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Toilets in Japan are complicated, sophisticated, automated!
The land of trains, sushi and fancy toilets…Japan is enigmatic and nothing says that more than the toilet. I wake up in the middle of the night to pee and as I enter the bathroom, the toilet opens, like an alligator opening its mouth, ready for a meal. Your first choice is do you want
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Shinto Shrines vs Buddhist Temples
Our first visits in Tokyo were to a Shinto Shrine and a Buddhist Temple. What’s the difference? Japanese citizens have a complicated religious belief. It all starts with their ancient Shinto beliefs which are a reverence to Nature. Shinto shrines are all about having the best life while on Earth. One prays for good luck,
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Ushuaia, A last farewell
We disembarked from our home for the past two weeks at 9AM, after breakfast. We had a long goodbye yesterday, turning in our boots and group velcro patches, having a goodbye meeting with the Explorer Crew and then another with the Captain and the onboard photographer played an outstanding video compiling the trip highlights. Now
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A Bad Picture Leads to A Record Find!
Thanks for the follow-up of Lancy Chen, I have found a new record bird for the Falklands! After the spectacular visit to the Rockhopper/Albatross rookery on Westpoint Island, our hosts treated us to an array of cookies, cakes and beverages. After having my full of these wonderful treats my eye wandered to nearby birds. There
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How Blue is Your Petrel?
The little Blue Petrel and its cousin, the Slim-billed Prion, have been confounding me all week! They’re small, flit to and fro, and stay just above the waves. All these qualities make these birds frustrating to photograph as getting good focus is a major challenge. Early this morning, under less chilly conditions and on a
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Surfing Penguins!
Plan B has been working and today was no exception. We arrived early at Saunders Island, which is just to the East of Westpoint Island and is the fourth largest island of the archipelago. We had a view of a beach in front of us and the promise of King, Chinstrap, Gentoo and Magellan Penguins
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Westpoint Island: the Rockhopper Penguins & the black-browed albatrosses
I caught the sunrise this morning as we threaded our way through the Falkland Archipelago. There were the occasional Black Browed (BB) Albatrosses to go along with the many Imperial Shags (Cormorants) flying by the ship.. We didn’t spot any dolphins or whales and soon were turning into Westpoint Bay and another beautiful view! This
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Quaint Stanley
Stanley, the Capital of the Falklands, is a strange town. It has had two notable lives, the first starting in the 1700’s as a whaling and Antarctica expedition hub and then forty years ago, a war with Argentina. The Museum, in town, gives about half of its coverage to ancient times and the other half
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A royal approach to the Falklands
A bright early morning sky greeted me today and so did several albatrosses. The ever-present Black-browed Albatrosses had the company of the Light-mantled ones as well as the tiny Antarctic Prions which are impossible to photograph well. After breakfast, I was informed that Royal and Wandering Albatrosses had been spotted, so I raced for the
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Whales Unlimited!
This was supposed to be a quiet transit day of our trip. Rising at 5:30, I saw very little as visibility was limited, but the seas were relatively calm. I decided to go back to bed and see if the day would improve. After a satisfying breakfast, we got a call over the ship PA
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Frozen Water Walking!
What a day! The Roald Amundsen has now sidled up to the ice field and after some investigation, the gangplank was lowered. The Expedition Crew went onto the ice and started drilling holes in it. Apparently they found it solid and thick, so off we go on an Ice Walk! We had fifteen minutes on
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Emperors!
We sailed down the Weddell Sea on a calm and partly sunny morning looking for creatures. The mountains and glaciers were exotic looking and the sea was calm. As we stood on the front deck, the Expedition Crew were scouring the ice floes for seals and penguins. A few Blue-eyed shags flew by as well
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Brown Bluffs a No, Emperor Penguins Maybe?
Brown Bluffs, the Northernmost location on the Antarctic Peninsula was looking good, clear skies and an ice-free landing zone. One of our guides, Fritz was excited to point out that all those tiny spots on the hill were penguins and he thought we would have an ideal landing. Then over the PA system we hear
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Two Tickets to Paradise
We’ve reached Paradise Bay and the Argentinian research center, Almirante Brown Station. The ship is just off our landing location and the views of the bay and the icebergs are wonderful. There are Blue-eyed Shags and Antarctica Terns nesting in the nearby cliff face and lots of Gentoo Penguins fishing just off our landing site.
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The Stunning Beauty of Lemaire
After our wet day, our shipped turned North, and we reentered the Lemaire Channel under clearing conditions. Standing on the back tenth deck, looking at the Mountains and their reflections in the still waters was inspiring. We were giddy at the sheer magnificence of the terrain, no matter where we looked. Definitely one of the
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Adeline Penguin at Rainy pleneau island
Our excursion this afternoon was what one would expect of Antarctica. Our gear, bought for this trip was in its full glory. We had a continuing icy rain, some wind and of course near freezing conditions. We entered the Zodiac to a pelting rain that was highly unpleasant, but we were essentially covered from head
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Snow, Wind, rain!
