Drake Lake Passage

We have been in the Drake since late last night. We are making good time and there is enough wind for an enthusiastic escort of various albatross, petrels and fulmars.  Particularly remarkable are the many light-mantled sooty albatross and the pintado petrel. They follow us throughout the day, sometimes drifting close at eye level, curious or hungry, maybe both.

A day at sea; I think about yesterday and some of the days before.

Port Lockroy

After yesterday’s excitement at Palmer Station, our last landing of the expedition this morning would seem tame. But again the views are stunning in every direction. 

Port Lockroy is only a few miles away but was built in a different era by a different country. World War II was a time of claiming ground all over the world. In response to perceived German threats in Antarctica, the British began building bases along the peninsula (which the British claimed). Base “A” would later be called Port Lockroy. 

It is now a gift shop and post office which supports the British Antarctica Heritage Trust, which is either removing or has refurbished some of the other structures previously built along the Antarctic Peninsula.

One of the charismatic fauna that resides here is the snowy sheathbill. While penguins of different detail all receive the lion’s share of the press in Antarctica, something has to clean up after them. That is the sheathbill’s job. How they are able to maintain the pristine look to their white feathers while consuming the most fowl substances found is unknown. They nest here at Port Lockroy and rely on the penguins for most of their food. They are fearless and curious, good adaptations for making their living. They are not a seabird, not having webbed feet, but somehow make their way across the Drake Passage during the summer season to keep the penguin colonies in neat order even while the slovenly penguins are doing their best job at mucking the place.

Orne Harbour, Dorian Bay & Palmer Station, Antarctic Peninsula

Our extraordinary journey to Antarctica continues. This morning we woke up to a magnificent view of Orne Harbour, comprised of tall mountain peaks, glaciers flowing seaward, fresh white snow, and glittering reflections in the waters of the Gerlache Strait. Blue-eyed shags were seen flying across our bow.

After breakfast we made our approach to our first landing, half the guests decided to go Zodiac cruising, and the rest made the 245-foot hike up the steep and snowy hill to Spigot Peak. On the occasionally steep metamorphic rock, we saw several hundred pairs of chinstrap penguins sitting on their nests partially obscured by snow, as well as the occasional south polar and hybrid skuas. From the peak we had the chance for amazing panoramic photos of the Errera Channel, barely a cloud in sight. Also we had great views of the ship nestled in amongst the brash ice while the small Zodiacs motored through.

After lunch we sailed through the Neumayer Channel heading for our afternoon landing at Damoy Point in Dorian Bay, located in a cove on the northwest side of Wiencke Island, in the Palmer Archipelago. It was discovered by the 1903-5 French Antarctic Expedition, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot.

Located here is the famous Historic Site and Monument No 84, otherwise known as Damoy Hut, which served flights to and from British Rothera Base on Adelaide Island. Today it is now listed as a Historic Site and Monument and is maintained by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust.

The fast ice quickly built up and our expedition leader, Lisa Kelley wisely decided that the ice was too thick for a landing and our first kayak outing. Instead, we spent the afternoon enjoying the scenic views and looking for Weddell seals and killer whales.

We could hear the ice scraping along the side of the ship as we zigzagged in between small icebergs, heading for Palmer Research Station. Arriving late afternoon we launched a “rescue mission” picking up five residents who had been waiting for weeks for a ride back to Ushuaia, Argentina. We all watched from the bow as personnel and equipment were ferried to the ship by kayak and Zodiac.

After dinner we had a magnificent cruise through the Lemaire Channel, the yellow late evening sun glowing from the tall mountain peaks. It was another very special day on the Antarctic Peninsula, one that the guests would remember forever.

---

Cierva Cove

This morning’s wake-up call came early, with a large gathering of approximately 40 type A Antarctic killer whales scattered across the pack ice of Gerlache Strait. John Durban and Holly Fernbach, the onboard killer whale biologists, were presented with their first good opportunity to deploy tracking instruments since our journey began.

As National Geographic Explorer stood by, excited guests were given a small glimpse into Antarctic killer whale research as they watched the team deploy two tags capable of tracking location and collected two blubber biopsy samples for genetics. It was a very successful day for the research team and a very rewarding experience for all those who had the privilege to witness the event.


In calm seas and sunny weather the ship continued on its course along the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica to Cierva Cove and the Argentine base Primavera.

Cierva Cove was dominated by the massive tidewater glaciers that were pouring off the mountains into the ocean and icebergs that were the result of the calving of these glaciers.

The massive ice forms towered above us, glowing green and blue in the sunlight. Basking on the pack ice in between these massive giants we found Weddell seals sunning themselves and our first close-up sighting of a basking leopard seal!

This large reptilian pinniped was stretched out in the sun on a small floe, paying no mind to the surrounding Zodiacs. The prowess of this predator was plainly evident by the sinewy build and incredibly large jaws. It was a very humbling moment to be in the presence of one of Antarctica’s top predators.





