Days 4, 5 Svalbard

Well my goodness me. My sbcglobal email account was deactivated for some unknown reason and I won't be able to find out till I return home. It's been hectic trying to figure out what to do to stay in touch with my world. So for now please use my iCloud email (j.golub@me.com) above in the FROM field. You might want to cc the sbcglobal one also just in case.....

Yesterday we had two outings. The morning was 1.5 hours zodiac cruise seeing lots of birds. I came here to see polar bears, I said. I can hardly see these little birds in their small nests but it was a nice cruise. 

In the afternoon we had a special stop at a weather station and a walk around a beautiful area where the puffins were.  Getting pictures was another feat of wet belly photography and avoiding falling off a cliff. Needless to say I did not do that. No industrial accidents so far. 

There was a tiny store there about the size of the bathroom on the ship. 

It was sunny and warm and we all took off our red parkas and enjoyed ourselves. 

The guides are wonderful at guiding us, especially us older folks, up and down the rocks. We are well taken care of. 

We invited a lady who was traveling alone to join us for dinner and that worked out very well. She is American from DC and now lives in England. 

I'm told not to send pictures as it's too slow and I'm using the ship's wifi. Sorry about that. 

Today, Saturday, we had a cruise around some glaciers. We also saw small icebergs, some calving, and birds. Well the birds were well located and though I thought I could see them I was photographing a rock. I don't see

                    well and they aren't big birds. Where are the polar bears, I ask!!!!

Now people are going ashore for an hour walk with trekking poles in wet and rainy conditions. No bears or we could not go. We are learning a lot about the plants and how they survive the winters. It's very gloomy out today where as yesterday was warm and sunny. 

Later we will have a recap and find out what the schedule is for tomorrow. Bears, walrus, fox, seals, whales.....now those things I can see. Hope I get to.     

Much love, J

Day 3 on way to Bear Island

The first part got cut off and can't remember what it was supposed to be. So sorry.

r one day at sea and to sleep in after much travel. Some people are sick from the rocking of the boat but it's nothing like it was in Drake Passage in Antarctica.

At 9:30 am we were awakened with the terribly loud speaker system in both English and German that a lecture would be starting in half hour.

Alma and I got up and dashed to breakfast which would end at ten. We then came back to our room and got showered and dressed.  Then we went to a great photo lecture.

There was another Interruption during the lecture as two humpback whales and a bunch of dolphins were seen from deck so off we went cameras in hand.

The problem for me is that the whales were too far away and after the tail fluke I got in Alaska in 1992 I'm a bit picky about taking pictures of a dorsal fin way in the distance.

Back to the lecture, back to the room, and then off to lunch. You see everything happens here by the meals and that's how we know what we are doing or have done.

Then we had the obligatory zodiac lecture of what we can and cannot do. I'm just hoping we see polar bears.

We are on our way to Bear Island where we will stop and zodiac around to see birds. What's wrong with this picture???  We might see bears and limestone drive through caves.

Today is the Captain's Reception and dinner. No it's not dressy. Change of shirt and men will probably wear slacks instead of jeans. My kind of travel.

Love, J

Reception was nice but my goodness some people were all dressed up. In Antarctica it was very casual and of course eight of us had no luggage so you can imagine how we looked. Dinner was good but a store went out and ours was delayed. We spent three hours but it still seemed like 6:30 when we left the dining room.

Tomorrow we zodiac around Bear Island but won't get out of the zodiac. It's our first outing. Looking forward.

Good night all. Love, J

Our group.

Golubgazette.blogspot.com

Day 2 boarding the ship

Hi everybody.  There won't be cell service for much more time so you may not here from me. But I will keep writing my blog and put it together when I can. Haven't figured out how to attach pictures so may resort to email blog.

Today, Wed June 26, we flew to Tromso where we boarded our ship the Silver Explorer. It is the same ship I was on in Antarctica in 2011. It's just been renamed.

We were recognized by some of the staff - guess we made an impression on our last visit. Got checked in, photo ID made for getting back on ship after zodiac rides, had champagne, life vest drill, met the staff and dinner. Still very tired and many of us retiring early.

