting some homemade raspberry jam on the first one, it was irresistible. They reminded me of my grand mother's biscuits more than scones, rich and flaky, better the next day toasted with some honey and butter.... maybe tomorrow, I'll check to see if any are left. Sliced down the middle... when toasted then have this wonderful aroma.... oh, sorry, I am getting lost again. It's intoxicating. I suspect the gauchos get some of these leftovers as we never see them again. The gauchos or the food. There are 27 people here working at the estancia. I have seen the house keeper, Nadia (funny, sounds Russian), once I think. My clothes disappear from the floor and reappear in the closet the next day, clean and folded. I didn't even fill out the laundry ticket and leave the bag on the bunk in my cabin.... or was that last week?

One has to make a leap of faith sometimes to get to places of the heart, the physical places that prepare the body for opening the mind. Antarctica certainly was one, and this place in Argentina certainly is another. Ward, my hat is off to you even if my shirt can't be buttoned... mentally I am just a receptacle for recipes now. I look for good light with the camera in the smoke pit now. Here is a night time shot of the southern sky just a few yards away from the Quincho ("BBQ place")...

Argentine Night

You will need Apple's QuickTime installed to view it. They are each about 1.5 MB, so be patient. You can see the Milky Way. Look for the Southern Cross, Magellanic clouds, Alpha Centurai system...

And here is a "flat" version of the dawn image. I left it large so you can see the detail.

The mountains on the left are not on the estancia but are in Argentina, but the pointy one is in Chile. The rest of what you see is all Estancia Alicura. It is an amazing place and I am grateful for the invitation to photograph it.

So tomorrow we leave for Buenos Aires for two nights before returning to Texas on the evening of March 1st.

The FatIceMan is coming back. I'll wear my yellow Quark parka... it's roomy.

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March 3rd 2007, 12:33pm

Hello all,

March 3, 2007

This is the last of my month long series of notes on this journey.

Reflections: In the water and in the mirror

So, I am physically back. Mentally, perhaps a wavy reflection of what I imagined I saw in the past in the mirror. My life is definitely altered, richer in color, more tangible in texture, accompanied by dimensional aromas and tastes. With my eyes closed I can find a penguin a mile away if the air blows my way, I am still pondering if this IS a benefit or not... or I can get lost in the morning scents of the wind in Cypress trees... surely it all has something to do with sleep deprivation. I learned and observed literally mountains of things. This is why travel is so enthralling and enlightening for me, everyday it changes my perspective a little or a lot. Sometimes I am lucky enough to have such an experience where this leap is so great, the act so enveloping, that I must pause to breathe, look around, take full measure of the moment, go mentally into "full record"... and then I start pressing the shutter release yet again. I can relive these moments each time I revisit the photo, or even reinterpret what the camera captured into a "new" photo, one shaped my the nuances of all my other emotions that cannot be captured by electronics. Art becoming art. Moving from electronic capture to emotional embrace.

I learned that small waves do not matter much, and end the end, the large ones don't either, just dodge the hard stuff in your way, and have a good look as you pass. Neither you nor what you observe will remain for long but somehow we have made our way into the proximity of one another. Everyone on this trip was transformed by the experience, South Georgia Island and Antarctica are places like no other. I will join the ranks of those that have gone before me in educating others and fighting for their preservation. Argentina a world unto itself. I will return to both with new eyes.

Thanks for "joining me" on the adventure. I very much appreciate all of your thoughts and comments on what I have sent/shown you thus far. I have been flattered and humbled by all of it. I'll send out one more simple announcement when I have something more substantial on the web that you can see. Then I will start printing.... large prints to be sure... big enough to make people stop and think... and perhaps feel a little of what I did, and still do.

Cheers, Riceman

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This story ends here for the moment (March 19th) but soon I will have video online too, first a little rest.