World Explorer Makes Trek To Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Jon Bowermaster has traveled Antarctica by dogsled and navigated the world's seas by kayak. On Tuesday, the National Geographic Society explorer embarked on another journey—one that posed a much smaller risk of contracting hypothermia or malaria.

Bowermaster, a world-renowned journalist, oceans expert and National Geographic Society explorer, visited the  Tuesday night for a showing of three films from his Oceans 8 collection, which documents Bowermaster's exploration of the world's oceans by sea kayak.

The evening was part of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia's GEOfest, which runs through Saturday.

Oceans 8 comprises eight half-hour films, each of which focuses on a different country and Bowermaster's one- to two-month kayak journey along its coastline. Shot over a 10-year period, Oceans 8 not only chronicles Bowermaster's adventures, but also shares the stories of locals who rely on those ocean waters for their livelihood.

Bowermaster hosted a Q&A session with the audience following the showing of three Oceans 8 films, which focused on Gabon, Croatia and Tasmania.

In Gabon, Bowermaster, National Geographic Society colleague Mike Fay and two Gabonese ecoguides kayaked more than 200 miles around the perimeter of Loango, one of 13 then-recently established national parks in the African nation. The journey included 40 miles of the park's jungle interior, a grueling journey that saw the team sleeping in their kayaks for lack of dry land and pulling the 150-pound vessels, on flat tires, through the muddy, thorn-filled forest.

"The most physically demanding trip, more than Antarctica, was Gabon," Bowermaster told the event's attendees after the film on Tuesday. "It was over 100 degrees 24/7, and we ran out of food and water quickly. The tsetse flies are one thing, but my bigger concern was the water. Mike would grab mucky water straight from the lagoon."

Over the course of the Oceans 8 project, Fay was "near death dozens of times," Bowermaster said.

In Gabon, and again in Croatia and Tasmania, Bowermaster documents stunning landscapes and wildlife and explores the stories of those who call each country home. 

"Kayaks are not my passion: what motivates me is where it gets us to and the people it takes us to," Bowermaster said. "I like the flexibility of meeting interesting people and staying for a day, two days, a week. It is bizarre—imagine you're home, and these people come up to you—kayak up to you. You'd probably run inside and lock the doors. We had to be very forward."

In each country, Bowermaster would scout out stories and people a week or two
weeks prior to the trip. Their stories, such as those of local fisherman, often intertwine with those of the sea and recent environmental concerns.

"You see in the films that the environmental issues are everywhere." Bowermaster told Patch after the event. "And we're seeing the same ones over and over: overfishing, plastic pollution, climate change and acidification. We really try to drill that in. I don't really think there's a place for adventure for the sake of adventure in this day and age: it must have a really strong environmental angle."

So, what's it like coming home to America after a two-month journey across the world?

"Ahhhh," Bowermaster said, smiling.

"It's great to enjoy friends and food, television. But after being home for a few days, I realize I'm itchy again. And I like that feeling."