Walruses and ice

 

September 3

Overnight and this morning we crossed the Lancaster Sound (50 miles). The open water made for (in our expedition leader’s words) a “bouncy night”. We are now at the 75th parallel and the wakeup temperature was 0 Celsius but the skies were clear and the sun surprisingly warm. 

During the morning we learned about the three types of whales that we hope to see on this trip: Narwhals, Belugas and Bowhead Whales. They are the only three species of whale that spend their entire lives on the Arctic, rather than migrating in and out. Each has fascinating adaptations to survive in these waters. We also learned that there is an area called the North Water Polynya that stays ice free all winter and thus provides guaranteed breathing access for the whales. The geography around the Polynya keeps ice either dammed up to the north or pushed down into Baffin Bay to the south. We hope to visit this area later in the trip. The presentation included recordings of the various whale songs and communications. The Bowhead Whales sounded completely unworldly.

We spent the afternoon at Philpot’s Island, located off north side of Devon Island ( which in turn makes the northern side of Lancaster Sound).  Devon Island is largely covered by an ice sheet and is so harsh that it has been used as a Mars simulator. As we entered the channel we saw a walrus resting on an iceberg, as well as an iceberg stained with blood from a kill. In the afternoon we took a two hour zodiac ride to see a family of 5 walruses hauled out onto the rocky shore. We also cruised around various icebergs and chunks of ice, some translucent and all of them with fanciful shapes. 

Walrus are called “tooth walkers” as they primarily use their tusks to pull themselves on and off the sea ice or land. They hunt for clams on sandy bottoms with their bristly whiskers. Once found, they suck out the meat. 

This evening we participated in a seven course “tasting menu” dinner and wine pairing with a theme of sustainability, for example contrasting king crab (which is an invasive species here) with cod (which is a balancing force in this ecosystem ). Each course was intricately prepared and elegantly plated. 

Pictured: solo walrus on an iceberg, arctic sunrise, walruses on the rocky shore, translucent sea ice, fanciful icebergs