Tomorrow we are at sea all day and have lectures, games, and events thoughout the day. Of course there are meals and nap times scheduled.  We have a choice of 117 movies and documentaries to watch so that will occupy the day.

We are in the Arctic Circle. It is starting to get cold and the sun is up all the live long day and night.

Tromso is a beautiful little ski area. Very green right now dotted with snow on the peaks and you can see the ski runs and lights for night skiing. We didn't get a tour of the town but it looks small and quaint.

Our group:


Tromso, Norway




Sherry, JMG, Alma, Van and Jim and OE in back.

Will be in touch as much as possible.   Love, J


Judith Marx Golub
Golubgazette.blogspot.com
Tel:  650-941-5623
Cell: 650-906-5625

Day 1 On the way to Norway

Hi Family and Friends.

June 24 I left early evening on Scandinavian Air for Copenhagen and Oslo, where I am overnighting tonight. Things went like clockwork. What they call business class is really First class.

First my seat wouldn't work and the purser had to work on it and the one next to me, then the headpho es lost sound. But those are trivial items compared to what I have been dealing with and all worked out.

I actually got about four hours sleep on the first long leg so thought that would tied me over.

Once in Oslo we saw that our luggage arrived!!  Needless to saw that was nice but after having no luggage Anarctica I knew I would survive - and I had my meds in my carry on.

Our Silverseas pick up person, Ulf, took us on a twenty minute tour and it is beautiful here. Everything is lush and green.  We saw the palace where the King and Queen reside aand they are very well liked here.

My roommate, Alma Quigly from DE, arrive shortly after we did and then six of us got settled and then went across the street for dinner. It was a small place and the food was good.

Now I'm in my room after a lovely shower and it is still light out. We are nine hours ahead of CA.

We have an early start tomorrow and I'm going to get to sleep shortly. It's 8:45 PM as I type this. We fly to Tromo and will get on our ship, Silverseas Explorer, there. This is the same ship I was on in Anarctica only the name has been changed.

I miss talking to my family and friends at home and I especially miss my little Mabel. She is in good care with the day care people and living with a young man and his dog Norman.

Love, J


If you wish to be removed please send a blank email with REMOVE as the subject. No reason necessary.

Please don't send emails with a lot of attachments or large pictures to me.

Thank you so much. Love, J

2013 Arctic travels

Leaving for Norway and the Arctic - watch for news on my blog.

Love, J 

Judith Marx Golub

Golubgazette.blogspot.com

Traveling - Nov 15

Hi Family and Friends.  If you are checking in here just want to let you know I am in Quantus Lounge waiting for flight to Alice Springs.

I am feeling much better after a good sleep. Now the weather will get hot and dry. But soon I will be home to storms and rain and gray clouds. My favorite.

Love, J

Thursday, Nov 8

Hello everyone. We have gone from Strahan to Cradle Mountain and are now checking in at Launceston. The room is really nice here. It must be a condo. Kitchen and dishwasher but no washing machine.  WRONG - found the washing machine. What a thrill. No hand washing. We put in a load and went to Franco's for dinner. Now back and doing second load.

The most exciting thing is that we stopped in Trowunna, an animal park, and saw wildlife.  Held a wombat, petted a Tasmanian Devil, and fed kangaroos.  Got some pictures but having trouble getting them on my iPad to upload for you. It was raining when we got there but who cared. Really fun to see the animals and those who know me know that animals are my passion for photography.

The Devils in the wild have cancer and they are looking for a cure. Meanwhile they are breeding in captivity in the hopes of eventually releasing to the wild. They are adorable, will eat anything including the bones and fur of an animal. We saw six males being fed.

We saw some large birds that looked a little like geese and they roam with the kangaroos. Also saw a Quoll and yellow possum which I have actually seen twice in my front yard at home.

Beautiful scenery on the way. The mountains and hills and fields are all green, full of cows and sheep.

BTW our bus driver is also the guide and talks to us while driving. Even on the winding roads. He's very good. And our tour bus is a Mercedes.

Tomorrow we fly to Sydney. We start to meet up with other people and our other tour. This is Boomerang group and Frances and I will join the Penguin group. It looks very confusing but knowing Melita she has it all worked out.