Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship
2019
-Sharee Barton
December 27 - Lindblad and National Geographic GTF Blessings
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"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." |
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December 28 - Traveling to Argentina
I am not a world traveler. I can probably count the number of airplane trips I've taken on two hands. The only international flight I've experienced was almost 15 years ago, and I flew with my parents and sisters. Surprisingly, I had little apprehension about traveling to Buenos Aries on a solo journey. I'm certain the calm came from fervent prayers, as my travel experience was not always smooth sailing. Landing at Ezeiza International Airport, I was greeted by a disgruntled employee "slow down". This international hub was understaffed by 50%. Exiting the plane, our ramp emptied into a large mob of shoulder-to-shoulder travelers moving at a sloth's pace. The goal to find the line marked "Extranjeros" (foreigners) was impossible as there was no line, only a giant mass of upset passengers. To calm my concerns, I listened for English language speakers and started a conversation with a couple near me. The husband, a tall silver-haired retired gentleman, was from Arkansas. His small but spunky wife grew up in Argentina. For the next two hours, the three of us bonded by sharing commonalities between Arkansas, Argentina, and Idaho. As we inched along, the wife often expressed her indignation. "This is embarrassing. Argentina should be so, so, so embarrassed!" When we finally made it down to the main level, I could see the custom line for foreigners would be an even longer wait than the time spent upstairs. My cute new little friend grabbed my arm and ushered me under the sign marked "Argentinos." Ignoring my protests, she declared to the person behind the glass that I was "familia." This tender mercy gave me the confidence to move forward, face Buenos Aries knowing almost no Spanish, and navigate my way. Finding my luggage and the energetic person waving a Lindblad Expedition sign in the overcrowded lobby, boarding a bus, and traveling to the Alvear Art Hotel took another couple of hours. The late afternoon was filled with a bus tour of Buenos Aires (La Boca being a highlight), a Lindblad reception at the hotel, and dinner with my GTF shipmates, Erin Kowalevicz and Jean Turney. It was difficult to get to sleep that night with anticipation of the next day. My prayers included gratitude that all was well. |
"God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe." |
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December 29 – The End of the World
After our relatively short morning flight (3.5 hrs), not only Ushuaia and all its colorful beauty greeted us, but so did our GTF South Pole Sisters. What a delight to see Addie Schafer and Tracy Crowley and feel of their energy as they were just ending their expedition with Lindblad and National Geographic. Ushuaia (oo-SHWY-ә). Yes, it took me a while to learn to pronounce the name of this most southern city on the map. Ushuaia is a locality where Christmas is the beginning of the summer holiday. From 1920-1947, Ushuaia was more commonly known as a destination for the convicts of Argentina. Surrounded by the Martial Mountains and the Beagle Channel, over the past 20 years this city at the end of the world has become a windswept resort town. The largest land mammal is the red fox, there are no reptiles or amphibians, but you will find hundreds of bird species and abundant marine fauna in the region. After a bus tour of Tierra Del Fuego’s National Park, we boarded a catamaran for lunch. While navigating around the Beagle Canal, dolphins, skuas, cormorants, black-browed albatross, and sea lions kept us company. After boarding the National Geographic Explorer, I put on a motion sickness patch. The Drake Passage reputation as a most treacherous and voyage with powerful convergences mainly stems from the dangerous crossings that sailors made in wooden ships years ago. Yes, the sea can produce up to 40-foot waves, but with the aid of GPS and weather forecasts, one can feel relatively safe. That doesn’t mean you won’t feel queasy or even downright sick. |
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and Ushuaia." |
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December 30- Drake Quake
With sizeable swells running beneath the keel and windy conditions on deck, many of the guests spent the day in their rooms. Both my shipmates battled sickness, despite the motion sickness patches. I must have been blessed with sea-legs (or a sea-stomach). During a presentation today, Conor Ryan said, "We feel wonderfully insignificant, so small,... when we visit Antarctica." I can't wait to feel wonderfully insignificant. |
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Each evening and sometimes during the day while at sea, presentations were shared by different naturalists and scientists on the expedition. I wish I would have been that obnoxious guest who set up a tripod with a video camera for each discussion. I was an oversaturated sponge trying to retain all that was offered.
