Program 534a: Crete; Alaska's Tip of the Iceberg; Darwin Comes to Town

Look closely, and you might see how birds, animals, plants and insects are adapting, to survive changes to their environment. On the next Travel with Rick Steves, a Dutch biologist explains how urban evolution is happening faster than we used to think, all over the world.
Plus, travel writer Mark Adams describes his three-thousand mile voyage along the coasts of Alaska, to follow what the Harriman Expedition saw in 1899.
And hear how the Greek island of Crete offers a natural experience, unlike any other.

This is a re-edit of a program that first aired in August 2018. Rick puts the interviews in the context of the Covid pandemic in revised segment A and B opens.

• Anastasia Gaitanou, Greek tour guide  
• David Willett, tour guide expert on ancient Greece
• Mark Adams, author of "Tip of the Iceberg" (Dutton)
• Biologist Menno Schilthuizen, author of "Darwin Comes to Town" (Picador)

• Rick writes about visiting the Gorge of Samaria on Crete.
• David Willett can be reached about his custom guiding through his LinkedIn page.
• Anastasia Gaitanou is a member of the World Federation of Tourist Guides Association.
• Mark Adams describes his 3,000 mile journey on the Alaska State Ferry system, to retrace the route of the 1899 Harriman Expedition, in his book "Tip of the Iceberg."
• Mark Adams discusses the challenges of hiking to Machu Picchu on Travel with Rick Steves program #480, and his search for evidence of the legendary lost city of Atlantis on program #501.
• Biologist Menno Schilthuizen is the author of "Darwin Comes to Town."
• Menno also leads eco-tourist adventures with Taxon Expeditions, in which “citizen scientists” discover and name new wildlife species in the jungles of Borneo

• "Last August my husband and I took the Alaska Marine Ferry from Bellingham to Juneau. From Juneau we flew to Anchorage, and rented a car to explore more of this great state. The experience on the Alaska Marine Ferry was fantastic.  We opted to reserve a stateroom, although many others camped in tents on the decks! We enjoyed meeting and talking with both locals and tourists on this three day journey.  The ferry travels the smaller waterways of the Inside Passage, enabling us to see the most private, secluded areas. The sunrises and sunsets were amazing." (Vanessa in Wilkesboro, North Carolina)

• Marion Verbruggen, recorder, "'Praeludium' from Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 (J. S. Bach)," A Decade of Excellence (sampler) / Harmonia Mundi
• Floratone, "Frontiers," Floratone / Blue Note
• Michael Levy, "Ancient Greek Musical Fragment: Poem, Mor 1, 11f, Migne 37, 523 - arranged for a replica lyre," The Ancient Greek Lyre / (self-released)
• instrumental intro to Nektarios Sfirakis, "Mou To' Pane," 1000% Epitihies (collection) / BMG Greece - Sony Distribution
• Michelle Sell & Ensemble, "Glass Houses," Secret Harbor / Sugo Music
• Andreas Vollenweider, "Circulus Finalis; Return of the Heroes," Kryptos / Sony Classical
• * Yannis Markopoulos, "Proino Sto Nafplio (from the film 'Dama Spathi')," Music for Films, vol. 2 / Elliniki Dimiourgia Ltd.
• Moby, "Horse & Carrot," 18 - B Sides / V2
• Naoko Yoshino, "Rondeau-Allegretto (Rosetti)," The Healing Harp / Philips
• Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, "Grateful Dawg," Jerry Garcia/David Grisman / Acoustic Disc
• Mark Isham, "Mr. Moto's Penguin," Vapor Drawings / Windham Hill
• Cha-Das-Ska-Dum Which-ta-lum (Lummi) and Dean Evenson, "Cry of the Forest," Arctic Refuge: A Gathering of Tribes (collection) / Soundings of the Planet
• Hobo Jim, "Athabascan  Fiddler," Alaska's Hobo Jim: A Collection / (self-released)
• Leah Surusila, "Improvisation" The Inuit Artists World Showcase (1994) (collection) / Inukshuk Productions
• Dan Bern, "Alaska Highway," New American Language / Messenger Records
• * Medicine Dream, "Jalasi," Identity / (self-released)
• Silicone Soul, "Right On, Right On," Claude Challe: Nirvana Lounge 2 (collection) / George V (France)
• Elizabeth Cotton, "Washington Blues," Shake Sugaree / Smithsonian Folkways
• Tim Story, "Emerald Lake," Caravan-A Soundtrack / Nepenthe Music
• Lucila Campos, "Samba Malato," Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul of Black Peru (collection) / Luaka Bop
• Azymuth, "Estreito de Taruma," Telecommunication / Milestone
• Symfunny Orchestra, "What a Wonderful World," Jazz Classics on Toys / Atma  
• Berliner Salonensemble, "Der Optimist," Einsamer Sonntag - So klang es damals im Caféhaus Folge 2 / Monopol

• Rick mentions at 7:37 that the segment A interview was recorded prior to the pandemic closures.
• At 9:10, David Willett notes when he was in Crete "last June," that he saw the traditional dress of Cretans have become trendy with young people on the island. He adds that guns are less prevalent on the island than in years past.
• At 15:45, David says the busiest months on Crete's beach resorts are June thru September. He adds that Russians on package tours are the newest group visiting Crete in large numbers.
• Rick opens segment B by noting that Alaska cruises had reached new heights in popularity, with more than one million cruise ship passengers, before the pandemic closures. He adds that the Mark Adams interviews was recorded in 2018.
• At 24:08, Mark notes that "on a nice summer day," up to five cruise ships a day might drop up to 10,000 people onto the streets of Skagway. He adds that, about 15 years ago, the nearby city of Haines decided to tax cruise ships, and lost their status as a cruise port. But that the residents have no regrets being off the main cruise ship route, and foregoing mass tourism.
• Caller Vanessa says at 25:44 that she took the Alaska State Ferry from Bellingham "last August." She adds it took her three days to get to Juneau.
•  Rick and Mark start talking about the ecological challenges to the village of Shishmaref, on the northwest edge of the Seward Peninsula, starting at 33:04. Mark says residents voted to be known as "climate refugees" the day before he visited. At 34:14, Rick notes that the Crystal Serenity luxury cruise ship had its inaugural run past Nome and through the fabled Northwest Passage of the Canadian Arctic, just before Mark visited Nome.
• At 37:26, Mark notes that Muir Glacier has been rapidly retreating in the last century, and is now only a sliver of ice, deep in its valley.
• Menno notes at 55:33 that there are now citizen science projects where people track changes and upload images from their environment for scientific studies. He later explains how the organization he co-founded, Taxon Expeditions, is engaging in some of these projects.