Astronaut and Moon-walker Buzz Aldrin will explore with us on his first voyage to Antarctica on Jan. 7, 2010. We asked him two questions and here are his answers.

What are you looking forward to the most about your upcoming expedition to Antarctica?  
Exploring an area I have not seen – one of the few places in the world I haven’t been to yet. And, I’m looking forward to explaining to the expedition passengers the significant exploration events of the past and what I have in mind for the future. Strongly suggesting and working out for the present administration what would lead to settling on Mars in 25 years.  No colonies of Emperor penguins on Mars, though there is a polar ice cap about 1/4 the size of Antarctica’s ice cupola.

How long do you think it will be before tourism to the moon really takes off?
Fly bys of the moon for space tourists could take place as early as 15 – 20 years from now. But tourism on the surface will probably be after 50 years in the future. 25 years after beginning to have permanent settlers on Mars.

By Rebecca Kleinberg, Expedition Speciaist

At Lindblad Expeditions, we like ships. So when the USS New York pulled into port at Pier 88 on the Hudson River in New York City for the first time, fellow Expedition Specialist Jessica Watson and I had to see it.  Personally, I am not too familiar with navy ships. I am much more familiar with expedition ships, such as the ships that take our guests all over the world.

When we got there, people were milling around and there was excitement in the air. The first thing that stuck me about the ship is that it is completely smooth around the hull with no windows. “All inside cabins” I thought to myself. The hull itself is something to marvel at. It contains seven and a half tons of steel recovered from the twin towers site. You know that has to be strong! Another co-worker rode her bike past it the previous night, and reports that reports that it is impossible to see in the dark. Indeed, the USS New York is a stealth ship that is a source of pride to the people of New York.

That means you have to respect Paul Nicklen. We blogged about him on November 3, but since that time Paul’s new photography book Polar Obsession has been released. He has a video on YouTube with almost 600,000 hits and an npr interview.

Click here to view a video of Paul describing his encounters in the Antarctic with a leopard seal. And, click here to listen to the interview that Paul gave on npr. The leopard seal is front and center on both video and audio. He speaks of his amazing encounters with the female leopard seal and the excitement in his voice describes the relationship he developed with this huge, deadly predator. She was attempting to feed him (or feed his camera mount, which she may have thought was his mouth) while he was in the water with her.

Paul sometimes used our expedition ships as base and logistical support when he set off to capture photos. We’re happy to be part of his network.

Kim Heacox can tell you. Click through and click on the "start video" icon to begin a clip of polar bears in the Arctic. Toward the end of the clip you will hear Kim Heacox very clearly define the difference between a “cruise” and an expedition.

And, you’ll learn how amazing and emotional it is to see polar bears on their native ice. One guest feels that, through sighting a polar bear, she made a “heart connection.” That’s a wonderful expression of how visiting the Arctic can add to your perspective.

If you are interested in:
• Exploring culturally rich regions
• Traveling with renowned historians
• Learning from remarkable local experts
• Kayaking in the Aegean
• Swimming at isolated beaches
• Having an enormous amount of fun while learning

Join us for a FREE Webinar:
TONIGHT Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 at 8pm (EST), 5pm (PST)

Professor and Historian Bob Hohlfelder and Lindblad Expeditions' Biologist and Expedition Leader Michelle Graves will take you on a virtual expedition through three itineraries in Greece and the Dalmatian Coast.

Learn why our small group expeditions are ideal.
See historic sites in an intimate, personal way.

>> Click here to register - FREE!
>> Mark your calendar

by Ben Lyons 

Members of our field staff are so enthusiastic about their jobs and where they travel that they can find a dolphin in New York City. This week, we enjoyed having National Geographic Explorer Hotel Manager Patrik Svardmyr, National Geographic Explorer Assistant Expedition Leader Kendra Nelsen and Photography Specialist Mike Nolan in the office for a few days of meetings in a setting that was far removed from their normal stomping grounds. (Although they could look out the windows in our office and see a bit of New York Harbor…they didn’t feel too landlocked.)

While Mike has traveled extensively to some of the most remote areas in the world, he had never been to New York before. Several of us took him to Times Square after dinner, and he became particularly excited when suddenly, one on of the many giant video screens, an image of a dolphin momentarily flashed up in an advertisement. Here, at last, was something he was familiar with. His reaction was instantaneous: “I knew if I waited long enough, I’d be able to find a cetacean in Times Square!”...

