ZECO TRAVEL TALK

What a great day! Greg Homel kicked off the morning by providing insights about the little known and seldom seen birds of the Darien. After an early lunch we boarded a flotilla of local boats—modified dugouts, in fact—for an hour long ride to the coast and up the winding Mogue River. Our drivers swept from side-to-side on the broader areas to facilitate photography as we rode the incoming tide. The tide is critical to access the upper reaches. Soon it narrowed and we could hear the drums of the Chocó Emberá as we were rounding the final bend. Waiting for us were many of the villagers in traditional dress, including musicians and a gaggle of children who were shy, but curious and who quickly took us by the hand for the walk along the path to their home. They speak Spanish as a second tongue, but smiles went miles and language provided no barrier. Read more

We set out today to hike and retrace the steps of the last four miles of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic 22-mile (that is to say . . . 22 “as the crow flies” miles) journey of 1916. Ninety-one passengers and expedition leaders hiked across the path Shackleton took after he landed his lifeboat at South Georgia and then tried to get to Stromness, a Norwegian whaling station.

Our hike was in a spectacular location—dramatic glaciers and steep granite mountains surrounded us—and the snow was gently falling when we began. Setting off from Fortuna Bay, we were afforded exceptional views as we walked over picturesque sandstone and shale, past snow and icefields, and around Crean Lake. The hike up was aerobic—a great workout after being on the ship a week. Read more

With smooth seas, tropical temperatures, and sunburns, it’s hard to believe that we are in the Southern Ocean en route to Antarctica. Our first landing in the Falklands was celebrated as ‘A Zegrahm First’ because never before had the expedition been able to make first landing on day one—typically, we spend a full day at sea sailing from Ushuaia to the Falkland Islands. We celebrated by stepping ashore early evening at New Ireland and enjoyed sunset over a menagerie of black-browed albatross, rockhopper penguins, and imperial cormorants perched on cliffs high above the cold waters of the Scotia Sea. Read more

While the Great Blue Hole and extensive reef system are the main attraction for many, our river trip to the Mayan ruins of Lamanai was definitely the highlight while in Belize, due in large part to our enthusiastic and humorous local guides. Along the way, they pointed out limpkins, laughing falcons, Wish Willy iguanas, Jabiru storks, and the Belizean provision tree (its bark is highly regarded as a blood tonic and is used to help anemia, low blood pressure, and fatigue). They also taught us local proverbs; a favorite was: Read more

Christmas Day, Stewart Island, NZ
After a leisurely stroll around the fishing town of Oban and morning tea of astounding proportions (including crayfish on blinis, melt-in-your-mouth ham, and plump oysters for which the island is renowned) at the South Sea Hotel, we made our way to Rakira National Park on Ulva Island. An open sanctuary, where once common birds can be seen at close quarters, we split into groups for extended walks. We returned with tales of close encounters with saddlebacks, wekas, tuis, kakas, tomtits, and bellbirds. Most excited were the photographers who were surprised by a very large kiwi that came bounding down the track, skidded to a halt in front of the group, and then dove off into the bush. Stunned faces, but no cameras were raised!

December 26, Dunedin
Ah, Dunedin, a city of unmistakeable Scottish heritage that takes its Gaelic name from Edinburgh. Before paying homage to the statue of poet Robert Burns, we made our way along the Otago Peninsula to the Portobello Marine Studies Centre where we were introduced to colossal squid, seahorses, whelks, sea stars and piled into a mock-submersible for a virtual trip into the fascinating world of Deep New Zealand. Back in Read more

December 21: Queenstown welcomed us with a bluebird day that said, “This expedition is going to be a beauty!” Gondola ascents carried some to far-reaching views of the Southern Alps, paragliders, and bungy jumpers, while others simply savored the cafés and shops of this spectacular alpine town. We met our expedition leader, Lia Oprea, and expedition staff for informal drinks at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

December 22: The next morning we met up with our fellow expeditioners from Noble Caledonia and made the 155-mile journey to Milford Sound. Spectacular scenery, green and sheepish, swept past with a stop at the Te Anau Wildlife Centre for a rare look at the flightless takahe and an opportunity to photograph the rock wren. Read more

Our first-ever Wild Edge of the Pacific expedition will voyage some of the most remote island groups in the world. Extremely isolated and rarely visited, these wild outposts offer a safe haven to many rare and endemic species. Beginning our voyage in Fiji, it will take a full two days to reach our next destination, the Kermadec Islands. With so many seabirds traveling in the Clipper Odyssey’s wake these days at sea are a thrilling time to be on deck, observing Pacific Ocean specialties such as dark-phased wedge-tailed shearwaters, black-winged petrels, white-necked petrels, and black noddies.

It was during this time at sea that an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime sighting was made—on December 1, 2009, at 21° 32´ S, 179° 18´ W, at a water depth of 12,000 feet, water temperature 76.2 °F—two Fiji petrels were seen. Read more

Beginning our voyage in Tahiti, we have sailed toward the sunset across the vast Pacific Ocean to find ourselves, on this last day aboard the Clipper Odyssey, anchored off the island of Taveuni, Fiji.

During our voyage across the Pacific we have observed various features of Polynesian culture. Some commonalities include social systems articulated by royal lineages, nobles and commoners, a remarkably similar pantheon of gods, as well as reverence for ancestors, and an economic culture based upon the sea and the foods Polynesians brought with them as they migrated from Southeast Asia 3,000 years ago. We also experienced quite a lot of diversity from one island group to the next. The Cook Islands and Niue had hair cutting ceremonies for boys while Tongan men grew their hair long. Society Island and Tongan society were extremely stratified, tracing the royal families through primogeniture whereas Futuna and Wallis islands preferred a meritocracy, choosing their chiefs from the royal families based on ability rather than birth order. Our journey through the archipelagos and from island to island introduced us to a mosaic of cultures that reflect a Polynesian model, but also demonstrate the adaptive strategies made to specific island and social conditions. These adaptive strategies led to the diversity that cross cuts the homogeneity of Polynesian societies. Read more