Blogs from Arctic, Oceans and Seas - page 2

Hi Folks. We've spent much of this summer on the water, enjoying kayak time with our beautiful white whales. Theresa explained in a previous blog about how close the whales were coming to the kayak and that they were nudging us, perhaps they were getting a little amorous with the mottled white kayak? This "close encounter behaviour" happened time and time again and we began to feel at ease with the belugas. Being totally surrounded by these magnificent mammals is a thrilling and magical experience, and we feel honoured to have shared some quality time with them on many occasions. We could hear the whales vocalizing at times too! An amazing language spoken beneath the waves - undecipherable to us humans. Most of the whales have now left the area, but our kayak remains by the ... read more

Scenic Cruising This morning we slowly cruised into Magdalene Fiord located on the northernmost northwestern shore of Spitsbergen, the northernmost island of the Svalbard archipelago. The latitude here is about 79 degrees. The fiord is relatively small about five miles deep and three miles wide at it widest point. The mountains are stark and steep. The only vegetation is moss but the moss is a carpet of greens, reds and oranges. It’s really colorful. At one time there was a whaling station here but that was long ago and it was surprising to see a two-tent research facility on the shore with a small-beached zodiac. There was a sailboat moored in a little cove. At the terminus is the Lillichook Glacier. That is the only glacier still reaching the water. Others have retreated up the mountain. ... read more

The Arctic I enjoyed a drink before dinner with four Aussie ladies, Angela, Carol, Lynn and Laurie. I bought drinks for Angela and Carol since Angela was so helpful in getting my luggage off the Tilbury train. They are all friends from Sydney and when they got going I had no idea what they were saying. I really enjoy the Aussie sense of humor. Dinner was Parmesan crusted chicken, which would have been grand if not for the mustard sauce. I also enjoyed escargot, a special request from the evening before, and my cinnamon ice cream. Just after dinner we diverted to a small town in northern Iceland to tender a passenger ashore for medical attention. The village was at the termination of a small fiord and the Crow’s Nest was packed. The time was ... read more

Southward we went. The winds and the waves became fierce and rain set in, so the captain decided to skip our planned stop in Hornsund, at the southern end of Spitsbergen – The conditions were not good for a landing and there was a huge gale coming in. The ship was made ready for the open ocean and a crossing of the wild Barents Sea. We waived our farewells to Arctic expanses of Svalbard and to the land of the ice bear and we set our sights on the notorious ocean crossing that separated us from the Norwegian shore. The Barents Sea was known as one of the earth’s stormiest seas and it didn’t disappoint. The ship bounced, and jarred, and rocked, and rolled its way southward for the next four days. For the first day ... read more

Thursday 25th Back at sea and all caught up with journaling from previous days, I feel awkwardly energized by a long sleep and a few cups of tea. The ship’s historian, Steve, gathered us ‘round the lounge for story time. Today it was Shakleton’s adventure. While Steve is a particularly grumpy old man onshore, he is equally charming at storytime onboard. When he gives his stories, it is like he was there with the explorers recounting what happened as though he witnessed it firsthand. While the story of Shakleton is mostly about the Endurance, the earlier Nimrod expedition was Shakleton’s most successful attempt. Another interesting tidbit was that the endurance was originally the Polaris, a boat made by Belgian voyager ?Gerlache?, who thought it would be a good idea to set up a sturdy ship for ... read more