ZECO TRAVEL TALK

From August 10 - 27, travelers set out to explore high above the Arctic Circle, visiting the shores of Greenland, Baffin Island, and Ellesmere Island aboard the powerful icebreaker, Kapitan Khlebnikov. We thought you’d enjoy knowing a few of the highlights from this unique voyage.

• At Lady Franklin Island, off the eastern coast of Baffin, the weather was as perfect as is possible anywhere in the world. The clarity of the air, the blue sky, and the flat sea bode well for our morning’s adventure, a Zodiac cruise around the main island and among the many islets that surround it. Almost immediately two polar bears were sighted on a small island, a mother and a young cub, and both seemed to be in excellent condition.

• Off the mountainous east coast of Baffin, we headed north towards the famous “Minarets” a series of pinnacles rising from a lofty cliff face. These are bird cliffs par excellence and were able to enjoy a Zodiac cruise to get up close. Several species were observed, notably kittiwakes and Brunnich’s guillemot (thick billed murre) and fulmars.

• In Greenland we landed at the little town of Uummannaq situated on a small island adjacent to an impressive, almost conical, mountain. In town, we visited a splendid Danish Lutheran Church, several shops, and a small, but impressive, museum. Read more

We awoke to another stellar sunrise, warm breezes, and the standard early morning wake-up call. After a delicious breakfast and much appreciated coffee, we prepared for our landing on Tower Island. We immediately found ourselves in a swirl of wildlife – frigate birds and red footed boobies greeted us, filling the sky overhead. The number of birds was almost overwhelming. Sea lions were lounging on the beach and lifted their heads briefly in greeting as we passed. Exploring the island on foot, we ended up at a gorgeous lagoon with only knee-deep water, allowing us to walk through it. Flanked by a high rock wall on one side and a forested beach on the other, we were joined by a huge male sea lion, barking loudly as he swam circles around us. The birders were pleased to capture some outstanding pictures of baby boobies and the day ended on a high note as we spotted the elusive short eared owl. We had seen a pair of mating Galapagos hawks earlier on the voyage but I think this perhaps trumped that show. The snorkelers have also been thrilled, swimming with sea lions and turtles, and spotting the Galapagos shark, octopus, and scorpion fish. As one of our guides said on our first day “Welcome to the biological Disneyland!”

Our visits this past week to Rano Island, Vanuatu, and Utupua and Santa Ana in the Solomon Islands were truly memorable, both for the incredible array of colorful sights, and for the warmth of our welcome by the villagers. Here are some brief excerpts from emails we’ve received from our staff aboard the recently-refurbished Clipper Odyssey on our Faces of Melanesia voyage:

…One thing that stands out—and everyone has commented about it—is just how amazing it is that each island is still so different. The dances are different, many of the flowers and plants are different, the people look different, and their clothes (or sometimes lack thereof) are different. But the warmth of the welcome is always the same! We are all loving coming to these remote places… when the Zodiacs hit the sand the entire village is there, often with flower leis or palm necklaces to greet us. They have huge smiles and are eager to shake our hands and welcome us. In many of the villages the little kids run up and hold our hand and escort us through the village… It’s very special and touching each time. The music has also been fabulous. My favorite new instruments are the pipe drums that are either made out of bamboo or PVC pipe and they’re played most commonly with a flip flop! It makes the most wonderful sound…you can’t help but sway your hips, tap your feet, clap your hands and smile!!

Rano – At dawn the Clipper Odyssey pulled into a lovely inlet surrounded by islands with white sandy beaches and fringed with palm trees. As we boarded Zodiacs, welcoming music by the local band echoed from shore, and when we stepped onto the island we were overwhelmed with color! The path along the white sandy beach was lined with birds of paradise, heliconias, hibiscus, and red ginger flowers. The women and children wore bright muu-muu dresses, the men had on Hawaiian-style shirts, and as we walked into the village a market of local goods was spread before us: sarongs of every color in the rainbow, dyed and dried palm baskets, and lovely purple and pink shell necklaces. Read more

As we drove along the mountain roads to the Roman ruins site of Djémila, the views of the countryside, gorges, and farmlands were simply breathtaking. Along the way we were treated to mint tea and homemade cookies. When we arrived at Djémila—a World Heritage Site with some of the best preserved Roman ruins in North Africa—we ended up having a very special, and serendipitous, experience. A group of college girls from Bejaia—some in veils, some without… some with hoop earrings and jeans, others in traditional dress—heard us speaking English and approached us. We managed to exchange bits of conversation—in broken English, French, and Arabic—laughing all the while, taking photographs of each other, and all of us completely enjoying this lovely chance interaction. Everyone in our groups commented on how really amazing it is to visit a place where tourism has hardly touched the local people. What a wonderful memory for all of us…