As the Zodiacs glided around the icebergs, what to our surprise hove into view but an inflatable flying the "hot chocolate" flag.  Nothing would do but a cuppa warm chocolate braced with Bailey's or brandy!  These Lindblad folks think of everything!  

 

Explorer navigated slowly out of Cierva Cove in the presence of elephant seals and humpback whales.  

And, the day ended with a small group of Antarctic minke whales porpoising off the stern of the ship. 

To cap off a wonderful day, Marcia and I were invited to a small private dinner with a few other travelers in the Chart Room on the bow, hosted by two of the National Geographic photographers, Cotton Coulson and SiseBrimberg. It was a delightful conversation because we not only talked about photography and travel but discovered we have some friends in common.

Duse Bay and Devil Island

As Karen Copeland wrote, "Ice and wind define this place called Antarctica and yet it bursts with life."

 

Parked in the ice adjacent to Beak Island, Duse Bay.

 

Adélie penguin, Devil Island.

Random flakes of snow flew from the ragged edges of steel gray clouds. Rapidly they lost their lacy arms, becoming pellets, firm and round, accumulating on decks and painting the patterned flanks of Beak Island.  Ice crystals defined the ripples on the charcoal sea and aggregated rapidly into disks and polygons.

Effortlessly the ship pushed her way into the solid apron of ice that stretched away from the Tabarin Peninsula to the adjacent islands of Duse Bay. Fractures split the edges into blocks and fissures on our port. But the starboard held, thick, solid and rigid. We spilled from the cargo doors and played upon the ice, promenading round the orange cone periphery of our plaza or tugging upon the mooring line.

Mid-morning tea was a rather substantial hot dog to warm chilly fingers and re-energize for further strolls that carried us out until those on the edges appeared no bigger than tiny specks of red or blue. Gusts of wind snatched snow from the smooth icy surface and tossed it in swirling clouds, momentarily obscuring our trusty vessel. Like children reluctant to leave their play, much encouragement was needed to re-board and continue on our way.

Nearby Devil Island was cradled in the arms of protective Vega. Its pointed peaks rose like horns on either end. Icebergs and bergy-bits guarded its shoreline, stranded by the tide initially but rapidly released as the sea returned again. Upon the island’s lower slopes patterns of white undulated like the edging on a quilt. Within this pale fabric, polka dots of black seemed to line up in perfect regularity.
On closer inspection, each speck revealed itself to be an incubating Adélie penguin. Their fusiform shapes were separated by only a peck length or less. The path home to one’s nest thus was treacherous. Neighbors bit unmercifully, a painful event for the commuter but entertainment for us. We stood and stared at the routine of the daily lives of these bipedal birds of the south while the winds nipped our fingers and toes. Yet in spite of the cold, once again encouragement was needed to get us to fly back to our nests.

Brown Bluff, Weddell Sea

Each day on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula seems to begin early. Today was no exception as a 2:30 a.m. wake-up call summoned us to our first emperor penguin sighting of the trip. Nestled into the folds of a moderately-sized iceberg, this twilight encounter with our planet’s largest penguin triggered what became a day to top.

By 3:00 a.m. we had already seen the icon of the Antarctic, been kissed by early morning light reflected off of a tabular iceberg and beheld the Antarctic Peninsula proper for the first time on this voyage.

By 10:30 a.m. everyone willing and able took their first steps onto the NE extremity of the peninsula and cavorted with the Antarctic’s other ice-loving biped, the Adelie penguin. This took place at a site called Brown Bluff, known for its nesting snow petrels, kelp gulls, Adelie and gentoo penguins and the stunning backdrop of solidified ash deposits that give the location its reddish-brown hue and subsequent moniker.

After a morning with penguins and blue-bird skies, our rudder steered us south, deeper into the Weddell Sea than this naturalist has ever been. Past pods of small type “B” killer whales cruising the pack ice edge, around cathedrals of glacial ice and along the eastern shores of Seymour and then Snow Hill Island, taking us to within a mere eight miles of the northernmost emperor penguin colony this planet supports.

At that southernmost milepost we encountered the northern extremity of the Weddell Sea pack ice. A continuous skin of frozen water stretched south of us as far as the eye would allow, peppered with black, waddling dots. As we neared the ice edge, a group of seven emperor penguins surfaced onto the white expanse before making their seemingly sorrowful, slumped march away from us. Sure to turn around again in the days to come, these and the other emperors we could see on the horizon are preparing for their summer at sea, having just endured the long dark Antarctic winter, and celebrating the abundance of the approaching summer feast.

We couldn’t help but share their excitement for all that summer brings to the Antarctic as our day was full of life and new horizons as well. 

South Shetland Islands

Steve Maclean said "One of the pleasures of being a naturalist in Antarctica is sharing with guests their first experience with the wildlife and the scenic grandeur of the White Continent. Today was such a moment."

