Sat
8 Jul
2017
Today was our day. We have been traveling for a while now and we have been to a lot of good places, and it is almost a bit strange that we have not yet seen any polar bears. I want to emphasize again that we do not run a polar bear safari here, but of course a sighting would make everybody happy, no doubt about that. The weather: polar bear like. Not bad, not unpleasant, but arctic.
Admittedly, it is not a secret anymore that the carcass of a whale has been washed ashore in Smeerenburgfjord. So it was not only coincidence that we had a very good look around here. And indeed, there it was. And we were at the right time at the right place! A female bear with a first-year cub went down to the whale for a hearty breakfast. We were close enough with Antigua to watch it perfectly well and far enough to leave them undisturbed. Perfect! Another bear was also around, we saw it briefly before it disappeared again behind some rocks.
And yet another bear sighting later. Captain Joachim anchored the Antigua in a perfect position to give us a great viewing opportunity. This bear was not exactly super-active, but it stretched like a cat. Sweet!
Gallery – Smeerenburgfjord – 08th July 2017
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
A visit to Virgohamna, the arctic Cape Canaveral, rounded the day nicely off.