Antarctica- Wild Frozen Beauty

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Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Feb-Mar 2019

Back to civilisation after yet another astonishing time in the remote and breathtaking wilderness of Antarctica, where I have been guiding polar snorkeling for Waterproof Expeditions the past three weeks.

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This truly is a land of wonder, vastness and wild, frozen beauty. A place where words are hard to find to be able to describe the grand, pure and extremely scenic natural surroundings we daily get to experience.

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I feel very fortunate to share the many mind-blowing adventures  we get to live in this distant, harsh but stunning part of the world. What is possibly better than to share your passion with likeminded people?

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This blogpost contains a small selection of pictures from our recent stay in Antarctica, where the cozy ship  "Polar Pioneer" has been our mobile home and expedition base.

This almost 72 meter long ice-strengthened Russian vessel has been chartered by Aurora Expeditions for many years. But due to a new ship being built, 2019 is the last year for us onboard the "Polar Pioneer". 

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During our expedition "Polar Pioneer" is home for up to 54 guests, 8 expedition staff, hotel manager, chefs and 22 fabulous crew.

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My recent three weeks onboard consisted this time in two 11 days trips where the first group of guests boarded the ship in Ushuaia in Argentina, followed by Puerto Williams in Chile for the second group.

From South America, a couple of days of crossing the Drake await.

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The Drake Passage is a 800km wide passage between South America's Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, and is  the shortest crossing from Antarctica to any other landmass.

On the first crossing, the Drake shows us her great temper again...

The footage above is from the 20th of February, during our first trip.

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We also get to enjoy "The Drake Lake" which allow us a bonus visit at Cape Horn on our return on trip one.

On both trips, Antarctica welcomes us with a big shining smile, fair weather and calm conditions. Very appreciated by everyone onboard!

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Our southernmost aim is to reach the Antarctic circle at 66°33´ South. While the southbound voyage continues towards our goal, a great admiration spreads among us all for this frozen remoteness we are cruising and totally are surrounded by...

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Throughout the trips, we make several landings, zodiac cruises, kayak outings and of course snorkel- and dive excursions!

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It is not only the remarkable landscape and the world of frozen beauty that take our breath away, but also the extraordinary wildlife that often show off being as curious about us as we are about them...

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... from sleeping crabeater- and elephant seals, to intimate and investigating leopard seals...

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... interacting, resting and feeding humpback whales...

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... and of course the countless numbers of charming penguins! 😍

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Here in Antarctica we follow the IAATO rules, which includes keeping a minimum distance of 5 meters or more from wildlife.

IAATO stands for "International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators" and is an international organization, comprised of more than 100 respected companies and organizations.

More about IAATO at their web: www.iaato.org

The wildlife however doesn't seem to be aware of any guideline as they keep coming up close for curious inspections of both us and our gear...

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Who knew that Gentoo penguins have a huge interest in kayaking?!

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When reaching the Antarctic circle we do the famous "Polar Plunge"!

The -1°C freezing cold water is not only refreshing but biting! It is however a super fun activity I do not want to miss 🙃 💦  Thanks to Scott Portelli for capturing this literary breathtaking moment on video!

Surrounded by amazing nature and in company of wonderful people time always flies!! So it did this time as these three weeks onboard feel like a blink! Happy for another amazing time spent among new- and old friends, with many astonishing nature- and wildlife experiences shared, it is so time to continue life's venture on other latitudes...

A huge thank you to all "Polar Pioneer friends" for an amazing time together! Hoping to see you all again on another adventure somewhere on this beautiful and truly amazing planet we are fortunate to live on!

For more info about travelling with Waterproof Expeditions visit their web page: www.waterproof-expeditions.com

Antarctica with Waterproof Expeditions

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Drysuit and warm undergarment are packed again and I am just about to start another travel, this time south towards Antarctica, where I will be snorkel guide for Waterproof Expeditions for the next 3 weeks ahead. 

This means I will soon be signing off from the modern communication world to instead be totally surrounded by remoteness, cold beauty and wild wonders. This in happy company of fellow nature- and adventure seekers.

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Time to say hello to icebergs and penguins again, and to meet new and old friends onboard our mobile home, the expedition ship "Polar Pioneer".

