Dom Mazzetti vs. Bad Hook Ups

Global Bear Market - It's Official!

While the S&P 500 would still need to drop another 4% to 1,090.89 in order to officially enter bear market territory, global equities led by weakness in Europe and Asia now find themselves in an official bear market. The Bloomberg World Index, which is a capitalization weighted index of all equities tracked by Bloomberg, is down nearly 4% today, and it is down 21% from its closing high on May 2nd. The threshold we're using here for a bear market is a 20% decline that was preceded by at least a 20% rally.

Global Bear Market

Back From Arctic

There wasn't internet access on the about, I wasn't able to post while traveling. Once I organize my pics, I'll post some. The two main animal sightings on the trip was a polar bear and musk-ox. Neither pics above weren't taken with my camera, the animals were at a great distance. Opposite the Antarctica, the animals in the Arctic are hunted, scarce and afraid of humans.




Kayaking as always a blast, again not a much animals as the Antarctic, but got us of the boat and closer with nature.

Visit to Ithaca

Ithaca Visit

 

 

Day 10 - Ittoqqortoormiit & Hurry Inlet, Greenland

We anchored off the settlement of Ittoqqortoormiit on yet another sunny day with clear blue skies and the colourful buildings looking really pretty in the sunlight. It is one of the remoter towns in Greenland (especially on the east coast) and it is situated near the entrance of the longest and widest fjord in the World that is known as Kangertittivaq or Scoresby Sund. Ittoqqortoormiit has a population of around 300 with a mixture of Greenlanders and Danes.

Heading ashore the Zodiacs cleared a path through newly formed pancake ice and once ashore there was a special ceremony when Walt West presented a plaque to the museum commemorating his stay in the area at the very end of World War II from 1945 into 1946. During this time he worked on an American weather station and he also presented a booklet describing his experiences during his stay.

For the rest of the morning everyone had the chance to explore and walk around a typical Greenland village and to visit places like the museum, the church, the post office, the tourist centre, the weather centre. There was the chance to taste Muskox meat and to witness the Huskies being fed, with Minke whale! The highlights included the chance to meet local Greenlanders, and to interact with the really cute and playful puppies that provided lots of photo opportunities.

As we headed back to ship there was a distinct chill in the air and hint that winter would soon be on its way, and the day ended with a lovely moonrise over the mountains. This has been our 5th day ashore in Greenland and we have been so incredibly lucky with the weather, with clear blue skies throughout!

Day 9 - Hekla Havn; Vikingebukta

We woke up to a glorious sunrise heralding yet another clear, sunny day. The air was calm and relatively warm (4 degrees Celsius).

The sea kayakers got a chance to go kayaking in waters first navigated by the Thule people – the original kayakers!

We were fortunate enough to witness some incredible events, including the breakup of one truly massive iceberg, which rolled almost all the way over with a cacophony that echoed throughout the primeval landscape.

Later in the afternoon we arrived at Vikingebukta where we embarked on a Zodiac cruise. Here a large glacier could be seen entering the sea. Icebergs of every size formed a thick blanket across the water near the glacier, making a close approach impossible. This was an excellent opportunity to enter areas of brash ice, turn off our engines, and experience all the sounds of this Arctic wilderness.

All around us the brash ice was crackling and popping, while calving events farther away caused sonorous booms to echo across the fjord. For dinner we were treated to a fabulous BBQ dinner served outside in full view of the pristine glacial landscape.

Day 8 - Rypefjord, Rødefjord, Fønfjord

We cruised south into Rødfjord where to the west mountains >2100 m in height contain the same sedimentary rocks on the lower slopes as those in Rypefjord. Much older metamorphic rocks (1.4 Ga) are higher on the slopes. To the east is Milne Land rising to nearly 1900 m and composed of metamorphic rock, mostly gneiss.

The Fjord was another iceberg alley. Icebergs, this time from Vestfjoden, were set against a background of snow-capped mountains.

After dinner we turned east into Scoresby Sund. To end the evening, the Chinese students presented a Mid-Autumn Festival. Through dance, drama and song they told of the origin of the Festival. They ended their show with a love song: “The Moon’s My Heart.” Theirs was a charming performance that was enjoyed and applauded by all.

Day 7 - Sydkap Peninsula, Scoresbysund

We awoke to a second beautiful day in the Northern end of Scoresby Sound. To put this in context, I had understood that Greenland weather in September can be nothing but rain and fog. We were all pleasantly pleased this was not the case! The visibility was excellent and afforded a good look at the geography which blended the rounded and bumpy slopes of some of Norway’s Fjords with the more familiar steep inclines of the Spitzbergan-like hills.