Our outing last night at Port Lockroy was in heavy snow. Our other objective here was to drop off several scientists who would spend the next four months on the island. The zodiac cruise was chilly with near whiteout conditions. We saw two islands of Gentoo Penguins, but two icebergs were more visible and interesting
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gentoo Penguins on the hill
We were the last group off to visit the Gentoo Colony at Danco Island. Early in the day we saw the Expedition Crew prepare the site. They brought over equipment and prepared the landing area and path, as we needed to stay a distance from the penguins. After breakfast we caught a very interesting lecture
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Glorious Danco Island
I awakened at 6 to a Winter Wonderland. We are scheduled to visit Danco Island and the breeding Gentoo Penguin colony at 11. For now enjoy the early morning landscape photos plus one of an Antarctic tern.
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It’s All About the ice!
As the morning expedition came to a close, we couldn’t see the last adventurers, just a few hundred yards away due to the snow. I felt that our second expedition later in the day was probably going to be cancelled. Sure enough, the Captain said that the second outing was cancelled but they were working
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Up, Up, Up!
Our 8:40 outing began with spectacular views surrounding the ship. After a quick breakfast, we climbed into the Zodiac for a short ride to shore. We had missed last nights briefing and when we saw our landing site, we had a great deal of trepidation. The path led up and up and up! Switchbacks to
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Birthday and Penguins
The day started just like yesterday, a bit of birding on a noticeably colder and windier deck. A colleague fell as he stepped on a water slick that had iced over. At breakfast the waiter said “look outside”. And there was our first look at Antarctica! The ship continued to wend its way towards Half
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Antarctica Here We Come!
Yesterday, after a tour of the National Park, we boarded the Roald Amundsen for our trip to Antarctica. We immediately had mandatory emergency drills, familiarized ourselves with the ship and enjoyed dinner as twilight descended. We explored this very modern ship and settled in for a mild to medium rolling sea as the Drake was
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Ushuaia is a Very, Very far Place
Our flight was just over about one hour as we headed for the most Southern city in Argentina. Population: 8,000 permanent, about three times that in season (which just began in November). Our plan for today is a lot less hectic. We have a few hours to kill at our hillside hotel, then a boat
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Mesmerizing Moreno and Captivating Condors
Our second attempt to travel SouthEast to El Calafate got off to a bad start as a 5AM pick-up turned into a 45 minute wait on the bus as several passengers were awakened to a much earlier departure than contemplated. Luckily we arrived at a less crowded airport and made our flight. The three hour
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The Travel Agent Swings and Misses!
An early morning, up at 5:45, off at 6:30, airport at 7AM. Absolute bedlam! Thousands of people going to and fro, long lines, but our travel agent got us well positioned and half an hour later got us to the front of the line. The summer season is upon them and schools are out now,
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Lights Out at the colon Theater
We booked our tour of the grand Colon theater two days ago, and now it was time to set out and see this magnificent building. Since we had a little time before the tour, we went, close by, to the jewelry district to buy a pair of earrings for Kathy. She had managed to leave
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I Can See All the Obstacles In My Way…
After our birding adventure, we had a quick lunch and set out for the Recoleta district. First we needed some local currency so off to an ATM. The ATM basically said we needed too much money ($150?), so I tried for half that amount and got rejected again. Off to a second one which wouldn’t
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Costanera..Costanera!
Catchy tune, right!? Well I found out the the Costanera Reserve has wetlands, marshes, woods and grasslands. And that means BIRDS! Lots of them. The alarm rang at 6:30 and it felt to me like a punch to the face. Conversion time: 6:30-4hours time difference + 1 hour for being here one day and starting
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I have Gelato On the Brain!
Let’s be clear, I don’t have that nasty freeze headache after eating too much ice cream. No, I’m now obsessed with Gelato. After a visit to Rapanui a few minutes ago, I’m afraid of these thoughts….diving into a large vat of chocolate gelato, having gelato at every meal, creating a new “green” food group, yes
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First Birds!
After a very sound six hours of sleep, I awoke around 7 (6AM Eastern, please don’t tell me I was up in the middle of the night CA time!). A nearby park, the Plaza of The Liberator San Martin, provided my first birding opportunity. The first bird seen was the expected Rock Piegeon, which seems
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What a Long Day It’s Been!
Our travel to Buenos Aires took us through Mexico City, where our wait for our next flight was extended by four hours (to ten) due to a late change in schedule. After an uneventful flight, we decided on finding a hotel at the airport, forgetting that Nov 1 is the Day of the Dead and
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Birds of a feather
One of my favorite bird photos shows two courting Browed Albatrosses in a remote Falkland Island.
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Japan, September 2023
Our trip begins with a comfortable flight on Singapore Airlines. Carroll and Ahmed, our good friends are joining Kathy and I on this adventure. Our Itinerary packs a busy 13 day schedule through parts on Japan’s “main” Island, Honshu. We will start and end in Tokyo; with visits to Kamawaza, an old Buddhist town; Kyoto,
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My Top US Target Bird Lands in Orange County!
The Lovely Snowy Owl has been my top US bird target for several years. This is the Harry Potter Owl that doesn’t actually live in the UK, but in the Canadian and Alaska Tundra. It likes to sit on the ground, surveying potential prey. In the Winter, these Owls travel South to the Northern US