Exotic Places

In our fourteen year relationship, thirteen as a married couple, Nancy and I have visited every continent but Antarctica. Prior to the untimely death of my beloved wife of 41 years, lenore and I had also traveled extensively. That had been my one great luxury as an attorney and judge, since our first trip to Madrid in the late 1960's. However, the places that Nancy and I have traveled to in recent years have revealed a very differnt pattern. No longer do we travel to the great cities of the world, but instead we have tended to travel to the great out-of-the-way places which are looked upon by us as exotic. To me, in my lust for adventure, and to seek great locations for videography and photography, I have attempted to seek out places which are less traveled by the general public. Thus, one of our first trips together was a cruise, which I had never done before, with a long since defunct cruise line, Renaissance, around Southeast Asia from Hong Kong to Singapore; with stops in Chungching, formerly known as Canton, China; Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, in Vietnam (we were only the second cruise ship to travel the Mekong River from the open sea, as we swamped small fishing boats, setting off an occasional panic along the banks); Bangkok, Thailand; and finally the beautiful city of Singapore. We have cruised for 17 days on the ms Ryndam of Holland America Lines around South America from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to Valparaiso, Chile, following the routes taken by Charles Darwin and Ferdinand Magellan through the heart of South America. We sailed past the Falkland Islands (the tide was wrong for our tenders to land) and through the very violent waters and high seas around Cape Horn, as we moved west from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We have cruised around the islands of Polynesia on the Polynesian Princess, with stops at some of the most beautiful and exotic places in the world, while snorkeling with Stingrays and Black Tip Reef Sharks; and cruised from San Diego for fifteen days on the ms Oosterdam to and around, and from the islands of Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kawai; and snorkeled and videoed the magnificent waters of Australia's glorious Great Barrier Reef from the small city oif Cairns in Queensland. We have photographed and captured on video many of the great coral reefs of the world, more and more of which are slowly deteriorating from the warming of the oceans, including Australia, Belize, Polynesia, and virtually all of the islands of the Caribbean, including Cozumel, Mexico. I have been to China three times, including a cruise on the Yangtze River, and through the locks of the Three Gorges Dam. As we traveled the river, its waters were still rising, engulfing entire cities in its path. We have done two safaris in East Africa, including Kenya and Tanzania in the last three years, the last trip extending over thirty days, with just Nancy and myself and one of two of our great guides Baraza Salaho of Bushbuck Safaris of Arusha, and Dennis in the great Selous Game Reserve of Tanzania. These safaris have been exciting and breathtaking, and the photos and video have been beyond our wildest dreams, but in my humble opinion, the most exotic trip of all was the thirteen days we spent in scenic Ecuador exploring and snorkeling the sometimes treachorous waters surrounding the Galapoagos Islands of the Pacific Ocean on the beautiful 98 foot trimaran called the Lammer Law. There were only eleven other passengers, all of whom were very interesting. The volcanic islands of the Galapagos, the birthplace of Darwin's Theory of Evolution are still a wild paradise, and a place of species which exist in no other place on earth, as well as a true beauty to behold. And what can be more exotic than the Galapagos Marine Iguana found only on those barren islands? 

 

www.legaleagleproductions.com/uploads/GalapagosMarineIguanawebsiteclip.wmv

The Marine Iguana of the Galapagos Islands is the only Iguana with the ability to live and feed in the sea. It feeds on the algae and seawood around the volcanic islands of the Gsalapagos. The video above was shot while swimming with a feeding Iguana. It has a special gland which filters its blood of excess salt which it has absorbed while feeding.  A very unusual but common sight is seeing a Marine Iguana which has just emerged from the sea spit out a stream of pure salt which often leaves its head a whitish color from the salt which it expends. Its normal color is black like the volcanic rock on which it basks in the sun for hours on end.

February 7, 2010

Since Spring of 2009, after acquiring a SONY PMW-EX3 full 1920x1080 high definition camera, we began to work on one of our most ambitious projects, "The Waterfalls of the Southern Appalachians." Although I have had a small vacation home in the mountains since 1989, Nancy and I have been exploring places that I had never seen, or even known about. We began in the Spring, because in January 2009, Nancy had both knees replaced, and by Spring, her legs were strong enough to climb up hills and hike long dirt trails. Last month, we were in the mountains again shooting one of the most spectacular falls surrounded by deep snow, large icicles and ice. Shortly, I will begin to add some photos and video clips to the website.

Stuart Namm

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December 25, 2009

Happy Holidays to all! Just returned from 26 day cruise to the Amazon River on ms Prinsendam. Either we spent too much time on the river-six days-or global warming is a fact of life. Saw only one blue hummingbird, and no animals, unless they were attached to a string to encourage monetary gifts. It was a great disappointment, especially viewing a huge, brown colored river. More to come!

Stuart 

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