The pics in this blog are from my previous  trip to Antarctica with WPX.

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In hope to also meet you on similar adventures in future, have a look at Waterproof Expeditions web to read more about  their many exciting expeditions and destinations: www.waterproof-expeditions.com

More from me in some weeks, when back to civilisation again!

Shallowest Deep Water Coral Reef

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A blog about the fascinating coral reefs hidden in the dark depths of Scandinavian waters, unique habitats who not many are aware about. And the big dream of diving the shallowest deep water coral reef known in the world...

Crystal clear, warm waters are normally what we imagine when thinking about coral reefs. This is as corals normally require sunlight and therefore commonly grow in the clear, shallow waters of tropical and sub-tropical seas.

But corals are not only warm-water creatures. There are actually many coral species living in cold waters and at great depths, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of meters below the surface.

Let me take you on a journey to the place where my great dream of diving a cold-water coral reef would finally come true, to the refreshing waters of Norway, where the Lophelia pertusa corals thrive in the cold and dark environment.

Unlike tropical corals, cold-water corals don’t have symbiotic algae living in their polyps which is why they don’t need sunlight to survive. Instead, they feed solely by capturing food particles from the surrounding water, and their polyps tend to be much bigger than tropical corals.

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Lophelia pertusa is a fascinating deep-water coral which normally lives at depths between 100-1000 meters. This reef building coral species can also be found at even greater depths, sometimes as deep as 3000 meters or even more… They are slow growing corals (usually growing about 5 to 10 mm per year), but over time they form extensive reefs. The largest recorded Lophelia reef “Røstrevet” measures incredible 3 kilometers in width and 35 kilometers in length, and lies at a depth of 300–400 meters off the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway.

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As impressive as it is to know that Lophelia reefs have been dated to an age of 8,700 years, scientists believe that Lophelia pertusa reefs can be up to a remarkable 10,000 years old! These are reefs which are home to diverse communities, where a total number of identified species on one particular reef, in the Northeast Atlantic is over 1100.

But as these corals are extremely slow growing, they are easily harmed by fishing practices, or oil exploration and extraction. In Swedish waters, for example, there were three known reefs, of which two of them are already gone, a result from destructive bottom trawling.

And here in Norway, the Norwegian government currently wants to open up for oil drilling in the area close to where the world’s biggest known reef “Røstrevet” is located…

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Knowing the Lophelia pertusa is a deep-water living coral, what are the odds of finding such a cold-water coral reef shallow enough to be able to experience it while diving?

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During the recording of our film “Coral Gardens of Scandinavia”, our final goal was to achieve our great dream of experiencing a Lophelia reef with our own eyes while diving. To realize this big dream of ours, we sailed to Trondheimsfjorden in the west-central part of Norway.

In the year 2000, a local diving club “Leksviks dykkeklubb” found an extraordinary reef “The Tautra Reef” at a depth of approximately 40 meters inside this fjord. Since then, this Lophelia reef has become the shallowest cold-water coral reef known to the world.

To be able to find and dive this unique reef, a free descent in open water down to 40 meters is needed. The location has a strong current, and we therefore needed to carefully plan the dive according to the tide table. At 40 meters, the cold and vast surrounding is completely dark. Even not the slightest beam from the smiling sunshine above is able to reach us down here.

In the never ending darkness, thanks to the strong light from our film lamps, we finally started to glimpse a shadow big as a car. Slowly, the white reef started to appear in front of us. It is the Tautra Reef!

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When peacefully swimming next to the world’s shallowest deep-water coral reef known to man I felt a great admiration and deep respect. It’s such an unique place, a reef that has probably existed for thousands of years, and a home to multiple marine life of various kinds…

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There is such an amazing world hidden in our oceans, much of it yet not explored, but it so easily gets ruined if we don’t take responsibility to protect and preserve its fragile habitats.

Below a sequence from our film “Coral Gardens of Scandinavia”.

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For further reading about our ventures in the Norwegian fjords, or other destinations, search this blog (top-right) or read my posts on the PADI-blog: https://www2.padi.com/blog/?s=Birgitta+Mueck

SE-version of Winter Whales on SVT-play

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Our most recent film "Norges Vintervalar" (Winter Whales of Norway) have now had TV-premiere on Swedish National Television (SVT).

