What National Geographics doesn’t tell you about Walruses
Postcard 25 August ‘24: What’s that smell?
This week felt like the morning surf you should have never attempted.
But once you were in, you had to deal with it.
Like paddling out against the whitewater (aka crashing waves) with no line-up in sight, or when you got the glimpse of it, the waves just started breaking further out, too.
Well, I eventually caught some lovely surf, but the swell was rather tough and unexpected. And I do not have much headspace for writing complex things.
So, I’d rather to share an expedition story with you instead ☺️
This week’s postcard takes us back to my fieldwork trip in Svalbard last year.
It was the second cruise I joined, and the weather had cleared up and calmed down compared to the previous week. We were heading back from the ice edge north of Spitsbergen along the west coast. It was super sunny, and the restaurant crew was already preparing a barbecue for lunch on one of the observation decks (yep, luxurious!).
The spot where we would stop for a guest landing (meaning shuttling the guests with zodiacs to a landmark where they can venture into a secured and allowed area) is called Poolepynten, known for being a favourite location for walrus haul-outs (term for a safe place to come ashore).
And there was no doubt we would get to see them.
The odor that the wind carried over from the narrow land strip was leaving us—well—breathless.
There is little that emits smell in the Arctic in general, but walrus encounters in the wild are repeatedly mistaken for a pile of death which ascended from the deep sea.
Walrus stink!
They are not exactly neat and clean animals. They burb and fart constantly. Which is what a diet full of clams and mussels does to you. In addition, their stoicism when wallowing and sizzling in the sun, all covered in their faeces, is - stunning.
We kept a safe distance to avoid disturbing the siesta (my pictures were taken with a telelens).
To be honest with you, the walrus probably ranks lowest on my favourite Arctic mammals list…And that was already before my nose got to experience the smell first-hand.
However, I am still grateful for this surprisingly smelly but magical experience.
So here are some more pictures for you to enjoy odour-free.
Let me know if you liked this little fieldwork story!
Todays postcard is also the digital version of the first printed one I got to send out it month to lovely
.If you don’t know her yet, she went from being “The bored millennial” to venturing into solopreneurship and online writing! Here, you can get true-life advice for being an introvert and a sensitive being in our beautifully messy world.
On my desk
I don’t know how and when, but I submitted both publications this week for editing and final review. For the scientific manuscript, I took way more time than expected for final edits. Like so many details to check and adjust related to references, responses to the reviewers, quality of figures (I went deep into a wormhole to discover how the heck to export figures that I had created in PowerPoint in 300 dpi resolution!). But I did it. Cheers! I mean, Skål!
With the two publications sent off for final submission, I decided that I need some structure to still keep doing some work in between moving. I want to work 3-4 hours each day split as follows:
1 hour for reading research papers (and taking notes for my next publication)
1 hour for studying acoustic materials
1 hour for Substack
15-30 minutes learning Danish
Fingers crossed for this endeavour 😊
PS: I wrote this earlier this week. I am not sure if any of this is going to happen before October, but it is a noble plan.
On my ears, page or screen
Currently watching the latest season of “New Amsterdam” on Netflix. And: I just saw that the new season for “Emily in Paris” has been released, so cool 😁
Things that made me smile, laugh, think, cry or curse this week
Smile & laugh
Meeting in real life - yep, not only did she win the postcard, but she also stopped by in Karlsruhe on her Belgium-Italy solo camper trip, and we had the loveliest chats and walkies with our two dogs.
Spending quite some time with Molly. She is the cutest - and sometimes weirdest. Like why on earth did we pay for physiotherapy when she sleeps like that?!
The amazing emotional and practical support I got from many dear people 🥰- from very close in distance or relation to relatively remote.
Think
My brain was more in functioning and executing mode this week. No deep thoughts. But I had a really strange dream like a fever dream - but lost all memory of it.
Cry & curse
Spending a quite a little time at a hospital (as a visitor) that is way too familiar to my liking.
Got a Thai massage on Tuesday (gosh, that feels like lightyears away now). Loved it. Hated it. 🤣 I think the therapist might have hated it, too. I was stiff as a kitchen board.
Okay, also, it was cry, curse & laugh 🤣 : Sven killing our beloved blender.
Up next
Honestly, I have no idea how the next week will go. I think I became friends with “plans going overboard” these days.
Moving boxes will definitely have to be packed. So I will need coffee.
We also have to make an IKEA trip to decide on some things (and some we will still buy in Germany).
Hug,
I really enjoyed the walrus story it was lovely and light to read, transporting me back to Svalbard. : )
The walrus slander! Majestic but smelly is a pretty good reputation I suppose