Jessica Gee of The Bucket List Family shares what it’s like to travel the world with her husband and three children and how to find “joy in the journey.”
In this episode of In Good Company, learn the basics of birding from Christian Cooper, author and host of National Geographic TV’s "Extraordinary Birder."
Today
was an incredible last day of our remarkable journey aboard National
Geographic Venture . We spent the morning at Isla Coronados, a spectacular
volcanic island with pristine beaches and remarkable bird life, including a
large colony of nesting yellow-footed gulls. Some guests explored the island,
walking along beautiful oceanic coastlines to another beach a few miles away.
The rest of us ventured out into the water to explore the underwater world. We
snorkeled along a rich reef teeming with life. A highlight was the hairy-armed
ghost shrimp, amazing shrimp that burrow deep into the sand, but can be coaxed
out with a small offering of algae. In
the evening, we enjoyed an amazing reflection of our trip with the after-dinner
guest slideshow. While we’re sad to be disembarking tomorrow morning, this
truly was a remarkable journey we’ll never forget. Photos by Lindblad team members Russell Laman, Shayne Sanders, and Sabina Allemann.
We weighed anchor just before dawn then traveled through the Canal de Soledad, observing many species of shore birds in the adjacent mangroves, desert, and sand dunes. We also were honored with an escort of bow-riding bottlenose dolphins, an overflying eagle, and a beach-patrolling coyote. We eventually anchored off El Barril for an exquisite two hours of kayaking or Zodiac cruising along a rich mangrove forest under clear and sunny skies with no wind. Absolutely perfect conditions. After lunch we traveled to, and anchored off, an isolated beach on Isla Magdalena. We then hiked for about a mile over stunning sand dunes to the several mile long Sand Dollar Beach and the Pacific Ocean. The beach was filled with shells of all kinds and sand dollar tests (of course!), all of this combined with the sound of crashing surf. Hiking over the dunes back to the landing site was again memorable and all of us will inadvertently carry fine-grained sand home in various articles of clothing! Before boarding the Zodiacs, we enjoyed cocktails on the beach. Dinner was followed by the traditional guest slide show. Memories were shared, relived, and stored in minds and devices for endless references in the future.
Our day started with a very relaxing kayak excursion at El Mirador de la Baronesa. As we returned to the beach, we had a chance to refresh ourselves with a snorkel around Champion Islet. We wrapped up our beautiful day with a visit to Cormorant Point Beach where we had the opportunity to relax a little bit after all of our fun activities of the day.
Today was our first full day of this expedition and our introductory exploration was of Española Island. In the morning, we went for a stroll at Gardner Bay, very well known for its large colony of sea lions. Crystal clear waters were the perfect way to start our morning and our first snorkeling outing. During the afternoon, we explored by Zodiac the breathtaking coastal cliffs of Punta Suarez where we could spot different species, such as sea lions, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and Sally Lightfoot crabs.
Today, we let the mercurial Patagonian weather determine the direction of our adventures. The morning saw us exploring Parry Fjord, once visited by the HMS Beagle in its hydrographic duties in the 18th century. An eerie backdrop of bleached Nothofagus trees (also called southern beeches) framed our expedition. We ambled along a pebbled beach and explored a peat-tinted waterfall. On our return to the ship, we were treated to submarine footage from Staten Island that was collected and presented by our incredible underwater team. After a sumptuous lunch of local grilled delicacies, we took advantage of a good weather window to reach Jackson Bay. Part of Karukinka Natural Park, the bay is home to a colony of elephant seals. A flock of guanacos surprised us as we hiked through the forest to a serene waterfall. Our operation was masterfully timed to take advantage of the changing elements and conditions in these Fuegian regions. A tapestry of sunshine and storms followed us as we continued our endeavor through the fjords.