Elysian Fields

The next few chapters...

2011-04-03T17:26:00.000-06:00

It's been far too long since I have updated this site! Many chapters have been added to our lives however not documented here. The list includes East Africa, Mediterranean, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Peruvian Andes and Amazon, Norwegian Fjords and Scotland, Costa Rica to Panama through the Canal, Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore to name a few!

And People TOO!

2009-06-20T21:19:00.002-06:00

Finally, a few people photos to end this chapter...........because it's time to begin a new one! See here some of the places, situations and smiles of the trip. We had a great experience for sure - one that will be difficult to top! Having our good friends, Becky and Harry Senekjian with us made it even more fun. It remains so as we get together for dinner here and there to relive some of the more inspiring moments - and there were plenty!

I do wish everyone who reads this blog could have the opportunity to see and experience the magnificence of God's creation in this natural environment. Even if you never make it there, hopefully we have inspired you with a new reverence for the beauty and grandeur of our world as seen through our eyes in Antarctica.

A Sampling of Birds of the Southern Ocean

2009-06-19T23:08:00.000-06:00

Accompanied by the mighty Albatross, we made our way through the Southern Ocean. Most impressive is the wing-span; some of these guys have a wing span of 11 feet! They rarely flap those big wings, instead riding the wind currents for miles and miles, soaring to create envy in our hearts at their freedom and beauty. They've been know to circumnavigate the earth with some living as long as 60 years. They are a monogamous family type - oh so cool! And their babies will vomit at you to protect themselves if they are fearful.

The Cormarant is a land based bird( second to last photo), also referred to as South Georgia Shag, that dives for it's food.

We also saw Giant Southern Petrels, Cape Petrels, South Polar Skuas as well as many others. We became fascinated by these winged creatures and have vowed to continue learning about birds in each of our travel locations.

Creatures of the Sea

2009-03-22T17:59:00.000-06:00

Penguins won our hearts! They are such amazing little creatures! Although defined as flightless birds adapted to life in cold seas, that doesn't begin to tell you of their amazing resilience and beauty in this relatively inhospitable environment. Their dense layer of waterproof feathers provides insulation by trapping air. They are also equipped with a layer of blubber. Each year in the spring, it is necessary to molt; this means "off with the old and on with the new" - feathers, that is - a necessity to maintain the waterproof aspect.

The first photo is of a Chinstrap Penguin at Monroe Bay in the South Orkney Islands.
I probably don't need to explain how they were named! Chinstraps prefer to nest on rocky, steep slopes and are more aggressive than Kings.

The second and third photos are Gentoo Penguins (recognized by the white patch over their eyes and the bright coral bill) strutting across a field at Grytviken, an abandoned whaling station on the Isle of South Georgia. (Visits to this location are allowed after six million pounds was spent to clean it of asbestos and other hazardous materials. Other abandoned whaling stations are closed to visitors within 200 meters.)

Photos 4 and 5 show Macaroni Penguins hopping to their nests high up on the cliffs - very different habit from the Kings who nest on the beach. Macaronis are distinguished by their bright yellow plumes growing in an arch across the center of the forehead. Where most penguins walk, Macaronis hop! It is said they can climb 200 M (656 feet) in 20 minutes.

Guidelines for our behavior in Antarctica are set out by IAATO (the International Association of Antarctic Touring Operators). Many are obvious , such as no littering or trampling vegetation, and although we were not allowed to approach within 15 feet of penguins, the penguins were unaware of the rules and were often curious about us, getting quite close to check out the "redcoat invaders".

A fluffy little chick (scientists refer to these guys as "Oakum Boys" ). The young of each of the species has it's own characteristics and habits.

King Penguins, endowed with vivid colors, were the most beautiful of the species we met.

Tete a tete! Paired birds dedicate themselves to the birth and nurturing of their young. Their musical, bugling cadence helps to locate their mates in the mass of birds on shore.

You have to love a guy that will hang around for the boring part..........and these little fellas definitely carry their share of the parenting burden! Hours after the female lays the egg, the male takes the egg from the female, carefully balancing it on his toes as he drapes his warm fold of vascularized abdominal skin over it, then settles back on his heels in a crouching, incubating position.