After a very benign crossing of the infamous Drake Passage, we neared our first Antarctic landfall in the South Shetland Islands, north of the Antarctic Peninsula. We were not the only travelers coming to Antarctica from warmer climes. Humpback and the occasional fin whales were blowing their spouts into the morning wind as they approached their summer feeding in the productive Antarctic waters.

Soon, icebergs came into view, caught on the shallow shelf of the South Shetland Islands. Then, behind the icebergs and towering above them, came our first sighting of snow- and ice-covered peaks. Our course took us between Greenwich and Roberts islands, through English Strait. Here a young humpback whale put on a most incredible show by throwing its entire body from the water, again and again, in a series of breaches. We can't be sure just why the whales choose to leave their ocean domain, if only briefly, but that takes nothing from our joy of witnessing the behavior.

Half Moon Island, a small chunk of land tucked into a bay of Livingston Island, was the site of our first landing in Antarctica. After the crossing from Ushuaia, many were ready to brave wind and soft snow for a leg-stretching walk, which offered a breath-taking view over the snowy landscape (or maybe it was the walk itself that took our breath). Whether by foot or our fleet of Zodiac landing craft, we all ended at a chinstrap penguin colony. We mimicked the penguins in climbing resolutely up the snowy slope. The nesting penguins were gathered in exposed rocky areas where each pair places its two eggs on a platform of stones (many of them stolen from the nest of their neighbor), pecking distance apart. Now, the eggs have been laid.

The birds are in the early part of their 32-day incubation, and an unusual calm reigns over the colony. The calm is broken when one member of a pair returns from its feeding at sea to take over the chore of incubation. There is a noisy greeting at the nest ("Yes - I am, in fact, your mate, and I am back to do my duty") and the incubating bird rises to be quickly replaced on the eggs by the returning partner. If the process goes too slowly, they risk the quick attack of a marauding skua or kelp gull and an egg is lost. It will not be replaced.

Farther along, many of us chose to sit quietly and watch the parade of penguins, down the hill, up the hill. The parade will intensify as the eggs hatch and there are hungry chicks to be fed. Now, there is less urgency to the trek. I know not how many penguin photographs were taken; a lot.

Finally, at the end of our trail over Half Moon Island, we came upon three Weddell seals lounging on the snow. These large seals overwinter deep in the Antarctic, using breathing holes that they maintain through the seasonal sea ice. They have already completed their breeding for the year. The new pups, born on the sea ice, are on their own. The seals have earned their lounging.

The Feared Drake Passage

All travelers to Antarctica have heard and been terrified by stories of the Drake Passage. This body of water between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula is known for the intense storms that race through the passage. Today the weather gods were kind to us and we sailed south in relatively calm conditions.

After breakfast, we gathered in the lounge to meet the expedition team and learn more about the alliance between Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. The first presentation of the trip, by our photo team, taught us all about getting to know our cameras.

Later in the day Steve MacLean gave an excellent talk where we learned all about the wind, currents and the productivity of the Southern Ocean. This was followed by some time out on the sun deck learning about the various seabirds swirling around the ship.

The last presentation of the day was the very important briefing about landing in the Antarctic. We also had an overview of what we hope to see and experience on our exciting expedition. After dinner, the seas were calm and the day ended with a stunning sunset. All and all it was a wonderful first full day on board National Geographic Explorer.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina for Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving in the United States brings families together to celebrate and gather in each other’s presence. It is often accompanied by at least one large meal of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy and topped off with pumpkin pie for dessert. Often, a good football game or two is part of the day. While the traditional meals and activities may vary, for most it is a day of reflection and catching up with family and friends who may have not seen each other for years.

We however arrived this morning in Buenos Aires, where there is no mention of Thanksgiving or turkey.  The ever efficient National Geographic/Lindblad staff met us in the BA international  airport, put us on a bunch of buses, and led us on a tour of the city and into the Cesear Park Hotel.  It's a glistening and quite upscale facility in an excellent position on Posadas in Recoleta. It is across the street from the upscale Patio Bullrich shopping center and is surrounded by lots of excellent restaurants and shops. A light lunch is served on the mezzanine floor and there's a briefing before we set off on a quick city tour.  In the late afternoon there's a cocktail party and then we're released to go find our dinner.

Some opted for sandwiches in the hotel bar, but we headed off down the street to an empanadas place that Marcia had identified earlier.  We had locro, a stew made with pumpkin, maize, beans and different combinations of meat cuts, bacon and chorizo. A pitcher of the local red wine was perfect.

Somehow, I never missed the turkey feast.

Thanksgiving Day in Ushuaia

Our day began in the luxury and comfort of the Cesar Park Hotel with an early breakfast for the Lindblad/National Geographic group.  It was an ambitious breakfast buffet, including omelets prepared to your order.  I think, however, our entire group of punctual, purposeful Americans coming down to eat at such an early hour seemed to overwhelm the Argentine staff.

I had to admire the organizers' ability to get four or more large coaches into downtown Buenos Aires' narrow streets and even under the hotel's porte-cochère, not to mention the ease with which they got all 148 of us onto the coaches in good time for our trip across town to the domestic airport.   

