Waiting To Breathe

Alaska. The largest and northernmost state of America. That was where I am last week with my family.

The trip was primarily for my son who just graduated from college and will be moving to California to start medical school. He really likes the outdoors so this is a nice pause before he gets too absorb in serious studies. My daughter who now resides in Florida also joined us on this trip. Perhaps this will be our last hurrah, for the next vacation when my family are all together may not be for a long while.

For more than a week, we explored the beauty that only Alaska can offer. From the snow capped mountains, to the tundra forests, to the rushing icy rivers, and to the glacial fjords. From the very early sunrise, up to the midnight sunset, we soaked it all in.

We had encounters with wild life that were stunning and National Geographic-esque: like when a mother grizzly bear and her two cubs went running across the road in front of our bus and then scurried up on the hill. Or when the mother orca (killer whale) and her calf were swimming side by side when suddenly the baby orca somersaulted out of the water that drew oohs and aahs from us on the boat. It was a “showboat” after all.

I may not have vividly captured these once-in-a-lifetime encounters on camera, but these images are graphically imprinted on the film archives of my mind.

One thing I was able to snap photos of are that of those moose (mooses or meese?). We saw them while we were on the train, while we were on the bus, and when we were hiking.

There was this one instance that we were hiking a 4-mile loop into a lake inside Denali National Park. When we reached the lake we saw a moose and her calf. The mother moose was wading in the lake while her baby was resting on the banks.

We were able to get fairly close that we got a clear look at them even without binoculars. Though we still kept a safe distance. According to National Park Service, they said that more tourists in Alaska were injured by moose than by bears every year. Even though moose are not going to eat you, they will attack and stomp you with their long legs if you get too close, to protect their territory and their young.

When I was aiming to get a photo with my phone, the moose on the lake suddenly dunked its head under the water as if it was teasing me: “Nope, you’re not getting a photo of me!”

Actually it was feeding on the underwater vegetation. As I stood waiting for it to exhale out of the water so I can snap a picture, it seemed like it took a long time to bob its head up again. So I started wondering, how long can a moose hold its breath? Or can they breathe under water?

Moose are mammals just like us, so they need air to breathe and respire through their lungs. And so are whales. Whales can hold its breath for 60 to 90 minutes, while moose can hold its breath for a full minute. Moose cannot breathe under water.

I realized that I had my head under water for a long time too. Many of us are very busy with our jobs and we tend to get buried with work and daily stresses of life. I needed to take a breath of fresh air to rejuvenate my soul. And this trip of breathing crisp Alaskan air just did that.

To spend this sanctuary time with my family surrounded by beautiful nature is what I needed. It’s true we planned this vacation for my son, but perhaps I needed it more than he did.

I know we don’t have to go to some place far away to take a break. All we need is to pause and breathe, and spend quality time with the ones we love, which is what makes life worth living. But to take this respite immersed with the gorgeous landscapes (and waterscapes) that our Creator painted and created is such an added blessing.

From the wilderness of Alaska,

Pinoytransplant.

***********

(*photos taken with an iPhone)