Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound
 
After our last land excursion, followed by an Arctic plunge (the water is 7 degrees warmer in the Arctic than in the Antarctic), we headed back to the ship and finished off our last day out in the open seas. Tonight is the Captain's Dinner, and we make our way back into Longyearbyen where we will disembark after breakfast tomorrow.

It really has been a wonderful trip, so much to please the senses and I stuck to my promise not to compare the two Polar expeditions on which I've been. The Arctic and Antarctica have been so unique in their own special ways. Apart from the obvious, like Polar Bears in the North and Penguins in the South, the feeling you get on the high seas and vastness of space has a different energy. The staff and crew have really tried their best to give us the best possible experiences. Their knowledge of the area, their attempt to bring a varied and different adventure each day, coupled with the extraordinary sighting of approximately 15 different Polar Bears was notable and exceptional.  At times I felt that caution was the priority of the day (safety is a good thing), and at times I would have liked to have gotten a wee bit closer to the bears.  But that's just me. One Ocean Expeditions prides itself that in 13 years, they've never had to fire a shot (warning or otherwise) at a bear if they strayed in too close to the passengers. That is a great thing. As they have said, one bad incident can really ruin an expedition (and I assume, would be lousy PR).

 

I would definitely recommend One Ocean and largely Polar Exploration to others. Like most things in life, don't build the experience up too much in your head before going.  The lower the  expectations the better, and you'll be amazed and surprised with what you discover and encounter, as well as meeting such wonderful fellow passengers and staff. I feel I have made some friends for life, and some of the best memories have been the gut-wrenching laughs made with these newfound friends. I guess that's all part of the adventure, now isn't it!

 

One more day in the Arctic after I disembark tomorrow A.M., then back to Oslo, then back to the States on Thursday. Thanks so so much for reading the blog and hopefully enjoying this adventure vicariously as I have had enjoying it in reality. I hope that there will be many more adventures to come, and many more to share. Without any Internet, I have no idea if you have been reading this or what you have been responding to. 

 

Regardless, I'm glad you came along for the ride!!

 

Much love and be well,

 

Dave

Downward Dog and Heading South

Downward Dog and Heading South
 

I asked a friend on board (Yoshi) whose birthday was today (Sunday) what he would like for his birthday. He said to go to Yoga with him at 6:30 a.m. Crap, 6:30 a.m!   I've been dragging a little bit because I haven't been getting much sleep. It's my fault; I sleep great here on the ship, I just don't sleep enough because I'm carousing late into the night with pals.  Plus when it is bright and sunny at midnight, it doesn't help trying to get to bed. So I got my ass out of bed at 6:15 after 4 hours of sleep and worked that Downward Dog until I felt like barking! (Sorry Hickory). Meigan the Yoga instructor was impressed, and I kinda committed to going tomorrow morning. We'll see.

 

I'm spending some great quality time with John and Mette, staff on the ship, he's an Aussie and she's a Norwegian. Both also were among the team that won the Nobel Peace Prize of members of the International Committee for Banning Landmines in 1997. Fascinating personal stories; Mette especially is so humble and sincere, and so self-disclosing about her personal struggles of PTSD working in Afghanistan.  Such interesting people are on this ship - not many slouches - and very passionate about their ambitions and challenges. Very inspirational.

 

As we head south, it feels like the expedition is coming to an end, which it is. One more full day tomorrow. Today was another great day of excursions, Puffin colonies perched on the rocky hillside, the serenity of the ice, Zodiacing through it as we come up on glacier faces, and a beautiful sunny sky to bring the day to a warm and fulfilling end. The sunset, which isn't really a sunset; more like a sun bounce on the horizon was a great last moment of Sunday and impetus to get my ass to bed before midnight.  And I promised Mette I would be at Yoga tomorrow at 6:30. Ugh!

Wildlife

Wildlife

 

I just wanted to share all the animals seen on this expedition. With 2+ days ahead, this list may still increase. The sheer abundance and diversity of wildlife has definitely surpassed my expectations that I had before starting this journey to the Arctic!

 

Animals seen on this expedition:

 

Birds

• Barnacle Goose
• Common Eider
• Red-throated Diver  (Red-throated Loon)
• Northern Fulmar
• Purple Sandpiper
• Black-legged Kittiwake
• Ivory Gull
• Glaucous Gull
• Arctic Tern
• Great Skua
• Arctic Skua
• Little Auk
• Brunnich's Guillemot
• Black Guillemot
• Atlantic Puffin
• Snow Bunting

Mammals

• Polar Bear (!)
• Svalbard Reindeer (Caribou)
• Arctic Fox
• Atlantic Walrus
• Ringed Seal
• Bearded Seal
• Harbor Seal
• Northern Minke Whale

I'll Trade You a Bear for a Sunny Day

I'll Trade You a Bear for a Sunny Day
 

Our land excursions have really been awesome. So many bears (as of Friday evening we have a count of 14 Polar Bear encounters). The staff have obviously a sense as to where the bears may be, but an encounter of a bear swimming from the shore to try to catch a seal on a floating piece of ice, stalking his prey, was really phenomenal to watch and experience (the seal got away). Reindeer (Caribou), Minke Whales and Seals have really made the mammal observation outstanding!  Their have been a few challenges though; the weather the most glaring. The first 2 days brought brilliant sunny skies and great contrasts of land and sea. However, for the last several days, overcast skies has made it challenging; the mood of the passengers  certainly does get affected by the grey days, and some photos have a washed out feel to them. But honestly if this is the largest problem, it most certainly is not a big deal in the grand scheme.  The abundance of wildlife has certainly been fulfilled and more!  Wonderful walks/explorations on land that are free of Polar Bears have been great, and the friends I've made (some I feel for life) and great laughs shared have been terrific - actually better than I'd expected.  Tonight is a picnic on the stern of the ship. A Barbie in the Arctic. And tomorrow is supposed to bring sunny skies!!  Life is good.

