Just like we had committed to Wales last week, a trip postponed over 3 times the past 3 years due to the pandemic must eventually follow through in the world of monsooning. And so we finally will with our voyage to the north on Svalbard, with 17 monsooners — 15 of them being returners — on none other than our old home the m/v Ortelius — the very same ship that took me to Antarctica 8 years ago.
10 of us already come from 3 different yacht week trips we’ve co-led past 8 months, with a grand total of 15 returning if we include 2 separate trips to Egypt and South America!
- Mihaela “Compass”: 16 time monsooner (across at least 27 countries!) to Trans-Mongolian (Mongolia to China), Tibet, Scotland, the Balkans, the Persian Gulf, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Armenia, Egypt, USA, Cyprus, Sardinia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq & Jordan, Vancouver, and The French Polynesia!
- Gareth “The Guvnor” Johnson: 10 time monsooner returning from Greenland, The Least Visited, Route 66, Cuba, Antarctica, Poland & Ukraine, Extreme South America, Extreme SE Asia, Iran, and North Korea!
- Jeanette “V8 Engine” Wong: 6 time monsooner to Cyprus, The Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Martinique, Saint Lucia, & Guadeloupe, Vancouver, and Wales!
- Donna “Speed Racer” Vo: 5 time monsooner to Isle of Man & Northern Ireland, Australia & New Zealand, Prague & Budapest, Japan, Cyprus, and The French Polynesia!
- Sampson “Tesla” Lau: 4 time monsooner to Australia, The Pacific Coast Highway, Vancouver, and Sardinia!
- Sujay “Fashionably Late” Sheth: 2 time monsooner to Vancouver and Sardinia!
- Alexandra “Venus Flytrap” DeRosa: 2 time monsooner to Australia and Egypt 2019!
- Alice “White Nights” Hong: returning from Sardinia!
- Justin “Chief Diving Officer” Chiu: returning from Sardinia!
- Alicia “Wulidat” Shi: returning from Egypt 2022!
- Karthik “Vegas” Srinivasan: returning from Egypt 2019!
- Amelia “Eyes in the Storm” Shillingford: returning from The French Polynesia!
- Bruce “The Prodigal Son” Zhang: returning from The French Polynesia!
- Cindy “Ploppity” Cui: returning from Extreme South America!
Once again, I introduce the next generation of monsooners:
Calvin "O Captain My Captain" Sun - Expedition Leader | NYC | Emergency Physician
Gareth “The Guvnor” Johnson - Co-Expedition Leader and Return Monsooner | Xi’an, China | Managing Director of Young Pioneer Tours
Jeanette "V8 Engine" Wong - Senior Monsooner: May '22 (Wales), Feb. '22 (Whistler), Jan. '22 (Saint Lucia), Sept. '21 (Sardinia & Corsica), Aug '21 (Balearic Islands), Jun '21 (Cyprus) | NYC | MRI Specialist
Sampson "Charging Station" Lau - Returning Monsooner: Feb. '22 (Vancouver), Sept. '21 (Sardinia & Corsica), Aug. '20 (Pacific Coast Highway), Winter '17 (Australia) | Mountain View, CA | Engineer
Amanda "Eyes in the Storm" Shillingford - Return Monsooner: Apr. 22 (French Polynesia) | Psychiatry NP | VT
Alice "White Nights" Hong - Returning Monsooner: Sept. '21 (Sardinia & Corsica) | NYC | Family Medicine Physician
Alicia "Wulidat" Shi - Return Monsooner: Mar. '22 (Egypt) | NYC
Karthik "Vegas" S. - Return Monsooner: Nov. '19 (Egypt) | NYC
Kimsa N. - Public Health | CA
Mihaela "Compass" K. - Lieutenant, Senior Monsooner: Apr. '22 (French Polynesia), Mar. '22 (Iraq & Jordan), Feb. '22 (Whistler), Oct. '21 (Saudi Arabia), Sept.'21 (Sardinia/Corsica), Jun '21 (Cyprus), Aug. '20 (USA), Dec. '19 (Egypt), Nov. '18 (Armenia), June '18 (The Persian Gulf), Oct. '17 (Slovenia), Aug. '17 (The Balkans), May '17 (Luxembourg), Mar. '17 (Scotland), Jan. '17 (Mongolia & Tibet) | NYC | Cytologist, Mt. Sinai
Donna "Spyglass" V. – Senior Monsooner: Sept. '21 (The Tyrrhenian Sea), June '21 (Cyprus), May '19 (Isle of Man & Northern Ireland), Jan '19 (Prague & Budapest), Aug. '18 (Japan), Winter ’18 (Australia & NZ) | Boston, MA | Real Estate & Construction | Wentworth Institute of Technology
Alexandra "Venus Flytrap" De Rosa - Previous Monsooner: Nov. '19 (Egypt) | Winter '17 (Australia & New Zealand) | NYC | Research Assistant, Memorial Sloan Kettering
Bruce "The Prodigal Son" Zhang - Return Monsooner: Apr. '22 (French Polynesia) | NYC | Medical Scribe
Justin "Chief Diving Officer" Chiu - Returning Monsooner: Sept. '21 (Sardinia & Corsica) | NYC
Sujay "Fashionably Late" Sheth - Return Monsooner: Feb. '22 (Whistler), Sept. '21 (Sardinia & Corsica) | Radiologist | Chicago
Cindy "Ploppity" Cui - Return Monsooner: Apr. '15 (Extreme South America) | NYC
Stephen L. - NYC
Longyearbyen
Svalbard
Pyramiden