We are viewing nesting males here.

The female departs for the sea having entrusted her baby to her partner and returns weeks later, in time to hatch the egg and provide nourishment for the chick by regurgitating her food stores into the chick's mouth. The male, having carried out his part of this ballet while in starvation mode, departs for his share of krill and the open water.

500,000 King Penguins! A sight, sound and smell you can only comprehend after experiencing it!

A Weddell Seal basking in the sun!

The Leopard Seal is a lethal looking dude sometimes known to lie in wait for penguins as they swim to and from their colonies. A reputation for attacking humans probably stems from their inhibiting appearance - large head, wide gape and inquisitiveness - rather than human experience.

Steve called these 3 molting Southern Elephant Seals "The Enforcers"! They were lazy looking ladies but it was explained that the molting process is "catastrophic" and requires quite a metabolic investment. It is the largest seal in the world, with males weighing up to 3.5 tons and measuring 5 meters in length. They are capable of diving to 2000 meters to feed.

The Fur Seal Pups in the last three photos are distinguished by their ears. Not considered to be "true seals" which have no ears, they swim with their foreflippers. True seals swim with side-to-side movements of their hindflippers and crawl over land. Deceivingly cute as they scamper about the beaches, they are capable of bounding at considerable speeds over land and and can be quite aggressive.

Humpback whales became a regular feature of our expedition with sometimes as many as 20 surrounding the ship performing their water ballet. It was amazing how closely we could approach them. Watching them proved to be peacefully mesmerizing!

Sharing our photos is giving us a wonderful opportunity to relive this amazing experience. There is yet more to say, but for today......."arrivaderci"!

Penguins in Action!

2009-02-16T16:59:00.005-07:00

You simply must watch, and listen, to this short video! The cacophony is my term for it! The sounds of 500,000 King Penguins - that would be 200,000 pair with chicks - is a sound like nothing you have ever heard before. It is, at once, thrilling and invasive!

The little brown guys are the chicks, and all the others are parents.

We gained an incredible respect for these hardy little guys. They survive and thrive in an environment in which we, as humans, could easily perish!

And Then There was ICE!

2009-02-16T14:28:00.006-07:00

Known as the White Continent, icebergs present the first tangible sign that we've arrived. They take on various forms depending on where they originated and their life history. Flat topped, tabular bergs are typically from shelves. More irregular, castellated bergs are the product of active glacier fronts where calving is both frequent and dramatic.

In the course of an iceberg's drift, it will melt, often to the point where it becomes top-heavy, unstable, then rolls exposing its underside, which will have the appearance of cut glass.

As the berg disintegrates and its size diminishes the ice takes on a new name. Masses of ice the size of a small house are known as bergy bits while those the size of a car are known as growlers. As growlers disintegrate they yield a myriad of much smaller pieces call brash ice.

Many factors influence how much of the berg is beneath the water, however it is usually somewhere between 70% to 90%.

One of the most striking aspects of bergs is the intense blue color they often have. Only when the ice crystals are perfectly formed and free of bubbles will icebergs take on this blue coloration and that is most often the case with old ice from deep within a glacier.

(Info presented here was excerpted from material shared by the Expedition Team on board Minerva.)

2009-02-16T14:09:00.004-07:00

"If Antarctica were music, it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo. Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is something even greater; the only place on earth that is still as it should be. May we never tame it!"
-Andrew Denton

From sunrise to sunset, whether storms are rising or the day is clear enough to "see forever", it is a breathtakingly beautiful place!

Putting this All in Context

2009-02-16T11:50:00.004-07:00

My brain is full of ideas today! However I have some sense of urgency to move this project along so I've decided on a new approach. I'm going to simply share some of our photos from the most recent trip topically rather than chronologically. That way, you'll see them sooner and I'll be off to learn new stuff sooner!

So I left you last night after our first day of landings. The whole idea of this trip was to have a real "expedition" into Antarctica, not just a "drive by". The clothes we wore (see previous post) were waterproof and layered as you would for a cold day of skiing. Disembarking the zodiacs required those boots called "Wellingtons" - adoringly referred to as "Wellies" by all who use them. Not kidding, I mean adoringly! Not only are they just incredibly stylish (NOT!), they DO keep you dry when wading through the surf to get to shore. And best of all, they are "guano proof" and clean easily using the "guano-matic"! (Yes I have a pic of this!)

