GRAND CANYON…one of the most spectacular natural wonders

23rd July, 2008

During our recent visit to San Francisco, Kush took us for a visit to the Grand Canyon. It is only when you go there and witness the imposing character of the canyon that you realize that it is for no illegitimate reason that it is called Grand. We all (myself, Chitra, Kush and Vasu) had flown to Los Angeles to visit Atul and Anita and their lovely and lively daughters, Priyanka and Natasha at their home in Orange County. After doing the usual circuit of LA, Hollywood, San Diego and Sea World, and witnessing the fireworks of the 4th of July, we drove to Grand Canyon. After only an hour or two, the landscape had changed into desert with huge dunes on either side. In spite of the day being hot and humid, it was a relaxed drive after bumper to bumper traffic of LA and San Diego. After passing through the magnificent Hoover Dam, we reached the southern rim of Grand Canyon just in time for the sun set. Because of the long weekend on account of US Independence Day, the lodges were full and restaurants bright with chatty people. After our dinner, we got into our cabin and retired early after a long day and also to catch some sleep before an early rise to witness the sun making its grand appearance over the canyon. We got up early and drove to the Bright Angel Lodge which is also a good location for a number of short and long hikes. We found a good location and waited expectantly. Fortunately, there was no appreciable haze or fog that early morning. We were rewarded and witnessed the spectacular sun rise. It coloured everything on the opposite side in beautiful pink. Then we started for our 5 km hike towards the gorge. We wanted a longer hike, but we were not fully equipped with liquids and food. The canyon gets humid and hot very early morning and challenges your physical fitness. There are many deaths reported among people who thought themselves to be completely fit, but met a tragic end due to heat stroke, dehydration or exhaustion during hiking or other adventure activities. On our return, we were now starving and had a relaxed and sumptuous breakfast at the restaurant.



The Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world; the other being, Northern lights (aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere over Canada), Paricotin Volcano (Mexico), Harbour of Rio da Janeiro (Brazil), Victoria Falls (Africa), Great Barrier Reef (Australia), and of course, Mount Everest, Himalayas.
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona. Considering its importance, the Grand Canyon and area around it has been declared as Grand Canyon National Park.
Grand Canyon is a geologist’s delight because of the ancient rocks that are beautifully preserved in the walls of the canyon. These rocks are testimony to the geological history of the North American continent.
The canyon was created by the Colorado River over a period of 17 million year time span. The canyon is 446 km long, ranges in width from 6.4 to 29 km and attains a depth of more than 1.6 km. It is not the deepest canyon in the world, yet it is unmatched throughout the world for its overwhelming size and its colourful landscape.
Besides offering a beautiful sight, the canyon offers a number of activities for people looking for adventure sports, like, hiking, camping, and kayaking in the Colorado river. For wild life lovers, there is much to see and photograph. The Canyon is one of the few sites in the US for the habitat and breeding site of the magnificent bird, condor. I was lucky to witness the majestic flight of condor during our stay there.
I had long cherished to visit Grand Canyon. I hope to visit it once again to spend more time in the amazing, magnificent, and daunting environs of this natural wonder.

Presentation at Google, San Francisco

18 July, 2008

I was recently in San Francisco where Pranay, my nephew, organized a visit for us to his company, Google. I was asked if I would be willing in making a presentation for the interested staff on my Antarctica experience. The possibility of space flights and extended space missions becoming available to the ordinary citizens has caught people’s imagination and they want to know how such flights and missions would impact them and their health and behaviour. Since there are many common characteristics (for example, stress, isolation, and sensory deprivation) between Antarctic expedition and Space mission, my talk would be helpful to people wishing to be on the Space flights in the future. Google has uploaded this presentation on the youtube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GLQqsv-m3A
By the way, this blog is also through the service provided by Google.

Polarman, Polarman....

POLARMAN: 3rd July, 2008

Guest column by Dr Abhijeet Bhatia

(Abhijeet is a wintering member of the 27th Indian Antarctic Expedition, and maintains his own blog: www.natureinbliss.blogspot.com)

The big day was finally here. The biggest festival in Antarctica- the Mid-Winter Day! It was the darkest day (or should we call it the darkest night) of the polar night. According to an old tradition, anyone who is in Antarctica on 21st June is called a Polarman. But it does not come so easily. Anyone who is here on this day has to spend almost a whole year here. That is because it is not possible to commute to and fro Antarctica during the winters, that is, from April till beginning of November. The last flight leaves this continent around March and start only in November. The ships also start arriving in only in December after leaving Antarctican shore in March-April. Hence, This privilege of being called ‘Polarman’ is reserved exclusively for the winter teams. So this was a memorable day for all of us, especially the first timers. After all, being a polarman is a rare feat. Congratulatory messages had come pouring in from all over the world and other Antarctic stations.

