Polar Explorations

 Scott and I recently returned from an expedition to the Canadian Arctic and Greenland.  Throughout, we found ourselves remembering our previous expedition to the other pole, Antarctica.  Several friends have indicated they wanted to read about our Arctic trip, which caused me to realize that I hadn’t written about the expedition we took to Antarctica in December, 2018.  So, this blog reports on both of those trips.

Antarctica Expedition Map

Greenland and Canadian Arctic Expedition Map

Both of our polar expeditions were on small ice-rated expedition ships that carried between 150 and 200 passengers.  We booked our Antarctica expedition through Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) which sailed on a Quark ship, the Ocean Diamond.  It was an older ship, serviceable, but definitely not luxurious.  

Quark's Ocean Diamond

The trip north was on a new luxury expedition ship, built during the Covid pandemic by Crystal Cruises.  When that company went bankrupt, Silversea purchased the unused ship and christened it, Endeavour.  The Endeavour was definitely several steps above the Ocean Diamond in all respects—staterooms, food, common areas, and cost.

Silversea's Silver Endeavour

Because polar expeditions are focused on remote, largely uninhabited lands, there are no ports as such.  All explorations take place on small motorized rubber boats called Zodiacs.  These are piloted by members of the ship’s expedition staff.  Those who take positions as expedition leaders are people who are very knowledgeable and quite passionate about all aspects of nature—icebergs, geology, marine animals, birds, etc.

Zodiac expeditions in Antarctica, bottom center photo shows me in all my gear

 

Arctic Zodiac exploration

During the Arctic expedition there were some opportunities for sea kayaking.  To be eligible to participate one had to have had prior kayaking experience and attend a kayak safety class.  Selection was by lottery, and Scott was able to go out twice.  Kayakers were provided with a dry suit to wear over insulating layers of clothing and special booties.

Arctic kayakers and Scott in his dry suit

We saw more wildlife in Antarctica than we did in the Canadian Arctic, largely because of the vast colonies of penguins in the south.  The ones we saw were Chinstraps (recognizable by the distinctive "strap" under their chins) and Gentoos.  We enjoyed walking among them and just watching their behaviors:  waddling along their “penguin highways,” sliding in the snow, swimming, and “talking” noisily with one another. 

We also saw three varieties of seals—Waddell, Crabeater, and Leopard—in Antarctica.  There are seals in the Arctic (different species), but they were illusive. 

The white seals are Leopard seals.  I don't remember whether the others are Waddells or Crabeaters.

We did get a close look at a walrus and her cub in Canada.  There are whales in both Antarctica and the Arctic.  We spotted one in Antarctica but did not see any in the Arctic waters.  We have no photos to share.

We spotted several polar bears, but only from a distance, as prescribed by Canadian law.  On each of our on-land expeditions in the Arctic there were several expedition leaders sent out on bear patrol.  These people carried rifles in case they were needed.  Fortunately, that is very rarely the case, according to our expedition team.

The "official" polar bear count for this expedition was nine.  We didn't see all of those but did see some. 
Bottom center photo is of one of the expedition leaders on bear patrol with her rifle.

Some Zodiac groups were lucky enough to catch sight of an Arctic Fox and an Arctic Hare.  Scott saw, and took photos of the hare, and a friend we made on the ship shared his photos of the fox.

While in the Canadian Arctic, we were treated to sightings of various birds, most of which were unfamiliar to us.  We watched great flocks of guillemots, which our expedition leaders likened to “potatoes with wings.”  These rotund birds are amazing divers and can stay under water for extended periods of time.  However, they are inefficient flyers, running along the surface of the water while wildly flapping their wings to get airborne.  We saw several varieties of gulls.  And there were also kittiwakes, which are closely related to gulls and have either red or black legs. 

The top photos are of Glaucous Gulls and the bottom ones are of Guillemots

On the crossing from Ushuaia, Argentina to Antarctica we saw a variety of seabirds—gulls, petrels, and albatrosses.  The most memorable was the wandering albatross, a giant among birds with a wingspan of up to 12 feet.  The static hold of the wings allows the birds to soar on wind currents and cover up to a thousand kilometers (over 600 miles) a day.  Because they flew high above us, we were never able to get a good photograph of an albatross.

Going to the polar regions is mostly about appreciating the landscape.  That typically means mountains, interesting rock formations, and ice.  While both of our trips were during summer months, Antarctica was colder and there was more snow on the ground. The top photo grouping are from Antarctica and the bottom grouping from the Arctic.

We were fascinated by the variety of icebergs in both locations.  As most people know, icebergs are pieces that have broken off of glaciers.  We learned that glaciers are formed by layer upon layer of snow, which contains a fair amount of air.  As the snow compresses, tiny air bubbles pop.  If you listen carefully when gliding near an iceberg, you can hear the popping sound.  The colors seen in icebergs are the result of the light spectrum that hits the mass.  As the ice compresses and there are fewer air bubbles in the ice, the blue waves of the light spectrum get through.  We saw a few “dirty” icebergs.  According to my internet research, the discoloration is caused by algae that grows thanks to warming temperatures.

