Churchill... We have arrived!

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July 27, 2024 The official arrival day of the trip. Everyone is here. Tatiana and Kira arrived yesterday with me, and Christine made it today. Thomas was already here; he arrived last week to explore Churchill with his wife. He shared images from his time with another lodge and a visit to Fire Island. Lots of bears feeding there, fat on a beluga carcasses.

I need to get out there, man.

The boyz… Kenny and Jeromy.

Today, my friend and local bear guide Kenny took me out on his tinny (his boat). Just the two of us, it was cool. Jeromy, another good friend, was grumbling

because he wanted to go too. Lol, kids.

I get it; I would be jealous if they went without me. All of us are just grown-ass kids, wanting to do cool things all the time. Lol. It fills me with gratitude connecting with locals on these adventures. All of us with a strong love for nature and friendship that will last a lifetime.

We went out on the boat to find a bear that was at the point. We found it resting in the fog.

The fog was thick!

We motored around for a bit. I tried to get a photo of the bear, but the fog was too thick. So, we left the bear alone and just enjoyed watching the belugas circling our boat. They were really intrigued.

The tinny is great because you can hear the belugas. Their sounds echo.

With some editing I managed to remove the fog and bring out the bear. Even though the fog looked cool and spooky. I like to see the animals in my photos. lol

I think they might have been intrigued with the echo from the tinny and wanted to listen to it closer because they kept coming up to us over and over.

The belugas made some crazy noises that I recorded. That was wicked cool. I put together a video clip from the day. Going to be filming more stories on this trip.

I really do love storytelling.

So far, Churchill has been almost perfect.

The airline left my bag in Atlanta and has been slow to get it to me. It's been three days.

But despite not having my bag, I am filled with gratitude again. I had no issues getting here. All my flights were on time, and thankfully, I have my cameras with me. To help me survive waiting for my bag to catch up, I stopped at Walmart in Winnipeg to buy some extra clothes and toiletry stuff.

So I am blessed. All is well. Especially with the nightmares people have been experiencing at airports lately, I feel really lucky to have gotten to Churchill without any delays.

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Sadly, I don't have my wetsuit, which is fine. I can rent it from the hotel. But my mask and snorkel, man! Gonna miss having that.

Hopefully, I will only have to deal with it for one more day.

The bag is supposed to arrive on Monday. Feeling confident it will be there for me.

Today is our first day in the water... the adventure is off to a great start!

Anaconda Diving...Into the Black. PART ONE.

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I posted today on Social media, a photo from a trip we ran, back in September of 2021.

We were in Brazil diving with anacondas.

On this particular day we were on a beautiful river in Bonito, Brazil.

The water was gin clear, and the scenery was spectacular.

We were slowly cruising down the river looking for snakes. We were watching the edges of the river, as well as the river banks for any snakes that might hiding in the water, or basking in the sun.

We finally found one on the river bank. She was a big 5-6 meter long snake. She was so beautiful lying there in the sun.

We slowly approached, but she dropped in the water to hide from us.

AND hide she did!

When you are a big snake in super clear water it should be impossible to disappear. But these snakes are territorial, and she knows the area she lives in well.

Snakes this size get big by being smart and cautious.

The area she has chosen to live in is surrounded by a forest. The river has a lot of trees, tall grasses and forest debris along the edge of the river, so she disappeared fast.

The search was on, we didn’t want to lose her.

We began searching the edges of the water with masks and snorkels to try and find her.

I checked underneath a tree right at the bend of the river and could see her large body tucked up deep underneath.

WE FOUND HER!

Our snake in her hiding spot. To the right of her, you can see her breathing hole. To the left, the river opens up.

It was a shallow area, but she was tucked in tight, so we had to put on scuba tanks to go where she was at.

This snake was hiding in a massive hiding hole she found or created that was behind a tree growing in the water.

It was dark and deep with a small breathing hole, which allowed her to hide indefinitely.

We swam underneath the tree that was half-grown, in and on the river bank. It led to where she was safely tucked away.

It was a tight area, so we took turns, so it would be less intimidating to the snake. A bunch of faces all trying to look at her in here hiding hole might stress her out. We did not want to do that.

I admit it was a bit unnerving swimming in there.

It was dark, and the water was silted up from her moving around in there. You could see her massive body, but you couldn’t see her head.

So we had to wait for her to settle down before we could inch in and see where she was.

She was just laying there, occasionally swimming up to the surface to get a breath of air.

Once she did, she would swim back down and curl up again.

These snakes are so calm and well-behaved. Nothing like we are led to believe.

She was relaxed and never got aggressive with us.