The Mid- Winter Day also means that Antarctica will only get brighter now. Half of the period of polar nights is now over. We will be able to see the sun again after 1 month, though only for, may be, four minutes. But winters are far from over. July and August are the coldest and the windiest months here. That means that the winters are just peaking.

The Russians came over to join us for the celebrations from the nearby Russian station, Novo. They were expected around 10 AM, but were late. They can't be blamed because driving time in Antarctica is highly unpredictable. When they did arrive, we all had a gala time. We exchanged small gifts, and then it was time for drinks, snacks and then tambola exclusively for the Russians. The Russians did not know how to play, so we guided them. They were playing for bottles of rum. Hence there was cut throat competition. They guzzled alcohol like water. We were no match for them. We interacted with them freely and took them around the station. Language was a major problem. But that did not hinder the conversation, which flowed like liquor. They enjoyed Indian dishes thoroughly. We had made every effort to cook according to their tastes- no chillies, minimum oil.

We had made some good friends. It was nice to see some new faces after a long time. We are now ready to face the rest of the time in Antarctica with renewed vigour, with the knowledge that now it's all downhill from here.

As our leader said- Ab hum roshni ki taraf ja rahe hain.

Wintering in the White Continent (Guest Blog)

Guest Blog by Dr Abhijeet Bhatia - An ENT surgeon and a wintering member of the 27th Indian Antarctic Expedition. Dr Bhatia has his own blog at http://www.natureinbliss.blogspot.com/

ABANDONED IN THE WHITE DESERT

This is what wintering has been all about till now. The process of our physical isolation from the civilized world has been a very gradual one. But it is now total and absolute. It began when the previous winter team left Maitri on 14 February 2008. The next day the ship, M V Emerald Sea, left with the summer team. That marked the official beginning of our wintering. The last of the ALCI flights left on 12th March which means no more flights of IL-76 till November, 2008.
The next few days were very gloomy for everyone in the station. But soon Life became routine and we carried on with our jobs. The next to desert us were the skuas. They migrated to warmer lands beyond the Antarctic on 17th April. The Russians' ship came to deliver their supplies and pick up their old winter team on the 24th April. The final blow was dealt by the departure of the snow petrels in 1st week of May. By then the ocean had also frozen over completely. So now there are no flights to Antarctica and the sea route is also closed for the winters. The 26 of us are left to face the long Antarctic winters, with no help possible from the civilized world even in the most pressing of circumstances. Now, even the Sun has deserted us. The polar night began on 20th May. We bade the Sun a Final goodbye on 19th May at around 11:30 AM, staring at it and taking Photographs as the red globe went down to make a face presentation only after two months.

WEATHERING THE COLDEST CONTINENT

We are having the first good blizzard in end-May as I am writing this piece. So far we hadn't had any good blizzard in March or April which did delay our convoys and made the plying of snow vehicles on the moraine quite a difficult proposition. It was only due to the Herculean efforts of the logistics team in repairing the route at minus 18 degrees C that convoys could be undertaken to bring essential supplies from the stores located 120 km away in the coastal area. Visibility is reduced to just an arm's length with wind speeds reaching 200 kmph, snowfall is horizontal instead of vertical and hits you like a thousand needles. On going out all we see is a white wall. Any movement outside is with the help of guide ropes as people still have to go to the labs and the generators even during the blizzard. We may be holding a person's hand but we are Not able to see him. I kept a Christmas tree outside and it was covered with snow in a few hours. There is a strange mix of thrill and fear. All the stations life support systems are strained to their limits. There is a blanket of Snow all around. The summer camp living accommodation is now under snow. It Will be exposed only in November when the snow melts. Around the station, The snow reaches upto the windows. Soon, it will go above the windows. The Generator complex requires repeated snow clearing to enable them to keep working.

WINTERING IN THE MOST ISOLATED CONTINENT

Let me tell something about the routine life at Maitri. After our wintering began, we had some major tasks at hand. They took a few months to complete. The station was organized as per our requirements. A lot of major and minor repairs were undertaken including cleaning. The hospital block was shifted. The new toilet block was constructed. That is one of the biggest achievements of our expedition; it was long overdue. The logistics for the convoy were being worked out side by side. All these activities required extensive, back- breaking shramdaan - voluntary labour. Then the convoys began. The new supplies were to be taken out of the containers brought by the convoy and arranged in their appropriate place. So some activities have been organised to keep all in good humour. These include hobby classes, sports competitions and TV shows like Ramayana in the afternoon. Most of the conversation in the station revolves around nature and a longing to go back to India. Things like sun, blizzard, temperature, weather, clouds, snow, moon, stars, auroras, lake, birds etc are a regular part of our vocabulary. This is very different from India, where we hardly used to talk about nature. Life at Maitri is very comfortable with 24 hours running hot and cold Water, uninterrupted power supply, and central heating (all unlike Delhi), entertainment facilities, and lot of choice to pamper our gustatory habits.

