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Sarah Zook - Adventurer, Writer, Naturalist
Raised in the snow and sun of the Colorado
Rockies, Sarah learned early the pleasures of outdoor play.
Before she could walk, Sarah had been climbing fourteener’s,
skiing the powder, and literally climbing the walls. But her
adventurous spirit was truly sparked when her parents took
her deep into Mexico to discover the terror and beauty of
the ancient Aztecs. Since then Sarah has been all over the
world and back again, seeking the best beaches, the most secluded
islands, and the most amazing adventures. Some of her favorites
include hiking through the Costa Rican rainforests, almost
becoming a native in Easter Island and, most recently, getting
up close and personal with Humpback whales from a kayak in
Antarctica. She doesn’t discriminate in her travels
and loves everything from the bustle and heat of Bangkok and
Mexico City, to the ultra sleek, and super trendy, European
infused, Buenos Aires, to the calm, quiet of the Antarctic
Peninsula.
A recent graduate of the University of Colorado Women’s
Studies program, Sarah has financed her love of travel by
working in resorts in Belize and waiting tables in fine dining
establishments all over the USA. She combines
her customer service skills with her love and knowledge of
travel to provide clients with the information
they need to have a wonderful voyage.
"It is the discovery that I love. The idea that you never
know what you are going to find, that no matter where you
go on the planet there is some culture, some animal, some
view that you never imagined existed, and each time it happens,
no matter how many times it has happened in the past, it just
takes your breath away. “Isn’t the first time
always the best?
Sarah's first trip to Antarctica, the Falklands and South
Georgia
I just returned from my first trip to Antarctica
and I can hardly express the cold, glowing, wild, teeming,
active, still, beauty of the place. And to think it all started
with a pair of pink wellies. My aunt, Lynn, bought me the
wellies before my trip and each time I pulled them on during,
before and I know, after I got this feeling of anticipation
and excitement that only grew with each zodiac cruise.
I went on a trip that took us to the Falklands,
South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. And from the first
landing I was hooked. We wondered through tussock grass keeping
our eyes peeled for penguin nests and boroughs. We explored
beaches that were ruled by literally hundreds of thousands
curious King Penguins and their barking counter parts, the
fur seals. We watched displaying wandering Albatross, and
stared at the sky as they swooped their giant, graceful wings
over our heads.
But nothing prepared me for what I have
to say was the best zodiac cruise ever. It was in Antarctica
in a random bay along the Gerlache Strait.. The morning had
been miserably cold and windy.
On our first landing we were imitating
penguins, huddled together with our backs to the wind in an
attempt to avoid the horizontal snow that was stinging our
faces. I was afraid we would experience much of the same in
the afternoon, and these were my precious first impressions
of the area. But as soon as we boarded our zodiac the wind
calmed, the clouds parted and the sun showed us Antarctica’s
dazzling side. We made our way through the brash ice, discovering
leopard seals, with their eerie smiles, and penetrating stares
hauled out on the ice warming them after a heavy lunch. (I
have to say, I felt the same way as they did, the food was
always good and always too much.) But mostly we stared in
awe at the surrounding cliffs of ice, we watched the water,
the land, the sky, everything around us literally sparkles
in various shades of blue and white. We were contemplating
a petral who was gliding above a particularly blue and textured
glacier, when much to all of our surprise the glacier with
a giant sound disrupting the utter silence, and a huge splash,
calved. We stared wide-eyed, hardly speaking, at the intense,
glowing blue ice beneath and the dignified berg that was now
floating gracefully in the water. And then a Humpback and
her baby blew, not 20 ft from us, gently rolled through the
water and then waved their flukes at us. My eyes stung with
tears and I don’t think any of us remembered to breathe
again until we got back on the ship. I guess that’s
Antarctica, a moody actress, equal parts, seductress, innocence,
beauty, angry, terrifying, amazing… it took my breath
away.
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