Yes they are predators and yes they are dangerous and must be respected, but interactions like these prove that if done with respect, we can co-exist. They truly are such a polite predator.

She eventually left her cave and swam along the edge of the river searching for one of her spots where she exits the river to slither back into the forest.

We continued to follow her and I am so glad we did, we managed to capture some epic images of this iconic predator…

PART 2 COMING TOMORROW.

Arrival Day... Whale Sharks off Isla Mujeres Begins!

Today is arrival day… a new adventure begins. We are on Isla Mujeres Mexico to swim with whale sharks and if we are lucky manta rays. I am looking forward to this week and the magic we will all hopefully experience.

Last nights sunset. Isla Mujeres does not disappoint.

We have been running this trip every summer since 2005. So when we hit the water tomorrow morning it will officially be 18 seasons that we have been running this experience. 18 years of whales sharks, is pretty cool. It is often the same sharks that return to this spot year after year, so I am hoping to see if I can recognize any of the individuals that come here. It is really difficult because they all look the same. One whale shark I can easily recognize is one we have dubbed Rooster, he has a shredded dorsal fin, that looks like a roosters comb.

WOW, 18 years. So much has changed since we first started offering this trip. It was really raw and wild back then. We first ran these trips out of Holbox, Mexico. Back then there was only three or four hotels on the island. Now, there are at least 30 to 40. So much has changed. I remember, trash was a problem on the island back then, I wonder what they do now?

We changed island locations about 12 years ago when the whale sharks started spending more of their time in the Caribbean sea vs the Gulf of Mexico. Which was fine by me, I prefer the sharks in blue water vs. the green water, plus the blue water is warmer than the Gulf. It can be a bit chilly.

Anyway back to today…

I picked up our friends this morning from the Cancun airport and brought them to the island. Arrival day is always a bit hectic, but thankfully it ran really smoothly - No ones flights were delayed, and everyone’s bags showed up when they got off the plane. When I arrived at the airport, everyone was already through customs and waiting outside, made for a fast pickup and smooth transfer to the island.

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Van ride to the ferry.

We drove to the ferry terminal, chatting it up, and getting to know each other a little better.

We have some returning friends on the trip and a few new faces. It is always fun meeting new people and seeing old friends when they show up on our trips, it often feels more like family reunions rather than wildlife trips sometimes. Today was one of those days.

Anyway, its late… I am going to keep this short as it is 11:50 at night and we have to wake up at 6:40am for a quick breakfast at 7 and then out on the boat at 8. I am hoping for a great day with the sharks.

Day One begins!

More tomorrow… thanks for reading.

The World MUST Continue to open up... Wildlife Depends on it!

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I was going through images from the 2019 season, and I was blown away by all the places we got to visit that year. I forgot how busy our schedule was, especially after what happened in 2020. In 2020, I was so busy feeling sorry for ourselves (for lack of a better word), trying to understand the new normal, that I quickly forgot about what 2019 was like for us. All the wildlife we experienced, all the places we visited, all the magic and the people. It indeed was one of the best seasons we have ever experienced.

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I am grateful that we finally see some light in 2021, and there is hope that the world will return to some normalcy again. It needs to because there is so much beauty out there, and it needs to be experienced. Wildlife needs our kind because without tourism and people fighting to protect them and wanting to see them (in the wild), all that will be left are the hunters and gatherers trying to kill or capture them all. When I think of all the wild places left unprotected last year because of covid, it truly breaks my heart. How many animals died because no one was there to watch over them.

I know I sound extreme, but sadly it has come down to that. It is no longer nature that decides what species lives or dies. It is 100% left up to men in suits. They determine what species will be allowed to continue living, what species can be hunted, what species can be harvested. And their decisions are based on how much money can be made (for themselves) by allowing this to happen. It is happening all over the world, and there is no end in sight. 

And what is worse is that the illegal trade of these animals is happening at the same time. Poachers and trappers are out there now, catching and killing everything they can get their hands on. So we have politicians deciding the fate of our wildlife (legally- most of the time) and poachers out in the world doing the same thing (illegally). 

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So wildlife tourism must go on; it has to continue. Because without it, these officials will find another way to make money off of our beloved wildlife. And left unguarded, poachers will continue to slaughter and cage up the rest of them. Wildlife tourism helps fund our politicians and slows down the poachers. 

Sorry for such a dark blog this morning. This is part of the journey that I am on, this is what I think about, and it is an essential reminder that the world needs to open up and we need to continue traveling. We need our researchers back out there, our game wardens, and our tourists to continue being a voice for the voiceless. Wildlife needs all of us. 

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you out in the world… somewhere… anywhere!