Miami and the South Beach Excursion

We are here in Miami with the whole day to kill, so what to do?  Maybe a trip over to the much discussed South Beach area?  A quick search on the iPhone shows it's not so far -- about 17 miles -- and not so impossible to get to with a taxi.  The concierge shows us a hop-on-hop-off bus tour that looks like a good way to do it, so we buy it from him.  Well, part of it.  He charges $15 per person and then we'll pay more at the tour office in South Beach.

Our guides on the tour bus seem inordinately fascinated by the rich and famous people who live or lived in Miami.  There are several islands out in the bay that seem to be enclaves of such people.  Our bus drives out the MacArthur Causeway across Biscayne Bay, and we're introduced to Palm Island and Star Island and their residents.

But the real treat is South Beach, or SoBe as the natives put it. This was one of the first areas of Miami to be developed for tourism and snowbirds.  But after a roaring beginning in the 1910's and 1920's, it became by the 1980's a haven for criminals, Cubans and little old ladies. Before the days of Miami Vice, South Beach was considered a very poor area with a very high rate of crime.  Then the beautiful people moved in.  Fortunately that also rescued the  art deco, streamline moderne, and nautical moderne architecture for which South Beach is famed.

After the South Beach tour, we thought we might save time and distance by taking the city tour bus back in the direction of our hotel.  Bad idea!  We got caught up in pre-holiday traffic jams that seemed to never end, and our bus crept along.  There were no taxis in sight.  We needed to return to our hotel, pack our bags, and get to the airport in good time to catch our evening flight to Buenos Aires.

Ambassadors and ex-FSO's Call For A Public Diplomacy Professional At State

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and former ambassador pulled me aside at a luncheon.  He was, he confided, in despair about the recently announced departure of Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy.

Tara Sonenshine

Sonenshine will be leaving just fifteen months after having arrived.  Her predecessor, Judith McHale, left after only about two years in the job.  James K. Glassman, who served before her, was in the job only seven months.

Between incumbents, there are long gaps.  Since public diplomacy was brought into the State Department in 1999, there have been seven people in the Under Secretary slot, and it has been vacant 30 percent of the time.  This is due to a glacier-like nomination process requiring the United States Senate's advice and consent, but both the Bush and Obama Administrations were slow to pick people and nominate them.

Secretary Kerry

My colleague and I decided to write a letter to the Secretary of State.  We thought it might carry more weight if we sought some additional signers from among our colleagues -- former ambassadors and senior public diplomacy officials, mainly those who headed up a public diplomacy operation field during either the USIA days or since integration into State.

We sent the letter May 24, and immediately we began to hear from others who wanted to indicate their support for the ideas in the letter by signing it too.  So, on May 31, we sent an updated version to Secretary Kerry.

I think the letter speaks for itself pretty well, so I'll post it here.  Maybe I'll add some more thoughts on the subject in coming days.



                                                            May 31, 2013
                                                            (Letter of May 24, 2013, revised with
                                                             additional signatures)


The Honorable John F. Kerry
Secretary of State

Washington DC 20520


Dear Mr. Secretary:


We urge that a career foreign affairs professional be appointed as the next Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Such an appointment would support your efforts fully to integrate public diplomacy into U.S. foreign affairs.


No career professional has served as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Coincidentally or not, today there is a wide consensus that U.S. perspectives are less well understood abroad, and people-to-people exchanges are less robust than they should be. In today’s globalizing but still threatening world, and as our military forces abroad are drawn down, it is more important than ever that America strengthen its “soft power.” For this, public diplomacy is an essential and powerful tool.


A career foreign affairs professional, with years of overseas and Washington experience, is more likely to understand the larger world context and how public diplomacy can help achieve America’s policy goals. And it is challenging to direct and energize public diplomacy if the leadership has brief tours or vacancies are lengthy. Prior to the incumbent Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, leaving after just over a year in office, the previous four served, on average, nearly two years. By comparison, the previous four Under Secretaries for Political Affairs, all career professionals, served, on average, nearly three-and-one-half years. The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy reports that the position of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs has been vacant more than 30% of the time since it was created in 1999. The position of Under Secretary for Political Affairs has been vacant only 5% of that time.


Studies by the Defense Science Board, RAND, and other independent groups have found that America’s engagement with foreign publics succeeds best when led by experienced officials having the authority to establish priorities, assign responsibilities, transfer funds, and concur in senior appointments. Leaders must have direct access to you and the President on critical communication issues as policies are formulated and implemented.


When done well, public diplomacy works. Large numbers of foreign heads of government, legislators, and social, economic, and political leaders -- many of them America’s staunch allies and stalwart friends -- have participated in U.S. public diplomacy programs. The University of Southern California recently reported that of individuals exposed to U.S. public diplomacy, 79 percent have used what they learned to bring about positive change in their own communities by running for political office, organizing a civil society group, doing volunteer work, and starting a new business or other projects. Fully 94 percent say the exposure has increased their understanding of U.S. foreign policy, and America’s people, society, and values.