Excursions and Animals Galore

Excursions and Animals Galore Coordinates 79.26.433 N 19.59.808 E After the brilliant success of Wednesday morning's Polarbearpalloza, we made it onto dry land later in the afternoon at Phippsoya, part of the Seven Islands at the northernmost corner of the Svalbard Islands. There after a wild zodiac ride we came upon a 100 plus group of Atlantic Walrus, some as big as 3.5 meters long and 1500 kg (that's 3,300 lbs) big! You have to approach them pretty quietly so as to not spook them, because they can immediately haul out to sea and possibly squash their young in the process. They have no real predator (Polar Bears don't mess with them) and love to lay on the beach and sleep. Their tusks are amazing, and I have some great pictures for the future to share to prove it. Another sighting of a Polar Bear and her cub on the way back to the ship made Wednesday made a very memorable day. Today (Thursday) started off with an early morning Zodiac excursion to Alkefjellet for the largest breeding colony of Brunnich's Guillemots. After being greeted by a Northern Minke Whale a mere 200 feet off the ship's starboard , we made our way by Zodiac to Alkefjellet. Literally hundreds of thousands of these amazing seabirds were hanging on and/or nesting on the sheer cliff walls of Alkefjellet. These incredible birds were flying and swimming all around us, and the racket they made was unreal!! I have a great video of this to post when I get back. Alkefjellet was incredibly dramatic, shrouded in mist, and its pinnacles jut out of the cliff side in a severe and unique landscape unseen so far in this journey. Getting back on land later this afternoon, the past few days has been an explosion in wildlife, scenery and excitement for all on board. Some great excursions, and more lie ahead! A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip tak es us. -- John Steinbeck

Polar Bear Paydirt

Polar Bear Paydirt Coordinates 81.06.327 N 21.12.753 E We are approximately 550 miles from the North Pole. With an early morning rise, the Vavilov hits paydirt! We saw 4 Polar Bears, two at least 1,000 lbs.(!), hunting over the ice pack. Absolutely amazing! I have some terrific shots that I will post when I get back. The bears have a buttery, creamy beige color to them set against the white and blue of the ice. Two at first approached the ship, some coming as close as 150 feet from us! Their noses in the air, and once they get a whiff of us, and see we're not suitable for lunch, they back off and continue their hunt for seals. They seemed healthy and obviously huge, which of course is a great sign that they've been eating well. However, the naturalists warn that though they look healthy, their hunting habitat is slowly decreasing due to the lack of a strong ice pack this year. These bears up here at 81 degrees latitude seem to be OK. It's the ones lower than 81 that may be in more trouble, being stranded on land without able to get further north due to the ice pack staying at such a high latitude. But our quest was definitely fulfilled this morning; a great day on the Vavilov and everyone seems to have a wide smile and great excitement. We're heading away from the ice for now, and heading towards the Seven Islands, an archipelago that will take us on a southerly direction to look for bears on land and a sizable walrus colony. So far, a great day!!

Above 81 Degrees and Climbing

Above 81 Degrees and Climbing Coordinates: 81.06.593 N 12.27.252 E We have made it to the highest point yet in our expedition, above 81 degrees latitude (check out a map/globe and you'll see how high up North we are). We journeyed this far north to get to the ice pack, where the Polar Bears tend to spend most if the summer hunting for food, primarily seals. It's been a tough go of finding the bears so far, no sightings on land nor out on the ice, perhaps due to the sea ice reaching farther north this year because of global warming. Or maybe it's because they're not giving us a heads up to where they're hanging out. Regardless it's our task we wish to undertake in finding them, not them finding us. Sailing through giant tabular icebergs, not so rare in the Antarctic but fairly rare in the Arctic are always awe-inspiring. An occasional seal will pop up through the ice surface, check out the scene, and then dart back under the ice, eating the plankton on which it feeds, and that attracts the Polar Bears to the area. We also had a rare and spectacular Ivory Gull fly over the Vavilov's bow. The Ivory Gull is the farthest northerly bird species on Earth. Google one if can, it's so incredibly beautiful and majestic. You know you're really, really North when you see one of these guys. We also took a Zodiac out to explore some of the area that wasn't inundated with ice, but no signs of terrestrial life was discovered. It's so serene out in the open water, the ice being pushed aside by our ship, and the fog rolling in from time to time, changing the view of the horizon, of the light, of the shades of blue and white that dominate the surroundings. Sitting on the bridge, high up on a perch above the sea gives an amazing perspective. The ship cutting through the water, steaming towards an endless sky, a never-darkening sky adds a serenity and contemplativeness that's impossible to replicate back home. It makes one's mind wander, to think about one's life and circumstance, to count one's blessings and put one's priorities in order. Thank God I'm not having a midlife crisis! ;-) After many late night carousings it's time for an early night tonight for some much needed sleep. I plan to get up and meet Amir on deck at 5:30 a.m. to scan the horizon for Polar Bears, a hot cup of tea (its about 38 degrees Fahrenheit outside) and take in all of this dreamy imagery as much as possible, as long as it lasts. Wish you all could be here!