Life in a small, closed community can lead to increased irritability and occasional frayed tempers. There is a certain degree of gloom in the station that is a regular feature in Antarctica at the onset of winters, more so during the polar nights. Spending long austral winter and polar nights in Antarctica can bring out best in a person; however, some people will have tough time in coping with this. The darkness, the isolation, the confinement, the loneliness- all may put a huge strain on the mind and the spirit of vulnerable and unprepared individuals. Some can bear it, others break down. I am sure that by the time we return home, we will be more evolved as human beings- patient and strong. This will be an experience that we will carry within ourselves for the rest of our lives.

Pics of 'Summer Visitors'

Summer Visitors

After having spent five months in Antarctica, Delhi’s heat in the months of April and May is terrible even by Delhi’s standard. The mercury was already touching 42 degrees C when I reached Delhi in mid-April. It was as if the Delhi weather was trying to test my endurance after my five month long absence to Antarctica. After having weathered Antarctic summer with temperatures mostly below zero degree C, I am being made to prove my mettle with nothing less than 40. However, Delhi summer brings its own charm and compensation. The summer bloom on the Amaltas (acacia fistula) is just breathtaking. Gulmohar and Jacaranda are giving it a fierce competition. Bougainville bush is just a riot of colours. The markets are also full of fruits seen only during summer time. To top all the fruits is the king of fruits, Mango, with so many varieties that it alone can match the entire list of fruits in the market. But then, there are melons, water melons, cherry, green almonds, apricot etc. Leechi and plum are yet to make their appearance.

However, the most welcome are the summer visitors that are currently frequenting my front and back court yards and perching on the mango and blackberry trees there. It is practically a bird watcher’s delight to spend early morning at the backyard of my house. I do not mind being woken up early in the morning by their noise, calls, and constant chattering. Thus, sparrow, pigeons, doves, wood pigeons, bulbul, myna (three kinds seen – common myna, brahminy myna and pied myna), koel, crows, grey hornbills, tree pie, sunbirds, thumb birds, magpie robins, owlets, parakeet, babbler, barbets all are keeping me busy outside every morning. My morning cuppa tea that normally should take me 5 minutes is now stretching almost to one hour. And I do not stop at one cup. Chitra is of course resenting; earlier it was ocean, snow and ice that were keeping me busy, and now these noisy birds are competing with her for all my attention. But how can I resist the sweet melodious calls of koel or bulbul! And how can you can not admire the valour of a tiny bulbul chasing a big tree pie which has intruded into her territory to rob her eggs! Even the normally docile dove gets into a fighting posture should it see an approaching crow. Later the crow is at a receiving end when koel (a parasitic cuckoo, it does not build its own nest) enters into the crow’s nest to displace the eggs and deposit her own eggs. Parakeets are as ever a noisy group and look like naughty kids trying out their pranks on one another. On the ground many birds are fighting over the twigs to select the best for their own nest-building. Moths and butterflies are running for their lives from the persistent robins and chattering babblers. The snails and earthworms are on their never-ending trails. I am also having a very unusual resident guest this summer, that is, honey-bees. Yes, the Queen Bee has chosen a bush in the front lawn to make her hive there. Mosquitoes and flies are the only unwelcome guests. But the Delhi summer is not complete without their ubiquitous presence. So are the frequent power failures. But then, summer is summer. With so much action going around and wonders of nature unfolding right in the home compound, who minds Delhi summer!

Skua Family - The Final Migration

Guest Blog by By V R Manchem

The story of the migration of the skua family took a different turn in the end. The parent skua left their young skua behind and left for their destination by end of March. The young skua was left alone to look for food itself, practice more hours of flying to get stronger, and learn to acclimatize for falling temperatures. I was quite baffled how it would reach a destination it has never been before. It left our vicinity a week later after its parents had left. One observation that struck me was that it left its birth place only when its entire original plume had been replaced by new set of feathers resembling an adult. A few days later, on the 5th April, another young skua from Trishuli area came to Maitri along with its parents. They left the same day, but the younger one stayed behind till 16th April when it left the station before sunset. During the time it stayed here, it remained very active and agile and was seen flying most of the time. Its plume had also been totally replaced by a new covering of feathers before it left.

It has been five months here since I came to Maitri. Every day the Nature looks different which I enjoy from my window. Presently the sun rise is at 8.30 am and sun set at 1.30 pm.