The President’s and your public engagements are among our country’s greatest diplomatic assets. You have over a thousand skilled, culturally-aware, and language-trained public diplomacy officers ready to leverage advanced technology and person-to-person communications skills in order to change foreign outcomes in America’s favor. All they need is truly professional, experienced leadership.


Respectfully,



Leonard J. Baldyga, former PAO in Poland, Mexico, Italy, and India


Adrian A. Basora, Ambassador (Retired), Director of the Project on Democratic Transitions,


     Foreign Policy Research Institute, and Past President, Eisenhower Fellowships


John R. Beyrle, Director, U.S. Russia Foundation, and former Ambassador to Russia and
     Bulgaria


Barbara K. Bodine, former Ambassador to Yemen


Edward Brynn, former Ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ghana, and Acting Historian of the
    Department of State


Brian Carlson, former Ambassador to Latvia and Public Affairs Officer (PAO) in Spain,
   Norway, and Bulgaria


John Campbell, Ambassador (Retired), Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies,
Council on Foreign Relations

William Courtney, former Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia

Shaun Donnelly, former Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives

Craig G. Dunkerley, former Special Envoy for Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

Sally Grooms Cowal, former Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, PAO in Mexico, and Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs

Walter L. Cutler, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Zaire

John Evans, former Ambassador to Armenia

Linda Jewell, former Ambassador to Ecuador

Robert Finn, former Ambassador to Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and Opening Chargé d'affaires
in Azerbaijan

Jacob P. Gillespie, former PAO in Spain and El Salvador

Robert R. Gosende, former Special Envoy for Somalia and PAO in the Russian Federation and
South Africa

Donna J. Hamilton, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs

John R. Hamilton, former Ambassador to Peru and Guatemala

William Harrop, former Ambassador to Israel, Kenya, Zaire, and Guinea, and Inspector General
of the Department of State

Arthur Hartman, Career Ambassador (Retired)

Dennis K. Hays, former Ambassador to Suriname and President of the American Foreign Service
Association

H. Allen Holmes, Ambassador (Retired), former Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-
Military Affairs

Robert E. Hunter, former Ambassador to NATO (non-career) and senior member of the National
Security Council (NSC) Staff

Morris Jacobs, former President of the Public Diplomacy Council

Linda Jewell, former Ambassador to Ecuador and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
Western Hemisphere Affairs

Joe B. Johnson, Public Diplomacy Council and former PAO in Ireland and Panama

Richard D. Kauzlarich, former Ambassador to Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dr. William P. Kiehl, President & CEO, PDWorldwide, and former PAO in Czechoslovakia,
Finland, and Thailand

Melinda Kimble, Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation, and former Acting Assistant
Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment, and Science

Daniel Kurtzer, former Ambassador to Egypt and Israel.

Bruce Laingen, former Ambassador to Malta and Chargé d'affaires, TehranRichard LeBaron, former Ambassador to Kuwait and Founding Coordinator of the Center for
Strategic Counterterrorism Communications

Melvyn Levitsky, former Ambassador to Bulgaria and Brazil, and Assistant Secretary of State
for International Narcotics Matters

Thomas E. McNamara, Ambassador (Retired), former Assistant Secretary of State for
Political-Military Affairs

Richard Miles, former Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and Georgia

John O'Keefe, former Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic

Thomas R. Pickering, former Ambassador to Nigeria, Jordan, El Salvador, Israel, the United
Nations, India, and Russia, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Christopher Ross, Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Western Sahara,
and former Special Coordinator for Public Diplomacy and Ambassador to Algeria and
Syria

William A. Rugh, former Ambassador to Yemen and to the United Arab Emirates, and PAO in
Egypt and Saudi Arabia

Harold H. Saunders, former senior member of the NSC Staff, Director of Intelligence and
Research, and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs

Michael Schneider, Senior Executive Service (Retired), U.S. Information Agency

John W. Shirley, former Ambassador to Tanzania, PAO in Warsaw and Rome, and Counselor of
the U.S. Information Agency

Katherine Shirley, former ambassador to Senegal

Pamela Hyde Smith, former Ambassador to Moldova and PAO in the United Kingdom

Patrick Nickolas Theros, former Ambassador to Qatar

Hans N. Tuch, Career Minister (Retired), former PAO in the USSR, Germany, and Brazil, and
Deputy Chief of Mission in Bulgaria and Brazil

Alexander F. Watson, former Ambassador to Peru, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent
Representative at the United Nations, and Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs

Marcelle M. Wahba, former Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and PAO in Egypt,
Jordan, and Cyprus

Philip C. Wilcox, Jr., Ambassador (Retired), former Chief of Mission in Jerusalem and
Ambassador at Large for Counterterrorism

Kenneth Yalowitz, former Ambassador to Belarus and Georgia


Additional Signatures


Robert L Barry, former Ambassador to Bulgaria and Indonesia, and former Deputy Director,
Voice of America

