Flexibility is the key to Expedition Cruising. Today was a reminder of that! After our wonderful sightings of 7 polar bears yesterday, I was excited to beat the record of 9, by seeing merely 3 or more today. We had two Zodiac cruises, one around the Lower Savage Islands, and the afternoon in Nanook Harbor. Nanook, Nanuuk, or Nannuk (as it is spelled any of those ways depending on the source) is Inuit for “Polar Bear” and named for the profound number of them to be found here. Spotting 3 should be child’s play!
The first cruise was through a channel that sliced through the Lower Savage Islands, but is too shallow, narrow, and uncharted for the entire ship. So, at 8:45, we disembarked under cold blue skies, with 34°F air, and water about the same, for a one way journey through the channel, to be met by the ship on the other side. Though there was talk of fog, initially we didn’t notice any, until we came around the boat and looked at the island…cloaked in low grey-white mist. As we entered the channel, visibility dropped to perhaps ½ mile, sometimes ¼.
[The mouth of the channel right where the fog is rolling out!]
The rock faces were eerie in the soft fog, but in an enticing way.
[The algae lines look like some weathered industrial paint job.]
However, polar bear sightings were going to be challenging since we could not see everything, and we would have to be almost too close before they might be discerned. Regardless, we snaked into the water passage, to the first bend. There was a minor channel that went one direction, but it had a rock “sand bar” across the threshold that isn’t evident until the tide falls…then you are trapped! One Zodiac blocked it while the rest of us passed. Did I mention the guns? When we go polar bear sighting, they ensure at least two of the Zodiac has a rifle…just in case! This is the “bear guard”. Our Zodiac driver was one of the bear guards. As we penetrated the mist, it struck me, this is probably the closest I’d ever be to being a Navy Seal…silently slinking through the din in an armed Zodiac!
[Zodiacs in mist! Where are the polar bears?]
But as we (the various Zodiacs) traded places leading, following or being in the middle, it also struck me this is sort of how horror movies start. A group out for a fun ride, getting lost in some murky wilderness, when something dastardly emerges. Our Zodiac joked about that in a macabre and lighthearted way. We also took pictures of various rocks which we decided might be sold as “whales” to our unwitting friends back home! I, of course, did no such thing! I have no unwitting friends! J But the air seemed to get colder and colder. 
As we neared the end of the channel, most of us were cold and ready to be back on board. The ship was to meet us on the other side. Well…the ship was late!! Moreover, the fog was so thick, visibility was below ¼ mile, so we could barely even see the rock on either side of the narrow channel. We heard on the radio the Expedition Leader getting a bit testy with ship, something about knowing what time it was, and what time they were due. This is the man who watches the second hand and begins the daily briefing at 6:45:00. So, the ship being late was NOT well received. When it finally did arrive, we could not see it. But, they blew the horn, so we knew it was out there…or just leaving, since it was the same horn they use when departing a port of call! By GPS, we knew where it was supposed to be, and where we were (supposedly), and we crept slowly toward it until it emerged into view. At first, we could just barely make out the greyish outline in the white mist. A white ship in white fog does not show up well!
[There it is!]
The water was choppy, so the step from the boat to the ship was…variable. And challenging. For a spry person, it was a well-timed action. But, for some of the less firm folks we have here, it was dicey. We watched while one woman was apparently stricken with fear, and unable to make the step. The staff tried to help her, but a fearful person does not help much, so it was a patience game. The staff was very good about that, but I’m sure it also didn’t inspire confidence to other passengers who were leery about the step.
Since the trip was longer than it was supposed to be (1.5 to max 2 hours, but it ended up 2.5 hours, with no bears), they postponed the morning lecture. Instead Theresa and I decided a hot shower was a great way to warm up after the 2 ½ hour cold soak! Then we had lunch. We met, perhaps, a distant relative of Theresa’s! There are a few French-Canadian’s on our cruise, one with an especially amusing personality. We sat with him and his wife for lunch, and after some talking, Theresa mentioned she is “French-Canadian”, and told him her maiden name. His face lit up, and he told us his first wife had the same maiden name, and that she (Theresa, I presume) was “of good stock”. I took to calling him “uncle” the rest of lunch.
The fog thickened even as we started our way to Nanook. It was clear (ironically, due to the fog) that it made no sense to do the second tour in the afternoon, since we could see nothing! So, they canceled the tour, and instead scheduled the lecture (and added a second one) in the afternoon. With the extra time and fog, we are creeping to our next destination at merely 10 knots (less than 12 mph). It feels more like drifting!
[Where are we going?]
[Where have we been??]
The first lecture was about polar bears, and how they were related to other bears. Their closest cousins are the grizzly bears, and crossed bears have been found in the wild. Later, we had a dryly amusing presentation on the Greenland Shark.
After dinner, we were to be treated to a collection of short movies depicting Inuit stories or legends. The four of them were a combined 60 minutes more or less. The first movie was around 30 minutes, and was a narration and depiction of a typical family and the sort of creation story for the woman who lives at the bottom of the sea and gives life to all of the animals of the sea for the Inuit people. It was made in 1953, and had all of the sensibilities of 1953, as well as none of the sensibilities afterwards. Much of it seemed rather wall done, but it was a father character telling a story of a family presumably long ago. The storied father carved a stone figure using the same flat and round files I have in my toolbox, and then used sandpaper that was clearly “modern”; all the while, smoking a hand rolled cigarette. Then he went hunting and killed a seal. The whole killing wasn’t captured, but part of it was, as well as dragging the carcass home. Sure, that is what they do to live, and in the interest of authenticity, it was appropriate. The cigarette and files…? This was followed by three roughly 10 minute films, all from 1974, each one worse than the preceding. The best way to describe them is, what the…??!! Many of us were laughing because of how simply BAD the film was. Saying nothing about the story, the way they told the story was unbelievable!! Theresa noted that it was quite the Saturday date night, with dinner and horrible movies! The last one was some black and white swirling ink spot graphics that told the story of an owl that married a goose. I couldn’t be sure what the point was, but the goose laid a bunch of eggs, which hatched into goslings, and left the owl, who then died. The owl dying was the closing scene of the night. Uh…way to close! Good night!
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