Many thanks for all the wonderful feedback we have received! 🤗 ❤️

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This Swedish version of the film will be available on SVT-play until the 28 of June 2019. So in case you understand Swedish, or would like to practice your language skills 😁 👍, here is the link:

https://www.svtplay.se/video/20464096/norges-vintervalar?info=visa

Cape Verde -surrounded by blue

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Sal, Cape Verde, Dec/Jan 2018/19

Except for a couple of ventures on other water bodies, 2018 has mainly been focused on the Atlantic Ocean and some of its many alluring islands. The year past amazingly quickly and to nicely wrap it all up, we completed it by investigate a, for us, new Atlantic destination.

Surrounded by blue water and sky I so welcome the new year with plenty salt and an increasing amount of sand in my messy hair 😆

Before it´s time to make the jump north again, I´d like to share some few pics from our recent stay here on the island of Sal in Cape Verde.

Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands situated approx 500 km west off the coast of Senegal in Africa.

Excited about the opportunities, possibilities, adventures and surprises that might await in 2019, I´m so wishing you all a wonderful and lovely new year! ✨💕✨

... and remember -Every day is special, make it count! 🧜‍♀️

TV-premiere!!

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Time for

TV-premiere!

for our movie

"Winter Whales of Norway"

Sunday 30th of December 7PM (UTC+1) on SVT2 

A collaboration between Crystal Water Film Production & Swedish National Television. 

Music composed by Soundology. 

©2018

Guiding Winter Whale Trips In Norway

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Troms, Northern Norway, November 2018

To me, Northern Norway, with its spectacular fjord scenery, is a paradise in itself. Nature here is strikingly beautiful with snow covered mountain peaks, long, deep fjords, glaciers and sheltered valleys.

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An Arctic Wonderland where the cold winter nights often are lightened up by the magical dancing northern light.

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For the past 8 years or so, the scenic nature of county Troms has been accompanied with yet an other amazing natural attraction.

It is the winter whales that again put the arctic winter in Northern Noway on the bucket list of many.

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The huge amount of orcas and humpbacks, gathering in the fjords to feast on the overwintering herring, is also the reason to my repeatedly annual visits here during the darkest and coldest time of the year.

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This time, I'm here during the entire month of November, guiding four winter whale trips for Waterproof Expeditions.

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Out in field, we work patiently with the animals, spending plenty time observing the behaviour of these fascinating cetaceans, to get good and gentle encounters for both animals and our guests.

The whales attract a lot of spectators and the number of whale watching boats on the fjord has rapidly been increasing every year. Despite the many vessels, we try our best to escape the crowd with the aim to be surrounded by nothing else but nature and the wildlife.

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The video below, made by Vera Gudenrath who joined our second November trip, nicely shows how we operate during our expeditions:

The growing number of tour operators does make it harder to be alone with the whales, but with enough time, will and patience, the getaway to the more isolated fjords pays off. Surrounded by the sound of silence and in company of relaxed whales, this is the magical place to be.

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The following footage is captured by Manuel Clavel Rojo, who joined our first trip of the season:





I feel very fortunate to meet so many wonderful people during our trips and to be able to share and experience this Norwegian paradise and its amazing wildlife together with fellow nature and wildlife enthusiasts.

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Video next is made by Susanne Spindler, who joined M/S Malmö´s very last winter whale trip of the year:

Time flies quickly when busy and in good company, the month of November has therefore been passing by in high speed and my guiding assignment for this winter whale season has so found an end.

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My biggest thank you to the awesome crew and co-guides for great cooperation and superb teamwork. Your countless smiles make life onboard our cozy live-aboard ship M/S Malmö a true pleasure and I hardly can wait for next time working with you all.

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Many warm thanks also to all our wonderful guests for joining our trips. The world is small for like minded people so I´m living in great hope to meet you again, whether it is in cold or warmer waters!

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Grateful for yet another wonderful month in these spectacular fjords, where the gentle giants have showed us their daily presence in great numbers, I’m now off towards further adventures.

Bye winter whales, maybe I will meet you down south, or next autumn!