Gene Bigler, former PAO Havana

Robert Callahan, former Ambassador to Nicaragua and PAO in Bolivia, Greece, and Italy

Michael Canning, former President of the Public Diplomacy Alumni Association

Elinor Constable, former Ambassador to Kenya and Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Paul Denig, former PAO in Yugoslavia and Director, Washington Foreign Press Center,
Department of State

Vello Ederma, former Deputy Chief, European Division, Voice of America

Harriet L. Elam-Thomas, former Ambassador to Senegal and Counselor, U.S. Information
Agency

Allen C. Hansen, retired USIA FSO and author

J. Michael Houlahan, former PAO in Jamaica

Gerald Huchel, former PAO in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Senegal

Vicki Huddleston, former Ambassador to Madagascar and Mali, and Principal Officer of the
U.S. Interests Section in Havana

Susan Johnson, President, American Foreign Service Association

Kenton W. Keith, former Ambassador to Qatar and PAO in Egypt and Syria

Patricia H Kushlis, President of the Santa Fe World Affairs Forum, and former Foreign Service
Officer, U.S. Information Agency

Robert R. LaGamma, President of the Council for a Community of Democracies, and former
Director, African Affairs, U.S. Information Agency, and PAO South Africa

Robert E. McCarthy, former PAO in Hungary and Russia

Anthony C. E. Quainton, former Ambassador to Central African Empire, Nicaragua, Kuwait, and
Peru, and Director General of the Foreign Service

Morton Smith, former Area Director for East Asia/Pacific, U.S. Information Agency, and Deputy
Director, Voice of America

John H. Trattner, former Spokesman, Department of State

Frederick Vreeland, former Ambassador to Morocco


cc:  National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon

Rookery Bay

Every Friday night there is a sunset  cruise of Rookery Bay organized by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Rookery Bay is south of Naples just west of the road to Marco Island.  The bay and its islands form part of the Ten Thousand Islands region.

The Good Fortune II

The pontoon boat, Good Fortune II (it does make you wonder if her predecessor had some bad fortune?), holds about thirty people plus a captain and two naturalists. We set sail a little early, about 4:30 p.m., from the dock on Shell Island Road because the tide was scheduled to be especially low this evening.  The captain did not want to get stranded on return.

After the standard safety briefing we pulled out into Hall Bay and began immediately spotting things.  First was a dolphin who surfaced and dived about 200 yards from our boat.  He was near shore, alone, and obviously hunting for dinner in the shallow waters as the tide was running.

Soon we came upon a spot where some bald eagles had set up a nest and raised their brood.  The young eagle have grown a lot and gotten bigger.  A little like teenagers, they got angry when their parents did not bring home as much food as the young ones thought was proper.  And, again like teenagers, they tore up the eagle nest where they were raised.  So now, everyone is simply sitting in trees.  This is of course also the way the adult eagles teach the young eagles to hunt for their own dinner.  But it makes a nice story for the tourists.

Bald Eagle on Slash Pine

We hung about for a while to see what might transpire, but the eagles simply sat in the trees and watched the tourists. I began to realize that either because of the depths (shallow) or concern for the wildlife (it is the Conservancy, after all), the boat was not going to get very close to the trees or the birds.  The Conservancy naturalist told about DDT and how it nearly wiped out the bird population until it was banned in 1974 as a result of increased attention to the environment ("Silent Spring" and all that). The male adult bald eagle simply sat there, looking regal.  He did not move much.  Eventually, we simply moved along the bay to see what else might appear.

Tricolored Heron

We did have a pretty good luck spotting the tricolored heron which sports a distinctive white breast and blue-grey feathers on his back.  We saw several of them as we motored past the red mangroves that predominate here. When the bird is in breeding plumage, they have long blue filamentous plumes on the head and neck, and buff ones on the back. This is a pretty bird, walking in the shallow waters and hunting for fish who might mistake his shadow for a protecting tree.

The highlight of the trip might have been the osprey, simply because we were able to get

Mother osprey with fledgling

close to them and watch the mothers feeding the fledglings with fresh fish that the fathers had caught and brought in.  The parents will tear the fish apart, and for the very young, they eat the fish and regurgitate it into the mouths of the chicks.  As the chicks mature, they don't need the pre-eating service anymore, but they still wait hungrily for the parents to deliver dinner.  And they are pretty vocal about their hunger pangs.

This mother sat vigilantly up on the next, tearing a fish apart and feeding the pieces to her chick beside her.  They both kept a close eye on our boat as we hovered nearby, but clearly they also felt they had little to fear from tourist snowbirds.  A little bit further along, we saw a male osprey

come swooping in with a very large fish in his talons.  It must have weighed nearly as much as he did, and he found it necessary to set the fish down on a tree and recover his breath from the battle. Indeed, we wondered if he would have difficulty flying off the tree branch with the fish in his claws.