Day 6 - Frederiksdal

We sailed deep into Scoresby Sund and branched off to the Nord Est Fjord, opposite Frederiksdal, and we were anchoring right in front of our landing area. It was a glacial river plain leading inland where Muskoxen were spotted grazing in the nearby flats. We were all anxious to get off the ship and stretch our legs and walk on the tundra of Greenland. Once the group was assembled we slowly made our way towards these skittish animals and moved as close as possible in order to get some good photos and not disturb them. Muskox are the most truly Arctic of the northern land mammals.

Day 5 - Greenland Sea

Blue skies, sunshine and the occasional iceberg marked our progress south off shore from Liverpool Land. The rock units along the coast are some of the oldest in Greenland. They are mostly composed of Proterozoic gneiss and granite ranging in age from 1.2 to 2.0 billion years B.P. They provide a rugged backdrop for the alpine glaciers that carve arêtes into the rock as they move down toward, and sometimes into, the sea.

Day 4 - Grønlandshavet (Greenland Sea)

Through the night the captain and crew attempted to navigate the M/S Expedition through the pack ice toward East Greenland. This formidable journey took us through a tight maze of tumultuous sea ice, as we ourselves were held at the mercy of the tempestuous sea. The occasional massive swell caused us to roll violently, making for an exciting and restless night for some.

Several attempts were made to penetrate the swath of ice that separated us from the fjords of Greenland. But northerly winds conspired with the East Greenland Current to drive the pack ice south along the coast. Ultimately the decision was made to steam directly south to where the ice was thinnest, with the idea of heading it off and reaching a protected fjord before it was closed by ice.

Our first tantalizing view of the mountainous coast of Greenland, still 50 miles away, came around midday. The seas were whipped by wind and the temperature was below freezing, but a broken high overcast sky offered periods of sunshine and excellent visibility. Our journey southward took us past one impressively large iceberg that had calved from one of Greenland’s enormous ice sheets.

Day 3 - En-route to Greenland

The MS Expedition was making better‐than‐steady progress westwards towards the east coast of Greenland, her speed pushed into rarified knots by a following sea. Despite 30 knot winds and a lively and angry sea surface our passage was comfortable, with little roll and almost no pitch. A different direction through the same conditions would have told a very different story, our vessel beaten and lashed by the inclement weather.

Late in the day, our ship began sliding South-westwards on a course towards the Davy Sund/Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord complex. The sea ice began to spread out and encroach around our ship. The winds stayed steady, the swells broadened into rolling gray-backs, and darkness fell. The bridge crew had no choice but to pull in the stabilizers and slow the ship’s speed. Ice started scraping our vessel’s hull like fingernails across a blackboard, and the MS Expedition began to roll like a cork in a Jacuzzi.

Day 2 - Smeerenburgfjord At Sea

The early morning commenced very overcast and quite cool as M/S Expedition cruised through the region of Smeerenburgfjord in quest of wildlife. By midmorning the farthest point north of the cruise was reached at Latitude 80 degrees North, Longitude 011° 22’ East at 9:30am - merely 600 miles from the North Pole. We then headed southeast out into the infamous North Atlantic en route to Greenland.

Day 1 - 14th of July Glacier

Once all the Zodiacs were together, we slowly moved along the shoreline enjoying the cliffs and the geology and the birds, including Glaucous Gulls and some Puffins, a rainbow adding to the scenery.

We then headed towards a resting bear that was just above the beach on a grassy hillock. From off shore we had some great views of the bear that would occasionally look up and yawn before going back to sleep..

We then headed towards the glacier for a great cruise along the glacier front with the amazing ice forms and colors, the roosting kittiwakes dwarfed by the sheer size of it all.

Pre-Arctic: Spitsbergen Island, Longyearbyen, Norway

Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard. It has about 1,700 inhabitants, most of them Norwegians and some Russians. Located in the Advent Fjord at the entrance of the Advent Valley, this community has an infrastructure fit for a much larger city.

There are 4 inhabited settlements and some scientific stations. Barentsburg, a Russian coal mining settlement, has ca. 850 inhabitants. Sveagruva, the functional Norwegian mine has around 100 inhabitants and Ny Ålesund, a scientific settlement has between 30 and 150 inhabitants, depending on the season.

All settlements are found on the west coast, the part of Spitsbergen with the mildest climate due to the warm Gulf Current.