June 15, 2025
In my haste to post the previous post I forgot to mention the pictures of the polar plunge. This is a rite of passage for polar explorers where they jump from the ship into the fringed water. 72 of the 140 passengers chose the do this while the rest of us decided to be sane. I had the excuse that my cardiologist told me not to…lol!!
Today the weather has shifted to cloudy and grey with really choppy seas. The Zodiac ride to shore was really bumpy so lots of fun!!!
Today was all about the walrus. Starting the night before we were on walrus watch hoping they would be home and we could visit. Early in the morning I went out on deck and chatted with our spotter and indeed the walruses were home!!! To respect the walruses we were only able to have a small group on shore at a time and we stood quietly in a single file line watching these magnificent creatures hang out. Two were playing in the water and the rest were huddle on the beach and occasionally poke their heads up to check us out.
Because of the rough seas our afternoon hike was changed to a small island where there use to be a mining camp. Only a few cabin remain. Can you imagine working in a mine all day in the frozen tundra????