The Good Fortune II circled around for a while, but the osprey family kept watching us and not making a move to shift the fish over to the nest.  We suspected that our presence made them cautious.  So, we motored on.

Brown Pelican

On our left side was Keewaydin Island, one of the barrier islands that protect the Everglades from hurricanes and storms.  People do own property on the island, but today they are restricted from selling it to anyone but relatives.  There is no power, water or sanitary facilities on the island, so it is a pretty rustic lifestyle.  The sand is shallow and sits on a bed of shells. This is a favored breeding ground for the loggerhead turtle, but we did not see one.  We did pass a trio of young brown pelicans who seemed to be waiting for better fishing conditions. 

At last the Good Fortune II turned into Rookery Bay itself.  We could see large numbers of birds resting on the islands in the bay, but our captain seemed not to want to get too close.  The naturalist told us that the guano smell can be pretty fierce if you're downwind because the birds really do pack themselves into the trees on these islands. We motored by at a considerable distance. Oh well.

Pretty soon we were returning to the dock at Shell Island Road.  We met a Wyndemere couple with similar travel interests to ours, so we agreed to go out to dinner together.  We drove a little further south on highway 951 to the Isle of Capri Road and stopped at the Capri Fish House.  It's a little restaurant in a building on the beach with a tent for overflow seating, and one very small but busy kitchen.  The food was great, my seafood platter being both enormous and fresh -- I could not finish the frog's legs -- but the service a little more than disorganized.  I thought Diego would never get us any bread or wine, but he eventually came through in most important respects. It was a good meal to finish off a pleasant evening.

Different Airports

This is a very different airport environment from Leesburg.  The big difference: no Washington DC SFRA to worry with, of course.  On the other hand, Naples has a tower.

Naples airport (KAPF) has a lot of general aviation jet traffic, a control tower, two intersecting runways, and what seems to be a zillion taxiways and ramps.  It can be very confusing until you catch on.  Moreover, the tower has the habit of telling you to "Report the courthouse on left base" (a big white building in south Naples) or "Report the toll booth" on left base, meaning the toll booths on I-75, conveniently about 2 miles from the runway.  Fortunately the runways are long and wide (6600x150), and the weather is usually, well, perfect. 

Approaching runway 05 KAPF

The airport is right on the coast.  When approaching runway 05, you turn base over the Gulf of Mexico, and it is not unusual to see dolphins in the water and sunbathers on the beach below while you're descending to the runway.

There is a good deal of student pilot work going on in the area, especially by foreigners who have been sent here by their airlines to get their pilot license -- what is called "ab initio" training in the airline business -- so some of the accents and pronunciation leave me puzzled.  But the tower controllers usually seem to understand and make themselves understood. 

Despite being a little testy at times with those who don't know their way around, the tower controllers can be very helpful too.  They don't mind clearing you to land on the grass beside the runway if you ask nicely, especially when they're not too busy.


The Citation and Gulfstream jets come zooming in here at their usual high speeds, and they have to mix with the Cessna 172's and taildraggers.  More than once I've been asked to "make maximum speed" because some Gulfstream is coming up behind me.


The neat thing is that our house is about 2.9 nm from the CYY VOR on the field, and just about directly under the flight path for runway 05-23.  I get to watch airplanes all day long, even while standing on the driving range at the club. And when I take off on runway 05, I fly right over our neighborhood.  The other day departure asked us to stay below 500 feet for separation from some incoming traffic, so we flew right over the house at 500 feet.

Social Media: Lessons for Public Diplomacy

Some of the bloom is "off" the social media rose.

Two years have passed since the initial demonstrations in Tahrir Square, and today not many journalists or other “new media” enthusiasts still claim that Twitter started, sustained or steered the 2011 Egyptian uprising.  Indeed, many of the participants vociferously challenge the idea that Twitter or Facebook were anywhere nearly as important as their own determined efforts.

As part of the reassessment of social media’s role, Marc Lynch, George Washington University’s leading Middle East political analyst, writes an immensely intelligent commentary in Foreign Policy. The subtitle foretells his principal point:   “How social media is hurting the Arab Spring.”  

(Image from Foreign Policy)

In his article, Twitter Devolutions, Lynch defines seven lessons, seven ways the Internet and social media played a role in the post-uprising struggles in several Arab countries. I think he is right in concluding that social media may have done more harm than good.

While Professor Lynch targets his critique on the impact social media made on the Arab countries, his article offers an equally valid insight into how Western diplomats, journalists, and academics misappraised the role of social media in those revolutions.

Indeed, there is a strong argument that in the Arab Spring, mis-reading and over-interpreting social media led to leaps of faith, even Western policy mistakes. There was too little attention to just how few individuals in the region actually use social media, where information comes from, and the insights obtainable from data-driven network analysis.

Marc Lynch

Marc Lynch believes social media serves academics, journalists and government analysts as a source of information and insight.  He says he relies on social media for information and unfiltered opinions from hundreds of Arab citizens every day.

