Antarctic Vistas
Antarctica Final Days Our last outing in this beautiful white world is to Deception Island, one of the South Shetland Islands, a known stopping off place for whalers in their… Read more »
Author Archives: Varya
Whale Tales
Antarctica Days 8-9 What a superlative day! In the morning, the ship stopped at Recess Cove and we headed out in zodiacs, fully suited for the cold. We had 2 naturalists with… Read more »
Ice and Cuverville Island
Antarctica Day 7 We awoke to bright sunshine and beautiful white vistas outside our cabin window. But, as one example of how quickly weather changes here, by the time we had… Read more »
Beauty and Whales
Antarctica Days 5-6 We just returned from our morning zodiac outing into Paradise Bay, the location of the Brown Argentinian research station. Cold with a moving fog bank that obscured our… Read more »
Cierva Cove, Rocks & Penguins
Antarctica Days 3-4 In order to prevent contamination of the pristine environment of Antarctica, this ship has developed strict protocols for cleaning of shoes when leaving and re-entering the ship. … Read more »
Welcome to Antarctica
Days 1-2 I am looking out our cabin verandah doors toward a calm sea where large turquoise-centered blocks of ice float by. Suddenly, there is a flash of a curved back… Read more »
Allahabad to Delhi Movement
India is a never ending adventure, every moment. I am in a private lounge at the Allahabad Train Station which is a small restaurant temporarily converted with comfortable chairs… Read more »
Kumbh Mela Immersion
This Maha Kumbh Mela is the supreme example of both the power and the absurdity of some religious practices. The amazing power of belief that will bring people together from… Read more »
Kumbh Mela Time
Every 12 years there is a gathering of the spiritual heads and devotees of various Hindu and related sects in India in Prayagraj, formerly called Allahabad. And after 12… Read more »
Varanasi Today
I remember Varanasi clearly from 1965 and there is little resemblance today — except for the eternal Ganges river which is its heart and soul. Urban sprawl has gulped… Read more »