It was truly an amazing trip. I was stretched far beyond my comfort zone - mostly because of my tendency towards motion sickness. However, I must say that it was worth every second of it. I have now seen, heard and smelled things you can't even imagine! Not only that, we learned what pure, unadulterated wilderness looks like, how incredibly knit together this entire planet is, and best of all, we've had another lesson in just how awesome God is!

I'll get to work on the next posting to share some of this beauty! Ciao!

Sharing the Adventure - Just the Beginning!

2009-02-15T21:05:00.011-07:00

A day sailing the Scotia Sea accompanied by numerous avian friends. The Albatross companions were particularly interesting because they ride the wind created by the ship, almost never flapping their wings which can span up to 12 feet!

In Port Stanley, Falkland Islands we have our only exposure to the Magellanic Penguins. This is just the beginning of of our education about those incredible little creations.

A little family! See the baby (chick) in the burrow? This breed of penguins is different from others in that they build these neat little burrows.

Back from a swim.

A reminder of the reality of war, even 26 years ago! There were other areas where we were told not to leave the path because of the potential of unexploded mines still scattered about the countryside.

Back to sea and off to South Georgia where we experience our first landing at Leith Harbour.

An extremely well trained Expedition Team makes sure we are suited up and safe in their zodiacs.

On and off the zodiacs is not so tough on a calm sea day. It became much more interesting
later on!

Our first up close and personal encounters of the trip.

Fur seals pups, elephant seals, and King Penguins.

A face only a mother could love!

Suited up and dressed for the adventure!

Celebrating the end of a great day!

And More to Come!

Life and Times..........

2009-02-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

An adventure in the making, we depart Utah on a crisp winter morning and 20 hours later find ourselves enjoying a beautiful summer day in Buenos Aires.

We acquaint ourselves with the artsy neighborhood of "La Boca" where entertainment of all types almost overwhelms our senses.

And makes some people do very strange things...

I can't tell you how much Tango he learned, but Steve definitely had fun!

Evita charmed the masses from the balcony of this beautiful government building referred to as "Casa Rosada". It's always been, and always will be, painted pink!

One simply cannot go to BA without attending a tango show! Becky and Harry Senekjian are traveling with us and we all thoroughly enjoyed this very professional presentation, "Tango Rojo" at the Faena Hotel!
Commenting afterwards, the guys said it was perfect; the girls were gorgeous and the guys were greasy! But MAN! Can they DANCE!

After three days of touring Buenos Aires, we were hustled out of bed at 3:15 am to board a plane headed south to Ushuaia, a port town at the tip of South America.

Ushuaia's claim to fame is that it is the "end of the world" or "fin del mundo".

A pretty little port town at the foot of the Andes.

The Tierra del Fuego National Park is a beautiful place.

In the afternoon, we board the Minerva and sail away through The Beagle Channel, enjoying calm seas and beautiful landscapes.

Home Sweet Home! For the next two weeks, Steve and I share this cute little room. Note the rails on the bedside to prevent one from toppling out of bed in rough seas. As we settle in, we discover that ALL the furniture on the whole ship is CHAINED DOWN! Am I really doing this???

Most important introduction!

2009-02-15T13:28:00.008-07:00

I suppose you guessed this part;
here is the love of my life - my boyfriend of 37 years, husband for 33 years and father to our four children. Steve and I both really enjoy traveling however it is thanks to his interest that we have undertaken this Antarctic Expedition.

Here's to Life in '09!

2009-02-14T12:23:00.005-07:00

Fear of having my brain erased by some "secure site" or discovering some modification of my already not-so-dignified life story displayed for all the world to see has prevented me heretofore from taking this giant leap.................at least for me, it is a giant leap! However, in two days I celebrate another birthday. One year from that date, it will be necessary to face the fact that I am a grown-up --- no more pretending! SO, I've decided to spread my wings and perhaps learn a few things about myself.......... and life as a blogger as this year passes.

Although I will author this site, Steve and I will attempt to share a bit of our life together as we prepare for "Elysian Fields".