Day 12 - Off the coast of Monumental Island

The name of the island we’ve been traveling past today says it all – it’s been one monumental day. After a beautiful night’s sleep anchored in the harbour of our temporarily-named Students On Ice Fjord, we set sail in the search of some more wildlife.

Since we weren’t expected to see much of anything all morning, it was workshop time for all students. As we settled into what was sure to be a dynamic session on Climate Change skepticism, the call came over the intercom – a bowhead whale had surfaced just a few feet off our bow. Out we raced, with the hopes of getting another close-up glance of these so-far elusive creatures.

Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the whale quickly disappeared. But our disappointment was short-lived as we spotted another of wildlife checklist that we had yet to see – walrus. Most were fairly skittish and slid off into the ice as we approached, but those lucky enough to have binoculars or zoom lenses caught some good glimpses. There were also reports of polar bears and seals in the area.

As we headed back in to complete the workshops, our session leader, Eric, announced that the remainder of the workshop was cancelled. It didn’t take us long to figure out why… Eric is also one of our zodiac drivers – we were off to play in the ice!

I’ve quickly come to the conclusion that this is one of my favorite activities on this expedition. Landings are great, and so are ship-board activities and community visits – but nothing gets me going as much as the chance to slalom through the sea ice. As excited as I was, I had no idea what was about to happen.

We were the second group out this time (we alternate each trip) and as the other group came back, we heard whispers of a polar bear eating a seal or walrus. Excitedly, we clambored aboard zodiacs to see if we could catch this rare event.

And catch it we did.

Our driver, Benoit, was the first to have spotted it in the early group. He headed straight back towards the site, with bergy bits flying past us mere inches away from our zodiac. And there it was. A beautiful three or four year old male munching away on what was left of a seal carcass. We rafted three boats together and silently moved in for a closer look. The bear looked our way a few times, his face blood red from having savoured his catch for quite a while, but otherwise seemed unaffected by our presence.

For almost 20 minutes, we basked in the glory of this graphic yet natural scene. Silence settled over us, save for the lapping of waves, the cool breeze… and the clicks of dozens of cameras snapping thousands of photographs. This was the Britney Spears of polar bears and he was working the camera like a contestant on Canada’s Next Top Model.

He pranced back and forth along the ice, carrying his prize like a trophy, and sniffing the air (probably searching for dessert!). There were gentle “awww”s from our boats as he sat to clean out his paws after his feast was done. As were quietly slipped away to let him finish his meal in peace, we silently thanked our bear for giving us one of the most unforgettable moments of our adventure.

It was simply amazing.

After that, we headed off to find some walruses, but no luck. Benoit made every attempt to get close, but ice and shy walrus kept us from getting close. Time flew, and before we knew it, we were late and far from the ship. But there was no worry with Benoit at the helm as he deftly guided us through the thick sea ice.

Unexpectedly, we came across a polar bear swimming in the ocean, and quickly realized it was our friend from earlier. Not wanting to unnecessarily spook him, we let him be, but instead went back to his dining spot to get some close-up looks at his leftovers, which were being picked at by gulls.

Once back onboard, we had one more moment of note – later in the afternoon, we came across dozens of walrus lounging on the sea ice, many not afraid of our ship. Finally, we had captured the elusive walrus!

Tomorrow we are off to Hantzch Island, which ironically was supposed to be our first stop on our expedition. Hopefully the weather will allow us to see these famous bird cliffs we have heard so much about.

Couldn’t really find a quote suitable for today, so I thought I’d through a random one in for fun…”Tip the world on its side, and everything loose will land in Los Angeles,” said Frank Lloyd Wright. I’d like to see what a loose polar bear would do on the streets of L.A….