This was one of those days when you just have that wonderful feeling of being IN THE MOMENT. And there was a bucket full of them! A sunny sky arched the morning as we entered Prince Regent Inlet on the south side of Lancaster Sound. The most recent ice chart gave proof of drift ice further south, and National Geographic Explorer was therefore piloted in that direction. The morning program contained presentations on polar exploration as well as culture in the high Arctic. Global Perspectives guest speaker Peter Hillary gave a captivating lecture about his many highlights of exploration: “To the Ends of the Earth: Expeditions to the North and South Poles, and the Summit of Everest.” Naturalist Jennifer Kingsley talked about a recently launched Lindblad/NatGeo project “Meet the North.” The project aims to engage and understand more deeply the local culture in the Arctic. Her portrait based on personal encounters with coal miners and other locals in Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Arctic Norway), was presented with wit and a personal touch.
While some of the guests were still having lunch, Captain Oliver Kruess spotted a polar bear in the far distance. He gently directed the ship towards the furry creature, and we got a great look at the first bear of the day. In the early afternoon a presentation by historian Vinnie Butler had just started, but was put on hold as another polar bear had been spotted. This bear, however, showed little interest in us and moved away. Vinnie could then continue his talk, “The Boys on Beechy.” This was a highly engaging presentation on the tragic final expedition of Sir John Franklin and his crew who perished endeavoring to discover the Northwest Passage.
Just before scheduled Recap a walrus on an ice floe was announced on the loudspeakers. The ship slowly approached this biggest of the arctic seals, and we all got a great chance to see and photograph the animal up close. And there was more to come! Just as dinner was about to be served, no less than three polar bears resting on a big raft of sea ice were detected in the distance. As we got closer we discovered that this was a female bear with a pair of two-year-old cubs. The family seemed completely relaxed as we approached, and to our amazement they walked right up to the ship. The two cubs even decided to take a nap on the ice just under the bow. A gaping audience up above could hardly believe what they were witnessing. During dinner one more polar bear was seen on the shore.
After dinner I asked three young guests from a Minnesota family if they had any comments on the wildlife encounters of the day.
“It was fascinating that the bears were not scared”, Nick (19) said.
“The big size and the red skin on the walrus really surprised me”, said Julia (16)
Nadia, (“7, almost 8”) rounded off this way:
“It was a good day because we saw amazing animals, a walrus and six polar bears.
The polar bears were adorable!”
