ZECO TRAVEL TALK

As I prepare to lead the 2010 Maldives trips, I am reminded of the distinct beauty of the place. The archipelago is comprised of twenty-two coral atolls including 1,200 separate isles and islets, only 200 of which are inhabited.

This spectacular island group in the Central Indian Ocean is an icon for scuba enthusiasts, a holy grail for snorkelers. For those who love warm tropical seas full of life, it is a breathtaking place. Even the planning and academic preparations are exciting. Read more

By Kevin Clement
(with apologies to Robert Service)

There are strange things done in the Midnight sun
And one of those was our trip
Through Alaska Wild, but in highest style
On the Clipper Odyssey ship.

And so we set sail, no need to bail
Our ship was tight and well-found
From distant Nome, the far-northern home
Of the gold-diggers of Norton Sound.

And in a short time, we reached the Line
Where the Arctic Sea truly does start
With water so frigid, the swimmers went rigid
Well, except for certain parts. Read more

We continued our exploration of unvisited fjords farther south on the eastern Greenland coast where we entered Napassorssuaq Fjord, a spectacular glacial inlet containing a huge number of icebergs. We passed many sharp horned peaks and wide glaciers and had a view of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Our captain carefully maneuvered Clipper Adventurer through the ice to the head of the fjord where we took the Zodiacs out for a cruise through the icebergs. Read more

We awoke before dawn to greet the low tide in Geographic Harbor, a maze of channels and islands in Alaska’s remote Katmai National Park. As we boarded the Zodiacs, the glow in the eastern sky was substantial enough to begin brightening the spectacular mountains and the low alder forest that covered the lower slopes. Despite the difficulty in prying ourselves out from under the warm covers of our beds at this early hour, we knew that our best chance of encountering brown bears was at the low tide, when they descend to the shoreline to dig for clams below the tide line. And on this particular day, low tide happened to be a very early one. Read more

The Watkins Mountains and Gunnbjornsfjeld, the highest mountain in Greenland, were on the horizon as we rose for breakfast this morning marking the beginning of an exciting first day on this remote island. We entered Nansen Fjord through loose ice cover and sailed past steep, bare mountains of glacier-sculpted basalt. The eight-mile tidewater front of Christian IV Glacier, bringing ice down from the distant ice sheet, filled the head of the fjord. Icebergs; white, blue, and black drifted past the Clipper Adventurer as we sailed towards an unnamed fjord on the northern side of Nansen Fjord. Zodiacs were lowered and we made our first footprints in the dark Greenland sand. The stark moraine landscape was impressive. This was new ground as we were the first cruise ship to visit this isolated spot at over 68° N. Read more