81°49′
Not quite the 82 degrees I was hoping for, but a lot further than you would expect the drift ice to be. The ship sailed overnight to get here. Not that there is any night really.
Just before 7 in the morning we got the call from the lookout on the bridge. Polar bear at 1 o’clock.
Having already regained consciousness and added some caffeine to my bloodstream, before enjoying the sight of a light snowfall and open drift ice, I started looking towards the horizon.
A creamy coloured dot, not greatly enlarged by my telephoto lens. With the ship basically stopped, a quick breakfast, only to re-emerge on deck, camera in hand, starboard side to enjoy looking at a bear looking at us.
Short of the bear leaning on the ship, it couldn’t get much better. It eventually got bored, not being able to work it out, and left. We also moved on.
A couple of bears later, and the ice getting denser, the ship turned back. Staying up here may have literally meant staying up here. It wouldn’t be the first time.
