If you happened to be on an Antarctic cruise or wandering around Patagonia and you notice someone — six feet tall, short hair and dressed like a vagrant in threadbare duds — that would be me. I’m the guy whose jeans have giant holes in the knees (“Very 1980s,” I’m told), holey t-shirts (we’ve all loved many of those) and a gaping breach in the sole of his right sandal.
Wearing my Sunday best for a slideshow presentation aboard the MS Expedition to Antarctica
And one rather reluctant word about my underwear: Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Travel by: Daniel Noll
25 Comments | 31 March 2010
Wondering why we’ve been quiet recently? Here are some clues as to what we’ve been up to. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Chile, Panorama, Photography, South America by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
12 Comments | 26 March 2010
Filed Under: Antarctica, Travel, Videos by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
26 Comments | 18 March 2010
Life’s journeys play host to the constant battle of expectations and delivery. Antarctica was no different except that our expectations of it were within inches of the stratosphere given the mystique and the cost of the trip. However, we did not carry a must-see checklist outlining this bit of wildlife or that bit of landscape, this scene or that moment. We could not really quantify our desires — we had simply hoped to be overwhelmed.
Then, on that first Antarctic morning, we stepped foot off the gangway of the MS Expedition and into a zodiac. It was clear that we were about to be blown away — but in a way that none of us had quite expected.
Continue Reading »
- Antarctica Update #1: The Drake Passage, From Killer Waves to Killer Whales
- Antarctica, Part 3: Penguins, The Key to Happiness and World Peace?
- Antarctica, Part 2: Honest Antarctica – Gray Skies, Blue Ice
- Antarctica, Part 4: An Audio Slideshow
Filed Under: Antarctica, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
23 Comments | 15 March 2010
Throughout this journey, it has continually been impressed upon me that being a woman in many parts of the world is still no easy task. The force of prejudice and the impact of poor education, difficult working conditions, low pay and limited access to medical care make life challenging for women around the world.
Hope remains, however.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Hope for Humanity, Perspectives, Photography by: Audrey Scott
15 Comments | 8 March 2010
The MS Expedition, our ship to Antarctica, docked in Ushuaia, Argentina before departure.
As a teacup and breakfast plate sailed by Wednesday morning, followed by a fellow passenger or two, it again occurred to me that no story of a destination is complete without recounting the process of getting there.
A journey to Antarctica from Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost point of South America requires crossing the Drake Passage, an infamous body of water that serves as a rite of passage for those who seek the seventh continent. The seas are notoriously some of the roughest in the world. To wit, one reader pointed out before we departed, “The Drake Passage can be brutal. I was bed-ridden for 4 days.”
Hard to believe, perhaps, until you experience it first-hand. Continue Reading »
- Antarctica Update #1: The Drake Passage, From Killer Waves to Killer Whales
- Antarctica, Part 3: Penguins, The Key to Happiness and World Peace?
- Antarctica, Part 2: Honest Antarctica – Gray Skies, Blue Ice
- Antarctica, Part 4: An Audio Slideshow
Filed Under: Antarctica, Travel by: Daniel Noll
26 Comments | 5 March 2010
To be hugged by a rodent of unusual size (ROUS)?
Despite all the itinerary changes we made during our Latin American journey, we never took Paraguay off the table. Maybe that’s because we knew virtually nothing about it. We hadn’t met anyone who’d been. That few others traveled there was an indication that we should. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Paraguay, South America, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
19 Comments | 5 March 2010
When we browse photos from a faraway place to which we’ve never been, we find that the entire visual panorama — the faces, the clothing, the landscape — looks so similar that it blurs any lines of distinction.
When you get up close, though, all the subtle differences have a way of evincing themselves more clearly. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Photography, South America by: Daniel Noll
6 Comments | 3 March 2010
If you consider yourself a travel blogger, I have a question for you: Do your travels determine your blogging? Or does your blogging determine your travels?
In other words, does your blogging life – your online persona and community – actively play a role in how you choose your travel destinations and activities?
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Blogging, Travel by: Daniel Noll
48 Comments | 1 March 2010