Lynn Fowler, longtime Expedition Leader in Galápagos, credits her uncle Jim with her love of the natural world. Uncle Jim is Jim Fowler, host of the award-winning Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Jim will travel wilh us on two Arctic expeditions in 2010, Land of the Ice Bears departing August 6, and Beyond the North Cape departing August  13. Lynn will join him on one departure. You may decide you’d like to join him as well.

"I came by my love of the natural world and of adventure quite honestly! Some of my earliest memories are of following my father’s younger brother, Jim around our back yard in St. Louis, MO while he fed and trained the hawks and falcons he had on wooden perches. No one else in our neighborhood got to jog with a pet cheetah named Arthur or fed egg and bread crumbs to two lovely giant anteaters, Annette and Yvette. We took care of a reticulated giraffe, Reggie, on our farm in Albany, GA, I raised a wolf pup and became an amateur falconer when I raised and trained three baby kestrels that were removed from a nest in a barn that was being destroyed. I listened intently to Jim’s exciting stories of his travels to Africa, South America and the Arctic. Never, even for a moment, did I doubt that I would study Zoology and explore the natural world as my Uncle Jim did. It is wonderful that I will see my first polar bears with Aunt Betsey and Uncle Jim on the new National Geographic Explorer!"

Lynn Fowler

Here we are 20 years later. And, in her speech at the Wall this morning Chancellor Angela Merkel “thanked Mikhail Gorbachev for making change possible in East Germany…Merkel, who grew up in East Germany and was one of thousands to cross that night, recalled that 'before the joy of freedom came, many people suffered.’”

Click here to view one network's take on this historic event. There are videos and slideshows to illustrate the fall of the Wall, as well as today’s celebration of its 20-year anniversary.

Mikhail Gorbachev and Former President of Poland Lech Walesa are among those present at the Wall today. And, guests traveling with us this coming summer on  Exploring the Baltic’s Historic Waterways expeditions will have the opportunity to meet with both Mr. Gorbachev and Mr. Walesa.

The following story was published this week in the New York Times. It’s amazing how technology allows us to dig deeper and deeper into the past. In this case to help discover how a volcanic eruption 3,000 years ago may well have reverberations today. Thera, or Santorini as we call it, where this huge eruption took place, is a stop on our Greece expeditions.

In the Mediterranean, Killer Tsunami’s from an Ancient Eruption.

by William J. Broad

Published November 2, 2009

“The massive eruption of the Thera volcano in the Aegean Sea more than 3,000 years ago produced killer waves that raced across hundreds of miles of the Eastern Mediterranean to inundate the area that is now Israel and probably other coastal sites, a team of scientists has found.”  Click here to read the article.

Photo is an aerial view of Santorini today.

For anyone interested in the natural history of Alaska or Antarctica, Kim Heacox is of “rock star” status. He was a Special Consultant for Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. And, with Shackleton: The Antarctic Challenge, Kim cemented his place as a Shackleton Scholar. Kim has written four books for National Geographic, but Deadly Beauty, which accompanies Paul Nicklen’s images, is the first essay he's contributed to National Geographic magazine. (We blogged about Paul's images Tuesday.) Kim often joins our Expedition Teams as Naturalist on select Arctic, Antarctic and Alaska expeditions.

Right now he is aboard National Geographic Explorer just about to welcome the first guests traveling to Antarctica this season. He wrote an entry for the blog.

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“With snow down to the waterline in the Beagle Passage, and the white peaks of Tierra del Fuego bold against a blue sky, the National Geographic Explorer sails for Antarctica, Terra Australis Incognita, to begin another exciting summer season in Antarctica, the land of penguins, petrels and the alpha predatory among them, the leopard seal.

I had the good fortune to write the leopard seal essay that accompanied Paul Nicklen's stunning, prize-winning photos in National Geographic magazine, September 2009 issue. Paul had the nerve to get in the water with the seals, but he got shots unlike any taken ever before or since. I find that just approaching the seals on the ship, or in a Zodiac, motoring up quietly as they sleep on an ice floe, is hugely rewarding. The seal awakens, opens his massive mouth for a big yawn, and goes back to sleep, or slips into the water to transform from a static ice-bound animal to a snake in the sea, fluid, graceful, powerful. What the lion is to Africa the leopard seal is to Antarctica. We see them on every trip.”

-Kim Heacox