We can’t remember what day it is. We are certain of the date - but we spent 30 minutes trying to determine the day yesterday. Then we gave up…all that really mattered, we decided was the moment.
That reminds me…we saw two more polar bears last night. The first around midnight. I don’t know if 5 polar bear sightings count as empirical data - but if it does - I can confirm that polar bear never make an appearance until after midnight.
Pic 1: Here is everyone watching the bear. This is after midnight!
This expedition has taught me that time is a man-made construct. When the sun is as bright at midnight as at noon - does midnight really exist?
Meals have become important points of reference. Breakfast confirms a new day has begun. Lunch is an indicator that dinner is about 6 or7 hours off. And dinner…that is when our thoughts turn to polar bears.
One passenger suggested that an expedition is what occurs between meals. Last night we dined in Austria. Four of our chefs are Austrian, so the food was as authentic as any you might enjoy in Vienna.
Another activity we have come to enjoy is leaning out our cabin windows and watching the ice go by. Last night I spent an hour watching Kittiwakes fish. Small Arctic cod - they have “anti-freeze” in their blood - rest in shallow ponds on the ice surface. To the unaware they look rather like a blemish on the bottom of the pond. But if you watch long enough, the blemish moves…like…well…a fish. The movement attracts the Kittiwake. The bird swoops down, capturing the fish in its beak, before swooping off again.
I have to sign off as Laurie has called for an early breakfast. This is our second day in Franz Josef Land, and it is jam packed!
Pic 2: Travelers came across a polar bear and watched as it hunted. I was only able to track the bear carrying its prey to a safe place to consume it. According to Sue Flood, our wildlife filmmaker, this is one of the truly rare wildlife viewing events.
I am hoping you can see the gull walking on the ice near the bear. This is the rarest of all Arctic birds - an Ivory Gull. They are known to appear when a polar bear kills. This one strutted up and down, trying to steal a morsel of meat. The bear ignored it, until one moment when it snapped at it. At one point, there were 3 Ivory Gulls near the kill.
Prisca