So far our Petra to the Pyramids journey through Jordan and now Egypt has been one highlight after another. In Aqaba, we boarded our private sailing ship, The Aladdin, for the hour and a half sailing to Egypt. We had beautiful weather and sailed south through the gulf with Israel and Egypt visible on our starboard side and the coasts of Jordan and Saudi Arabia off the port side — four countries in an hour and a half! We disembarked in Taba at a tiny dock and quickly proceeded through customs as the officials checked us into Egypt. From Taba it was an impressive drive through the Sinai Peninsula desert to our hotel conveniently located just a half mile from the 6th century Byzantine Monastery of St. Catherine, at the base of Mount Sinai. We arrived as the sun was setting and made our way to the restaurant for a cocktail party with a very special guest. One of the monks, Father Justin, had been corresponding with our accompanying lecturer, Hector Williams of the Archaeological Institute of America, by email for the past few months. When Hector learned that we would be staying overnight near the Monastery he invited Father Justin to “come down from the hill” and join us for dinner. Not only did he join us, but Father Justin also gave a very interesting talk about his work to preserve ALL of the manuscripts in the extensive library at St. Catherine. He even invited us to stop by the library for a private tour the next day! Read more

With the first sighting of the North African coast, anticipation of what lay ahead was palpable—and our dockside welcome of fresh dates and live music was just the beginning of the wonderful interactions we experienced. Throughout our entire visit to this country we were received by broad smiles and shouts of “welcome to Algeria!” from passing motorists and local citizens.

In Oran, our guides were so amazing they just about got a standing ovation after our tour. The local people were stopping us on the street to chat and it was very obvious that there is not a lot of tourism here. Paul Harris gave a great lecture prior to us disembarking about how we have this perfect window of opportunity to come to Algeria before tourism catches on. Our entire lecture team is terrific and everyone is enjoying their diversity. In Djemila, everyone was blown away by the Algerian scenery; nobody expected so much green and the Roman ruins were incredible! In Tipasa, we had the huge complex of ruins at this amazing World Heritage Site entirely to ourselves. Algiers’ Casbah is a maze of small alleyways, leaning buildings with French windows, kids peeping through the doors, whitewashed walls with blue awnings.… We went for mint tea at our guide, Masoud’s, sister in law’s house which was filled with tiles and pottery. Sunlight was streaming down from the roof that overlooks the entire Casbah while we listened to the Mosque minarets calling everyone to prayer… such a magical experience.

Le Levant is in line with 106 other ships to transit the Panama Canal today! Our passage ID is N21X, which means that we are the 21st ship to transit going north on this day, 24 March 2008, and we will be accompanied by an extra ship. Our companion through the Canal is a barge with a bright green tug boat.

We came into Balboa Harbor last night. Imagine the change in scenery from the top deck after days exploring virtually alone on the water, the horizon occasionally altered by small uninhabited islands. Last night we were surrounded by the lights of fishing boats, cargo ships, and the skyline of Panama City. In the morning light we can see many of our fellow daylight transit ships—a far cry from the dug outs we were in two days ago.

Anchor’s aweigh as we steam into position for our transit, standing on deck, you can’t help but marvel at this engineering feat.

View the video footage of our transit through the Panama Canal onboard Le Levant.

Just reporting in off the coast of Chile to tell you a bit about Le Diamant, since it’s our first time using the ship. Everyone—passengers, leader/lecturer team—have been loving the experience. While it’s luxurious and roomy, this ship lends itself perfectly to expedition cruising, and our West Coast of South America trip has been incredibly comfortable. Yesterday we sighted sperm whales and the captain was able to quickly slow us down to follow their direction. We were allowed to be on the bow of the ship to watch, which made us all feel like adventurers! My personal favorite spot on the ship is the fabulous observation lounge just above the bow. You can relax up there, surrounded by glass walls and ceilings, and watch everything going on in the open seas.

Le Diamant has a lovely lecture hall, the Grand Salon, and it’s perfect for our purposes—everyone can now hear the lectures and see the visuals/power point presentations, etc. by our onboard team, no matter where they sit. The other comment I have to share is about the ship staff: really professional and efficient. Two days into the trip, they threw together a last minute barbecue lunch on deck — just so we could enjoy the great weather! Tomorrow we head inland into the Andes and to Lauca National Park.