Comments on: Diving in Ash http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/2009/08/08/diving-in-ash/?src=fromthefield-rss NASA scientists are in the field and write home to tell about it. Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:52:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: gene carl feldman http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/2009/08/08/diving-in-ash/comment-page-1/#comment-324 gene carl feldman Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:40:36 +0000 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/?p=534#comment-324 chuck,
although i can’t remember the last time that i was on a scale, i think alfredo’s incredible cooking during the research cruise and the three fantastic meals per day that he provided more than assured that if anything, i put on a little weight during my visit.
regards,
gene

]]> By: Chuck http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/2009/08/08/diving-in-ash/comment-page-1/#comment-179 Chuck Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:09:42 +0000 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/?p=534#comment-179 I would wonder what clogging issues this might cause in the diving gear … would give one pause.

I wondered if you were losing weight … your pictures are skinny, even for you.

]]> By: gene carl feldman http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/2009/08/08/diving-in-ash/comment-page-1/#comment-123 gene carl feldman Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:52:22 +0000 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/?p=534#comment-123 susan,
thanks for your kind words and comments. alfredo, the cook aboard the m/v queen mabel was called “maestro” by everyone for a very good reason – he was an amazing cook and regardless of the weather or sea conditions he was up before everyone else preparing breakfast and i can’t tell you how nice it was to be greeted by the smell of coffee brewing at 6:00am. fishing was not allowed so all of the food that we ate had to be brought with us and was kept either in a small freezer alongside the galley or in storage lockers under the seats in the salon which meant that whenever the alfredo needed something, we all had to scramble to the other side of the salon if we happened to be sitting above the locker he needed to get into. my favorite dish of the week was a shrimp with cream sauce that was worthy of the best seafood restaurant anywhere. another treat were plantain balls that looked like giant matzoh balls but were made from plaintains and had little bits of cheese in them and are a typical fisherman’s breakfast. trust me – they stick with you ALL DAY!
thanks again,
gene

]]> By: Susan Geary http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/2009/08/08/diving-in-ash/comment-page-1/#comment-115 Susan Geary Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:20:16 +0000 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/?p=534#comment-115 Gene,
Your journals are fantastic and I think I have read most of them at least twice! The photos and videos are breathtaking and really gave me a sense that I was along as a stowaway. I also really liked the research you did on Darwin’s original writings. What an incredible experience to have been a part of. Pretty hard to top this one…

I laughed my head off at the story about slipping in the giant tortoise poop. With all the wet decks, jumping off the boat and rolling around in the swells, the mishap came down to a gentle, slow moving reptile out for his/her daily walk!

I might have missed this somewhere in the journals, but I was wondering what the meals were like on-board? Did you have primarily the food that was loaded on when the trip began? (I would imagine you ate a lot of plátanos, frijoles, arroz, pescado, etc.) Were you able to fish from the Mabel as you went along or was that prohibited?

I’m anticipating this might be compiled into book form–I’ll be the first one in line for it if it is! Hope your readjustment to everyday life is a smooth one. Must be something like what astronauts experience when returning from space.

Thanks again for sharing your adventure,
Susan

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