Arctic Icebergs

Icebergs in Antarctica

Antarctica is, of course, uninhabited except for a few scientific researchers who are there in the summer.  Greenland and the Canadian Arctic regions were settled by Inuit people.  One group, the Thule, left remains of their houses, constructed of whale bones and rocks covered by grasses or hides.  We visited one such archeological site  on a portion of Devon Island, the largest uninhibited island in the world.  We had a Norwegian archeologist on the Endeavour; he shared a photo of what the houses might have looked like in one of his lectures (bottom right photo below).  The ship also had a photographer who shared the photos he took using a drone (top left photo).

Both of these regions claimed the ships, and lives, on many early explorers.  While in the Canadian Arctic we learned about the fateful expedition of Sir John Franklin, who led 129 men on two ships in a search of a Northwest Passage to Alaska.  The ships sailed from the Thames in 1845, took on three-years’ worth of provisions in Greenland, and were last sighted near Baffin Island.  The ships likely encountered ice and wintered on the tip of Devon Island where the graves of three were found later.  No other sign of ships or crew were found.  Scott participated in a shore excursion that visited this part of Devon Island.  

While in Antarctica, I read a book about the ill-fated ship Endurance and its crew of 27 led by Sir Ernest Shackleton.  The ship was lost after it was crushed by sea ice and sank in 1915.  The polar regions are extremely cold and unforgiving, and moving sea ice and glaciers are unpredictable.  Miraculously, all members of the Shackleton expedition survived after being stranded on the ice for a year and a half.  I'm sure I would not have made it!  While we were in Antarctica, the air temperatures hovered around 35 most of the time.  In the Canadian Arctic, we had some 40-degree days.  In both areas, however, the water temperatures were close to freezing.  Nevertheless, Scott participated in the “polar plunges” arranged by both expeditions.  

Polar plunges:  The top photos are from Antarctica.  Scott waded into the water, did a few backstrokes and then came out. 
The bottom photos show expedition staff trying to remove ice from the area.  Scott taking the plunge.

Both of our expeditions provided us with heavy red arctic parkas, ours to take home at the end of the voyage.  (Such parkas have extremely limited utility for someone who lives in the Arizona desert!)  The only part of our polar expeditions that I grew tired of was getting dressed to go out on the Zodiacs.  It was a ten-to-fifteen-minute process, beginning with a thermal base layer, a middle layer, a sweater or fleece, waterproof rain pants, knee-high rubber boots (on loan for the duration of the voyage), the arctic parka, a life jacket, and hats, neck gaiters, and gloves.  It could get very cold riding on the Zodiacs with the wind blowing.  I reaffirmed my dislike of being cold and elected to skip some of the Zodiac expeditions.  I definitely didn’t do the polar plunge!

Trekking in Antarctica in our red polar parkas.  Scott (top left), me (bottom center), and together (bottom right).

In Antarctica, we visited the remains of a small settlement called Port Lockroy.  It was established by a French explorer in 1904.  In 1944, the British led a secret operation here to build bases in case they were needed someday.  Scientists occupied the bases until 1965.  Now Port Lockroy is occupied by penguin colonies and a few lone souls who run a museum and gift shop during the summer.  They also have a post office from which we sent some postcards home.  It took about six months for them to arrive at their ultimate destinations.

Port Lockroy museum and penguin colonies.  Note the long underwear drying above the stove and the assortment of canned goods.

We had minimal opportunities to interact with native populations in the Arctic.  We spent a couple of hours in the village of Sisimiut, Greenland, passed through the Inuit village of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada, and spent a night in the Nunavut capital, Iqaluit, population 8,000.

Sisimiut, Greenland.  The sign, top left, is on the kayak club.  See the whale carved into a rock face, bottom left.

In Iqaluit, we were offered a “hop-on-hop-off” bus tour, using retired school buses.  From the bus drivers and guides, we learned that the harbor here is frozen from sometime in November through June, that goods are very expensive, and that buildings come prebuilt in pieces, usually from China.  Residents put in an annual order for staples such as sugar, flour, canned goods, beer, etc. These arrive by ship in the summer and are stored in a spare room or corner for the coming year.  

We visited the Igloo Cathedral (Anglican) and the Visitor’s Center which contained a nice natural history museum.  This was the only caribou (very similar to reindeer) we saw on our Artic exploration and as close as we got to a polar bear.  I really liked the wall hanging showing typical Inuit life and containing words written in the Inuktitut language.  While on the ship, we listened to the “Story of Sedna,” the goddess or mother of the sea, as told in Inuktitut by a local woman and translated into English by the entertainment director.  In Iqaluit there was a sculpture of Sedna and the animals she brought from the sea.  

Iqaluit Igloo Cathedral (top left), rock carvings with Sedna's animals on the right.  Bottom photos are from the Visitor's Center.

For those who want to go where few have gone before, expeditions to the polar regions of our planet provide a unique opportunity.  As global warming continues to melt the polar icecaps, however, we would say, if you want to go, do so as soon as possible.

Sea ice in Antarctica