PHYTOPLANKTON: Where it all begins. (image from pixabay.com)
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New to me is the grand dependence we all have on phytoplankton. This tiny plant, the lowest trophic level, could be considered as solar panels for the Antarctic ecosystem. Phytoplankton is responsible for half of the photosynthetic activity on earth. (Breathe in. Thank phytoplankton for that breath.😁) These organisms drift on the top layers of the ocean. They rely on sunlight to produce their food. They convert solar energy into chemical energy and store it as sugars, making them the perfect meal for zooplankton, such as krill. In turn, krill are the main diet of hundreds of different animals from fish, to penguins, to baleen whales.
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I expected the white and even the blue, but the bands of green took me by surprise!
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December 31- Scavenger Hunt and New Years Eve
This morning Captain Yuiry Tupikov sat down at our table for breakfast. He is delightful and has a fun sarcastic sense of humor. Jean, Erin, and I felt it was an honor to have him all to ourselves for a bit. (I will explain about his red, gold, and purple bracelet later. It was a gift from a student. ❤) We had another day of open ocean travel. and presentations. Dr. Robert Bindshadler, NASA Emeritus Scientist, gave a lecture titled WHAT ICE SHEETS HATE. What percentage of ALL ice in the world is located in Antarctica? 90%! The worst ice enemy is water. Ice sheets HATE water.
Naturalist Jared Funderburk was in charge of the youth program, Junior Naturalist. As teachers, we asked to join him. Thanks to a lot of pre-research about many of the staff and crew by Jean Turney, as South Pole Sisters, we were able to create a scavenger hunt for the kids. In groups, they were to match the name of naturalists and crew to the clue about them on the chart. Then, they were to ask for an interesting Antarctica fact. This occupied the children most of the afternoon as they made friends and learned more about the great white continent. Whenever there is downtime, my favorite place to go is the bridge. I've been told that many ships do not have an "open bridge" invitation, but the Explorer welcomes visitors. It was often quieter on the bridge. You could sit, look through binoculars, watch the birds in flight, and get lost in your own thoughts. Usually, expedition leader, Jimmy White, or other naturalists were on the bridge. One-on-one questions and answer time provided fabulous learning opportunities. In the evenings, Safety Officer, Richard Jensen, was in charge of the bridge. His youthful look may betray his experience and knowledge. He loved to play music from my era and is almost as sarcastic as Captain Yuiry. 😆 Richard is from Sweden. He is a fabulous photographer. You can follow him on Instagram at richardjensen.photography. Captain Yuiry had two goals for the day. First, outrun the storm. Second, go as far south as possible for this time of year. We reached both his goals! Just after midnight, we crossed the 66.34 latitudes with a bridge full of people cheering louder than any New Years' Eve celebration. The National Geographic Explorer was the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle line that season. The ship hosted a New Year's Eve party complete with a live band put together by the crew from the Philippines. They call themselves "The Spice Boys." While most danced and partied, I found myself wandering back up to the bridge. 
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Captain Yuiry Tupikov
Jared Funderburk, teaching Junior Naturalists
Scavenger Hunting
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January 1- Best New Years Day Ever! To ring in the new year (2020), we traveled by zodiac to Red Rock Ridge and took our first steps on the Antarctic continent. Many of the guests on this expedition came so they could boast traversing all seven continents in the world. For me, experiencing first-hand a virtually uninhabited pristine piece of God's great earth, a richly blessed ecosystem during the calendar period with unparalleled light, this journey was spiritually elevating. I believe this earth and all things on it are a part of God's plan and should be used responsibly to sustain the human family. Expanding knowledge of the interconnectedness of man and nature perpetuates planetary stewardship. "For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures. I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine." To not overwhelm the biological community, half the group explored the coastline of Marguerite Bay while others went to shore. Adélie penguins were abundant at Red Rock Ridge, with an occasional Waddell seal slumbering near the shore. I could have stayed all day just watching the waddle. Did you know penguins' waddle helps conserve energy? As their bodies swing from side to side like a pendulum, the momentum built conserves effort for the next step. Maybe we should all waddle a little more. With my first encounter with crabeater, I learned this docile creature should really be called the krill-eater seal. They don't eat crab! The Swedish word for krill is 'crub.' It's believed crubeater was mistakenly translated to crabeater. The captain tried to visit Stonington Station , but sea ice stopped us in our tracks. Instead, he navigated to a perfect picnic spot to host a barbecue on the back deck of the ship. The temperature of 42℉ left us basking in the sunshine eating hotdogs. 
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Steve Morello was our zodaic guide on January 1. Some of his photography tips I hope to incorporate include:
Framed by an iceberg, National Geographic Explorer
-photo credit: Steve Morello 
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January 2
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January 3
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January 4
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January 5
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January 6
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Janaury 7
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