Describing the Indescribable

Dear Family and Friends ---

The most amazing two weeks of my life (Art was pretty impressed, too, but he tends to be a bit more understated than I am ;-D ) came to a close on Saturday, June 11th. The National Geographic Explorer - an incredible ship that had been our home for those two weeks - docked in Longyearben in the Svalbard Archipelago, far north of the Arctic Circle. We said goodbye to her amazing officers, crew and staff, we said goodbye to her dedicated team of naturalists and professional photographers, and we said goodbye to a special group of fellow passengers who we now are honored to call friends. We also had to say goodbye to the unbelievable beauty that is the Svalbard Archipelago. We then walked down the gangplank with a tremendous new respect for our natural world and a great big bunch of new and very precious memories.

Since our disembarkation, we've been on the go, first picking up our "wee little motorhome" in Hamburg, Germany, and then staying for several very special days with Art's cousin Johannes and his wife Mie in Denmark. Art has also been trying to shake a cold caught on the ship which is why you hadn't been seeing any of his new photos. But he's now feeling much better and is back at work on his blog (http://arts-work.blogspot.com).

We are now in Sweden, heading to Stockholm for the Midsummer Holiday (what we call Summer Solstice in the U.S.). Midsummer is a national holiday in Sweden so we are heading to Stockholm's Skansen Museum to take in all the festivities.

But we did want to take some time to get in touch with family and friends back home before we go and play some more.

But in trying to figure out how best to share with you those two weeks on board the National Geographic Explorer, I have come to this conclusion: I don't think I can do it.

And here's why: how does one properly describe the indescribable beauty of the Norwegian fjords? With their towering cliffs, their many magnificent waterfalls, the snow-capped peaks as a background, I felt we had been transported into the most beautiful of fantasy worlds.

And how does one properly describe the jaw-dropping awe of seeing not one, not two, but THREE blue whales – the largest animals on our planet – swimming together, back and forth, just in front of the bow of the ship?

And how does one properly describe the sights AND sounds of hundreds of thousands of nesting sea birds (you read that right...hundreds of thousands, as confirmed by our naturalists), lined up side by side like little soldiers on the multitude of cliff ledges on a rocky island in the middle of the Barents Sea? There were Atlantic Puffins flying so close to the zodiac you could almost stretch your hand out and touch them!

And how does one properly describe the impressive yet humorous walrus? When our zodiac approached one group, all we could see at first was a big brown mound. As they became aware of our presence, one by one they would lift their heads, showing us their incredible tusks. Sensing no threat from our little band of adventurers, they would then give a satisfied snort and settle back down.

And how does one properly describe the spine-tingling thrill of seeing a polar bear in its natural habitat, walking, loping, running, protecting a kill (most probably a seal) from a group of very determined and very brave gulls?

And finally, how in the world does one properly describe the indescribable feeling of looking at a polar bear who is looking right back at you?

So you see, there simply is no way to describe the indescribable.

What I would like to do, instead, is to let Art's photos convey what my words cannot. But do this for me, if you would...as you view Art's memorable photos (to me, anyway), imagine yourself on the bow of the ship. Yes, it is cold, but you are warmly dressed and totally distracted from the cold by what you are seeing. You are accompanied by the ship's other passengers, but no one is saying a word. It is nearly completely silent. All you can hear is the crunching of the ice as the captain moves the ship ever so slowly up the icy fjord.

It is so quiet that you can actually hear the spouting of the blue whales, the snorting of the walruses, the grumble of the polar bear as he chases away a determined little ivory gull. And, of course, you can hear the staccato clicks of over a hundred cameras as they try to capture all these special moments.

I will still be sharing with you some of my impressions of those aspects of our trip on the National Geographic Explorer that I feel I can describe. But for now, all I can say is that this trip went far beyond our expectations and we'll treasure the memories of it for the rest of our lives.