Today was most like the ones we remember so well from our trip to Antarctica. We had two places we were to visit, and both by Zodiac cruising (not getting out of the Zodiac). Because we had so few guests, they were able to do everyone in one wave, not two shorter waves. So, we had about 90 minutes for each outing. We took a look around in the morning, and Monument Island, our first stop, looked ominous—like something out of the opening scene for one of the Jurassic movies or another thriller involving clueless people trying to have fun where they have no business being!
[Monument Island...a little foreboding!]
Since it was in the 30s and overcast, we expected to be cold, so went the full distance getting dressed. Base layer of “long johns”, pants plus the waterproof pants, etc. We each had about three layers on top and bottom, plus two layers of socks (one very heavy) and our big waterproof boots, two pairs of gloves, etc. You’d think we were heading off for the Arctic! As we began the cruise, our Zodiac Driver pointed out various birds, and some oohed and ahhed, and we tried to get pictures.
[Look! A bird!]
Then it was reported that there was a herd of walruses and immediately no one cared about the birds, we fixated on the walruses!! But they don’t really like big noisy boats following them, so we kept our distance and they crept away.
[Look! Walruses!!]
[With big tusks!]
Then a polar bear was spotted! Who cares about walruses?!?! Give us bear! All of the Zodiacs crowded around to spy on the bear who kept looking at us with some uncertainty, and worked his way up the side of the mountain. As our guide put it, he did not seem too concerned because he was moving slowly, but nevertheless, he wasn’t risking too much with us. We got lots of pictures and even videos!! I’m not sure if we can post the videos here, but we will definitely update later with them. Plus, we can then edit them down, since, however steady one’s hand may be, the boat moves with the water and the wake, and a zoom view is unforgiving of bouncy movement! I thought I might offer him a Coca Cola (since we all know they prefer Coca Cola, not Pepsi), but the guide thought not.
[Look! A polar bear!!!]
[This is how it looked from where we observed, wiht no zoom. If you look closely, that white spot, is our bear! No, really, he’s right there.]
We returned to the ship excited and relieved to have already seen a polar bear. Other people had taken other trips, sometimes adding a week in certain places to see the polar bears, but never saw any. We saw one. Any more was just icing!
[The end of one tour.]
[An eerie view of grey sea and sky.]
After lunch, we had our second excursion at Lady Franklin Islands. It is really a group of inhospitable and quite unwelcoming rocks projecting straight up out of the sea, sometimes making interesting shapes. Although, they are some of the oldest rocks on Earth! Some of them are estimated to be upwards of 3.8 billion years old (with the Earth being 4.6 billion years old). Most of them are very “gneiss”!
{Look! A bird (or two)!]
As we began our cruise, they told us a polar bear was spotted by in the water. We stay well clear of them in the water. But, circling our first island, we came upon our first bear (of the afternoon, second of the day).
[Look a bear!]
We watched a while, then found the second one—a female. She watched us watching her.
[A female polar bear!]
[Bored. So bored.]
Then we found two males laying on a ledge up high. With no food or females to fight over, they get along fine.
[Who called this meeting?]
We moved to another spot and found two more on another island, but one promptly went for a swim.
[See the white spot just off the corner? That’s a bear!]
Although it is 35-40 F which we consider cold, it is a VERY warm day for them, so a nice swim cools them down. We watched the other guy a bit.
[Our last bear for the day.]
We saw another herd of walruses swimming along at one point, but everyone was so fixated on the bears, they were left alone. By the end of the day, we had seen 7 bears in one day. They told us, for perspective, for the whole season, the most they ever saw in one trip was 9. We have two more sites to see tomorrow!
Back on board in the afternoon, we decided to finally go use the hot tubs. So, we donned our swim suits, and headed up to the aft deck, and jumped in a hot tub for a while. The air was cold, icebergs in sight, but the water was hot and frothy.
[Water…110F or so. Air…35F or so!]
Then, for dinner, we made reservations for the “hot rocks”. On the aft deck, right near the Jacuzzis, actually, they set up for dinner outside. They have towels on the deck chairs, and blankets all around. Now, in the summer in the Mediterranean, this is probably a lovely, romantic, magical experience. But, in September in Northern Canada arctic, this is just nuts!! There we were, bundled in nearly as much clothing as when we were on the Zodiac, hats, hoods, gloves, they brought us menus! I passed on the salad.
[I love her, but I don’t get how anyone can be that excited about salad!]
Theresa ordered the Filet Mignon, and I got the ribeye, and also asked for the tiger prawns. They brought a porcelain dish with a 8 inch by 8 inch stone in the middle, heated to 360 C (682F), with a piece of raw steak on it, sizzling away.
[Ahh, a romantic dinner!]
It was our job to cook them on the hot stone!!
[It’s a vacation, but Theresa is still having to cook!]
The tiger prawns were also on the stone, and they were HUGE!
[So did I, for that matter. Check out those prawns!]
During dinner, while Theresa watched the sun setting on one side, it was getting pretty dark in my view. Then, suddenly, I noticed the sky looked odd. I watched a moment, then realized it was the Aurora Borealis (northern lights)!! It was brief and did not last long, but it was neat to see it! Before I finished eating, it was getting too dark to see (although Theresa’s side of the table was in the light from the deck. Those who know me, mostly know I “always” have a flashlight in my pocket, and many people mock me for it. But, it came in handy to finish eating dinner!
We went inside and planned to have a nightcap while warming up. They came over the PA system, and told us there were more Northern Lights to be seen. I ducked out and saw an amazing display, far better than a few nights ago! I tried to take a few pictures, and although much better than before, they simply do not do justice to the display!! It was a great way to end the night!
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