77° 31’ North Latitude 31° 24' East Longitude
The Barents Sea is a place of solid sea ice and darkness in winter but at the height of the summer broken pack ice resembling irregular white pancakes, hummocked second year ice, bergy bits, brash ice and occasional towering tabular bergs raft on the sea and continual daylight illuminates the broth. This morning the only ripple to disturb the surface came from the wake of the MS Endeavour. We were 100 miles from land on a peaceful sea when we elected to launch our kayaks and get a different perspective of our surroundings. At nearly eye level to the water and with the silence and solitude that kayaking can offer, we set out to paddle and pause and take the pleasure of the moment. Twenty-two boats with forty-four paddlers meandered through a mosaic of ice sculptures. A small contingent of kittiwakes joined the parade, perhaps wondering what these new surface creatures were doing so far from land.
With a cloudless sky and balmy temperatures our hotel staff set a deck lunch and when the last chocolate brownie was gone we were underway again through the loose pack ice. A constant lookout was maintained through the afternoon as we sought the largest of carnivores, and the symbol of the north, the polar bear. It is difficult to spot a bear in the irregular ice with confusing patterns of light and shadow. It often requires hours of searching with binoculars and great patience. But at last a keen observer made the discovery and the call went through the ship, “Bear!” In the next ninety minutes we found two more ice bears, each a fine specimen and near enough for good photographs. At our evening recap, excitement was still very high as we reflected on a day of unexpected pleasures and great rewards in the high latitudes.
The Barents Sea is a place of solid sea ice and darkness in winter but at the height of the summer broken pack ice resembling irregular white pancakes, hummocked second year ice, bergy bits, brash ice and occasional towering tabular bergs raft on the sea and continual daylight illuminates the broth. This morning the only ripple to disturb the surface came from the wake of the MS Endeavour. We were 100 miles from land on a peaceful sea when we elected to launch our kayaks and get a different perspective of our surroundings. At nearly eye level to the water and with the silence and solitude that kayaking can offer, we set out to paddle and pause and take the pleasure of the moment. Twenty-two boats with forty-four paddlers meandered through a mosaic of ice sculptures. A small contingent of kittiwakes joined the parade, perhaps wondering what these new surface creatures were doing so far from land.
With a cloudless sky and balmy temperatures our hotel staff set a deck lunch and when the last chocolate brownie was gone we were underway again through the loose pack ice. A constant lookout was maintained through the afternoon as we sought the largest of carnivores, and the symbol of the north, the polar bear. It is difficult to spot a bear in the irregular ice with confusing patterns of light and shadow. It often requires hours of searching with binoculars and great patience. But at last a keen observer made the discovery and the call went through the ship, “Bear!” In the next ninety minutes we found two more ice bears, each a fine specimen and near enough for good photographs. At our evening recap, excitement was still very high as we reflected on a day of unexpected pleasures and great rewards in the high latitudes.