This is the key lesson about social media, especially for public diplomacy: you go into social media to listen, not to talk.

Just recently, Twitter announced its intention to buy Bluefin Labs, a social analytics company that specializes in data about what people are saying about television programs while they are on the air.  For example, companies like CBS or HBO pay Bluefin for information about what is being said about them online, while shows are airing. It is invaluable to get those indications of opinion trends and sentiment shifts early, while you have time to act on them.

By now, everyone has heard of the “United Breaks Guitars” case and the viral video. As an example of how much the corporate world has learned since 2009, listen to the Airplane Geeks podcast  interview with Jon Bird, director of social media for American Airlines. Companies large and small are listening intently to their customers every second of the day.  And, more and more, corporations are agile in reacting to what they hear.

Is public diplomacy listening enough? Is our diplomacy agile enough?

[See the Public Diplomacy Council website for the original version of this post and comments.]

Tail Wheel Endorsement

I got my tail wheel endorsement today! We flew Naples (KAPF) to Immokalee (KIMM) to La Belle (X14) where they have a grass strip alongside the runway, and back to Naples.

All in all, it took a lot of three-point landings, wheel landings in crosswinds, zooming around the runways (but never a ground loop!), grass field landings, and soft field take offs. In fact, counting up all three separate days of flight training here in Florida, I believe we did 75 landings and take-offs.

Here is a link to Cloud Ahoy's record of the flight, recorded by my iPad as we flew it today.

I assembled some in-the-cockpit camera video into a YouTube record of what some of the training looked like.  As the below video shows, there were a few bounces, some "go-arounds", and for me -- a new landing technique -- the turning side-slip in a crosswind to make a landing. 

Getting my tailwheel endorsement was a great learning experience for me as a pilot.  Thanks go to my CFI, Ted Brousseau and his trusty, ever-so-forgiving Cessna 140A. 

Sunset Over The Fourth Fairway, White Course

It was just one of those very special sunsets over the lake at Wyndemere this evening. 

 

There is an eagle who roosts in one of the tallest trees near here, and I'm determined to get a good photo of him too. — at Wyndemere, Naples, Florida.

 

Number 4, the White Course

 

Key West

 We drove to Key West this morning, departing about 7:00 a.m. to drop off Luniquan at the Wigglebutt Inn, stopping at MacDonalds for breakfast to go, and heading south on highway 41 -- the Tamiami Trail or "Alligator Alley," as it is known.

On Duval Street

Around Miami, we slipped onto US Highway 1 -- the old road that runs from Key West to Maine, the entire length of the United States East Coast.  The ride on the causeway was pretty, too.  Water on both sides of the road, and an ever changing view of old and new Florida.  We stopped briefly at the John Penneykamp Coral Reef State Park -- an underwater park -- but decided to return tomorrow for some snorkeling and glass bottom boat tours.

So, after checking in at the Marriott Beachside Hotel in Key West, we headed over to the Conch Republic for lunch.  A walk down Duval Street was enlivened by the tee shirt parlours, bars and the occasional "gypsy chicken."  

   

In the mid-1800's, chickens were big business in Cuba. Breeders had purchased several varieties of Filipino fowl in Spain and brought them to the island, where they were selectively bred for size and aggressiveness--and  named the Cubalaya. The handsome gentleman here is a black breasted red. By the 1860's, when Cubans began to move to Key West, they brought their love for cockfighting (and their chickens) with them.

The Hemingway House

We did the tour of the Hemingway house. The mansion is replete with its collection of six-toed cats, now under some kind of unnecessary protection from the Department of Agriculture. It is still one of the largest properties on Key West and is owned by a private owner. The tour guides know their stuff and weave the Hemingway story into the history of the period very nicely.  It's at least the fourth time Marcia and I have been there and heard it, and there is always something new.

Bob, Natalie, Marcia and Brian

Well, it was nearing dusk, and so time to wander down to Mallory Square by the water.  There is a famed Sunset Celebration, a nightly arts festival that occurs at Mallory Square Dock every night. We stopped to take a photo of the four of us as headed toward the square.

Get me a drink!

It seemed only appropriate to have a libation with which to celebrate sunset, so we lined up at one of the sidewalk bars that were doing a brisk business.  

Sunset from Mallory Square

Soon the cruise ships began to pull away from the dock and the sun began to sink lower in the western sky.  A number of sailboats criss crossed in front of us, sails silhouetted against the sun and the cloud streaked sky. Toasts were hoisted, while street performers did their acts on the dock -- one guy pretended to do a show with trained cats, but in fact the cats seemed to be doing whatever they liked and the guy made up a commentary to fit their random actions. 

Mallory Square trinkets

Duval Street at night

There was stuff for sale, and  lots of traffic on Key West's Duval Street, which was very much alive tonight.  We dined at the Grand Cafe Key West.  We walked back to the Margaritaville bar and caught the shuttle back to the Marriott.  (The shuttle is by the way aplus for the Marriott, because taxis and other transportation in Key West seem very expensive.)