August Updates

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Orust, Sweden, 27 August 2015

Time is flying and we are already in the end of the beautiful month of August. I haven´t been much on the internet during this summer which is the reason for quite a silent time on the my blog lately.

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Our ongoing film project is in editing process and I will be back with more information about this production, which is a coopreation between Crystal Water Film Production and Swedish National Television. To give a little hint about the content, it includes both Scandinavian-, Azorean- and Mediterranean waters and what efforts there are made to protect our seas. More about it soon :-)

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"Sharing my passion for wonderful planet Earth. Nature and wildlife, underwater and above. To inspirit life, raise awareness and inspire others..."

A couple of months ago, I finally made an official page on Facebook for sharing updates from both film- and photo projects, blog posts, ongoing expeditions as well as upcoming events etc. Check it out and follow if you like! :-)

You find the page HERE.

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In case you missed it or want to read it again, here is a link to the interview Drysuitdive made with me earlier this summer:

www.drysuitdive.com/featured-diver-of-the-month-birgitta-mueck

I met Drysuitdive during Waterproof Expeditions Antarctica trip in March 2015. More about Waterproof Expeditions and our upcoming trips to be seen on the blog soon as well :-)

Posted by Birgitta Mueck on Monday, May 25, 2015

More from me in a bit when having more time in better communication-zone again! Until then there will be more time spent out in field, in both salty areas as well as more forested places.

The long Scandinavian summer evenings are now getting shorter and we start to be able spending time enjoying the stars without going to bed too late... ;-) 

Here is a pic from one of our many wonderful August evenings at the Swedish west coast, at the fresh water lake just after sunset :-)

Swedish West Coast Summer!

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Orust Island, Sweden, 7th of July 2015

Some pics from my current time spent on the island Orust, at the Swedish west coast. This neck of the woods is where I am grown up...

I love being up with the sun and to start my day in the water. The rising sun is reflecting herself in the total quiet sea, the only movements on the water is made by myself when jumping into the salty surrounding. It is 5AM and no people are to be seen around...

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Better conditions for sea kayaking is hard to find. Even though the day is filled with scheduled activities and work, I find time for some hours of paddling. Feeling so free and happy! :-)

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Days like these are perfect for diving and we have lately been out for making some additional shots for our upcoming production.

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I´m feeling grateful for being surrounded by 24 hours of beauty each day! If I could eat with my eyes, I would eat a lot... ;-)

This is the evening scenery seen some few meter from my door...

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The scenery never looks the same, the beauty changes in many ways and colours, each day and evening has its new surprises.

This fresh water lake is a perfect place for a final swim before heading towards bed and dreamland...

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I do admit that it is very hard finding the right time for sleeping when there are so much beauty in nature to admire all day and night long.

But still I need a lot of sleep for keep being the active creature I like continuing to be, so I finally say god night for finding some peaceful rest before it is time for another beautiful, charming day.

On air at Norwegian National Television

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Our film:

"Expedition Red Sea -half a century later"

 will be broadcasted 

Monday 15th of June 2015

NRK2

7:45PM (local Norwegian time)

NRK on the net: www.nrk.no

Another Paradise :-)

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 Orust, Sweden, 12th of June 2015

Early summer at the Swedish west coast is so beautiful. Well, I truly enjoy all the seasons we have here, but here and now I feel a great love to the present moment and the stunning sceneries surrounding me.

It is unusual cold for being this time of the year in Sweden. During our last dives we still only had 12°C in the water (!) Even this cold weather has its positive sides I find as it allows nature to develop more slowly from spring to summer. This gives me even more time to appreciate this wonderful time of the year :-)

These two pictures are from one of my early morning running sessions. To be up with the sun, enjoying some running in this silent scenery is really something I quickly get addicted to...

Planet Earth is filled with so many paradises! Orust is one of them :-)

South Pacific Mood Changes

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New Caledonia, South Pacific, May 2015

As much as I do love to hike the mountains, climb the trees, cross the rivers and explore the caves, there is constantly something calling me back to the sea again...

After exploring the beautiful, vegetated New Caledonian east coast, we both start to feel the strong call from the blue, refreshing lagoon.

Time to head back home to the deserted islands :-)

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Although eight weeks sounds like plenty of time, it flies way too fast when having many things you both want and need to do.

Now we just have two weeks left...

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A couple of weeks, of which we are hoping to get conditions good enough for practicing some kitesurf...

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... we also want to get more footage and stills from both above and beneath surface...

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In addition to the above, we are also crossing our fingers very hard for being able to pay a visit to the remote "Brown Booby -island" again.

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But... for being able to visit this little bird island, we will need a good portion of luck...

To get there we need super calm weather, and according to the weather forecast, we are soon going to face a long-lasting low pressure with both strong wind and heavy rain...

... and so it arrives, the tropical depression. The sceneries surrounding our camp, on Tiam Bouene Island, starts to change rather quickly.

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The "Magic Beach" gets a new look...

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... so does the view over Tiam Bouene Island...

Beautiful blue turns into mystical grey...

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But what isn´t that fun is the sudden loss of our home!! 

The trusty tarp, which earlier have been offering great shelter from both sun, wind and rain, suddenly gets enough...

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... riizzzSSCHHH!!! 

All at once, we have the entire roof on our heads!

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Wet and very cold. Now we only have the tent left for gathering some heat and get dry a bit. This before making another effort keeping the boat afloat. Too much rain water and it will sink!

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How big is the risk that also the little tent might fail on us?

Hot tea and a little sleep for gathering more energy, thereafter we will see how things develop...

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After a super rainy and windy night, the next day shows up with smiling sun and no wind at all. What a surprise!! Where did the forcasted long-lasting depression go?

Nature has its surprises, and is very tough as well...

At the beach, we find young Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) close to drowning. We help these cold small creatures to get safe back on dry land, where they start to clean and dry their wet feathers.

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The calm weather continues, and we move on to visit new islands...

Now, we don´t have the tarp left for seeking shelter when needed. But as the tent surprisingly survived the rough night we still have a dry place to sleep during rainy nights :-)

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Lucky, lucky us!!

The unpredicted, super calm sea condition makes it possible for us to make a last visit to our favourite island, the sandy little islet with the Brown Boobies (Sula leucogaster).

Almost a month since last time we made a visit here, and this shows on their young ones. The Brown Booby chicks have been growing a lot, and seem to be in a very hungry state of life :-)

And so it comes, the very last evening before heading back to northern latitudes.

Bye bye beautiful South Pacific...

Time to say hello to wonderful Scandinavia!! :-)