The New York Times reviews Cairo Time, a film about an American woman awaiting her U.N.-diplomat-husband in Egypt, spending her days working through the sites and city. While the film has received a tepid response from critics, the stunning vistas – including The Pyramids of Giza, hovering where the modern metropolis meets the desert, have heard only acclaim. Cinematographer Luc Montpellier takes home some of the credit, but much of it belongs to the incredible sites surrounding Cairo. If you’ve see Cairo Time and feel inspired to see some of The Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Luxor and much more, make sure to check out our Egypt expedition, which includes a Nile cruise.  

The New York Times today covered something that often goes over looked in the spectacular shadows of Machu Picchu – birding. When guests stand at the Sun Gate and admire the spectacular view of the ancient ruins, it’s easy to miss the endemic birds flying past. If the New York Times article inspires you to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu and explore the ruins and see the wildlife, check out our 8-day, Exploring Peru: Land of the Inca.

 

A crate of Scotch left in the Antarctic ice by explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was removed this spring and sent to a New Zealand museum. While entombed in the ice, the 1896 alcohol never froze in spite of the -22F average temperatures over the last 100 years. The stash has since been thawed and opened to reveal 11 bottles of Mackinlay’s Scotch, still ensconced in paper and straw for the rough trip through to Antarctic on their 1907 expedition.

Sadly, the scotch is not for tasting. It will be extracted via syringe struck through the corks, and studied in an effort to replicate the now extinct blend. Once that’s done, the crates will be repackaged and shipped back to Shackleton’s hut in Antarctica where the cases will be replaced below the floorboards.

If you’re interested in walking in the footsteps of Shackleton (and talking about his exploits over a glass of whiskey), check out our Antarctica cruise that includes South Georgia and the Falkland Islands – places rich in Shackleton lore.

 

Lindblad Expeditions is looking for a Director of Expedition Operations and Contracting to work in our New York office. This important role will manage and lead the Expedition Operations Department.

 

He or she will perform the critical functions of costing/contracting, expedition operations support, product delivery, vendor communications and management of land services inventories.

 

If you’re interested in joining us at a fun and dynamic workplace, check us out online and apply here.

 

I’m not sure what’s more surprising – that Antarctica has a newspaper or that it took them so long to get around to interviewing Lindblad Expeditions Leader Lisa Trotter. She spent this winter as site manger of the Palmer Station in Antarctica, awaiting her return to work aboard National Geographic Explorer. Lisa is the only person we know of who’s learned to scuba dive and completed her diver certification in Antarctica. See some of her underwater photography, and read about her winter job at the Antarctic Palmer Station.

 

A guest on the most recent National Geographic Explorer Arctic cruise near Svalbard sent us this photo, shot during his expedition. It meets the requirements, and would be certain contender if he submits it for the National Geographic Expedition Moments Photo Contest. The photo contest offers a shot at winning a Lindblad Expeditions Antarctica cruise.

The Expedition Moments Photo Contest is a chance to go farther and explore more – the grand prize is a Lindblad Expedition to Antarctica aboard National Geographic Explorer. The photo contest is open to anyone who’s clicked a shutter on a Lindblad-National Geographic Expedition since 2006. Simply select your best photo, and digitally upload it to National Geographic. If you’re looking for inspiration, take a look at some past winners or check out our Antarctica cruise itinerary.

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." These memorable words by Naturalist and author John Muir came to mind on my way to work at Lindblad’s New York office this morning.

Taking advantage of the beautiful day, I took a longer walking route, which cut through 23rd Street and Madison Square Park. At the south end of the park a worker was cleaning the bronze statue of a long-passed and, if not for a name plate, indistinguishable statesman. Who was this lucky guy? None other than William Seward, New York Governor, Senator and, later, Secretary of State who brokered the purchase of Alaska Territory from Russia in 1867, often referred to as “Seward’s Folly.” He is said to be the first New Yorker to be honored with a statue in the city.

Seward’s life was marked by much more than his “folly,” which we at Lindblad have thanked him for every summer for soon to be 30 years of exploring Alaska’s Inside Passage. Interestingly enough, on the night of April 14, 1865, as John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln (whom Seward had garnered more first ballot votes than in the 1860 election, but ultimately lost the race), Seward was attacked by a Booth conspirator. He suffered severe wounds and barely survived. If Seward had died that evening, just two years before the purchase of Alaska, the entire region might still be a Russian territory. We all – John Muir included – might never have been able to be inspired by it.

As we pick out these historical events and figures by themselves we find that they are in fact hitched to everything else in the universe. We find that they lead down paths of limitless direction and turn even the most forgotten pages of history. Today, we delight that they are all hitched to Alaska.

Jonathan Weiner followed two biologists who spent 20 years studying generations of finches in Galápagos for his book, The Beak of the Finch. He would win the Pulitzer Prize for his narrative that chronicled the relatively quick evolutionary changes in the species, which ran counter to Darwin’s ideas that evolution is a very slow process.

Weiner is back with a new book, Long for this World, which follows theoretical scientist Aubrey de Grey, a researcher seeking regenerative tissue-repair strategies that would allow humans to have an indefinite lifespan. The New York Times covered Long for this World in their Sunday Book Review, but you could have the chance to ask Jonathan Weiner about the book in person – he’s joining us as one of our Global Luminaries on an upcoming Galápagos cruise aboard National Geographic Endeavour.

Jonathan Weiner is scheduled to cruise Galápagos aboard Endeavour in August 2011.