Poornima and Sujit

Alaska- The Last Frontier

sujit1234@hotmail.com (Sujit) — 2008-08-31T22:58:00-05:00

Alaska the land of changing colors... I don't think pictures can truly capture the beauty of this land. From cold glacial ice-age remnants in the south to the sub-arctic and arctic climate of the north, Alaska truly is a photographer's delight. We spent 8 days in Alaska, but the beauty and what the land offers cannot be consumed in 8 short days, what we got was just a taste of what the land has to offer. We got up at 1:00am and traveled 6 miles out into the open darkness gazing at the clear starry sky for 2 hours in the hope of seeing the Aurora Borealis , but we did get to see the milky way a hazy white glowing band in the sky, a sight hard to come by due to growing city pollution and lights.

You would expect Alaska to be all covered in snow and ice during the ice age( 12,000+ years ago) but to the contrary during this period when the entire of Canada to Wisconsin in the United States was covered with ice the region of Alaska stretching from Fairbanks to Denali lying between the Brooks ranges(north) and the Alaska range(south) remained ice free. The Alaska range that is home to America's tallest mountain- Mt McKinley blocks the cold moisture rich winds blowing off the south-eastern coast while the Brooks Range in the north protects the region from the harsh winter storms from the northern arctic region. This region enjoys nice warm summers from May through September. The forests in this area comprise primarily the white Spruse trees. As you travel further north of Fairbanks towards the arctic circle you enter different climate zones. Starting with the sub tundra, dominated by the black Spruse and Willows to the tundra forests of the arctic region. The Arctic region(66 deg 33 mins latitude) just south of the Brook range is home to the dwarf birch and small vegetation including berries- we picked different varieties here -crow berries, black berries, blue berries and cran berries. I also brought home some spicy tea leaves - the labrador teas. These are small shrubs growing in this arctic climate. The soil in this region is permanent layered with permafrost. The active soil layer is only 18 inches deep and below that it is frozen. The active layer retains a lot of water making the soil spongy and can support only small vegetation. Beyond the Brook range is all snow covered and supports little to no vegetation.

Our journey began at Seward which is the shipping port and is named after William Seward , Sect of State who closed the deal to purchase Alaska from the Russian in 1867 for a sum of $7.0 Million. Then famously referred to as "Seward's Folly" today Alaska is a gold pot for the United States first with the gold discoveries and today for its rich deposits of oil and natural gas.We also had the opportunity to see the famous Trans Alaska pipeline the runs 800 miles from Purdue Bay (north) to Valdez seaport in the south.

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Costa Rica Trip Mar 7th - Mar 17th 2008

sujit1234@hotmail.com (Sujit) — 2008-03-18T18:51:00-05:00

Hola!!! (spanish for hello) Welcome and enjoy our pictures from the Costa Rica trip. We did some really cool adventurous stuff. ~PURA VIDA ~

Pura Vida in spanish means "Pure Life". Costa Ricans or Ticos (men)/ Ticas (women) as they are called, often use this term to greet each other.The staple diet of Costa Ricans is meat with a serving of Rice and Beans. Rice and Beans is pretty much what veggies get, I ate so much of it in 10 days that I would not eat even in a month. On the brighter side if you are a fruit lover, its paradise. I tried the Guanabana fruit milk shake,loved it. Its a dark green fruit the inside is like that of custard apple but it tastes different,has a nice tangy taste.

We landed in San Jose on Mar 7th mid-night and met our tour guide and group the following morning just before heading out to see Arenal in the city of La~Fortuna.The drive from San Jose to Arenal was about 3 hours. Arenal is the famous active volcano. Arenal in spanish is no sand. The mountain was so named because the lava flow is all hard rock and no sand. We were able to see the red glowing lava flow after sunset and it was an amazing sight.The weather here was perfect. At Arenal we rapelled (climbing down waterfalls using ropes) in the rain forests followed by a perfect relaxation at the Baldi Hot springs.

From Arenal we headed to Monteverde which was roughly a 4 hour drive. Monteverde is famous for its rain and cloud forests. Being a mountainous region the evenings are chilly and we needed a light jacket.The cloud forests,so called because all year through they are covered by clouds. These forests are home to some exotic bird species and the near extinct Quetzal. We were lucky to see an adult Male Quetzal in full splendor. At Monteverde we did the zip lines and the tarzan jump.

From here we drove to Manuel Antonio beach near the town of Quepos (pronounced as kpos). This is a beautiful beach town and what we liked most about it was that it was still pristine, unlike the usual touristy beaches. The Manuel Antonio forest reserve houses several different species of lizards,iguanas,monkeys,racoons and snakes. We sighted some of these creepy looking creatures. Most Iguanas are non poisonous and the local savor the meat (we were told it tastes a lot better than chicken;-) .. any takers?

One of the most thrilling experiences of this trip was Jet Skiing. We jet skied out in the Oceano Pacifico(pacific ocean) for 2 hours and spotted dolphins. Hats off to Sujit for being brave enough to try it despite not knowing how to swim. In Manuel Antonio Sujit had his first swimming lessons from me in the hotel's swimming pool.

From Manuel Antonio we returned to San Jose and spent 2 days exploring the capital. On Mar 17th we bid farewell to Costa Rica ! PURA VIDA INDEED!!!!

Leave us your comments, we would love to hear from you!

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Cookie

sujit1234@hotmail.com (Sujit) — 2007-03-29T00:34:00-05:00

Cookie was my birthday gift from mom and dad in 1996.

She lived with us for 10 years and I will always miss her.. I wish Sujit had a chance to meet her.. his opinion on dogs would have changed :-)

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Sonoma_visit_030907

sujit1234@hotmail.com (Sujit) — 2007-03-29T00:23:00-05:00

A little weekend getaway to the fabulous wine country..

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Our Wedding Reception

sujit1234@hotmail.com (Sujit) — 2007-01-28T18:15:00-05:00

Venue: United Club, Jamshedpur, India

Thanks to Mumma and Daddy for hosting this grand reception. We really loved it... the food, the decor .. everything!

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