After my 50-day expedition through West Africa, I thought I would be spending my summer in Lake Tahoe. But the adventurer in me grabbed me by the hand and, well, here I am on Aurora Expeditions’ Sylvia Earle on another Arctic Expedition.  This time, however, I am not focused on explaining the ship, cuisine, or expedition team. With this being my third time on Aurora Expeditions, you know all that.

This trip is more focused on just being back in the Arctic with comfort and peace of mind, knowing that Aurora Expeditions will provide me with an exceptional experience. Additionally, I am not writing my usual chronological travelogue, so those of you who enjoy feeling like you are traveling with me will have to endure merely experiencing moments.

Unfortunately, I wanted this to be more of a personal experience, without the mind-cluttering distractions of needing to pump out articles or having to spend time with others in the travel industry or self-absorbed social influencers (especially since I am not sure who of value they might influence). Well, at least the first part was under my control, so unrelated to the amazing experience Aurora Expeditions provides, this has been a bit less of a personal one than I wanted. (I know. I know. Poor Eric!)

Da’ (Polar) Bears!

I am sure you have heard that the ice is disappearing at an alarming rate. Well, it is. In fact, it used to be that if you sailed up to 80 degrees North, you would be in thick pack ice and, as such, it was where you would receive bragging rights of sorts, being so far north. We, however, had to travel above 82 degrees North, and then the ice was still so thin that making an expected ice landing wasn’t possible. The ice, however, was more than adequate for Polar Bears.

There is a new rule in Svalbard that you may not get closer than 300 meters from a polar bear (500 meters during breeding season). So, Sylvia Earle, after spotting a beautiful bear, slowly worked her way through the pack ice but staying outside those limits. That, however, did not stop the bear from taking a break from its dinner of harp seal, eventually coming very close to the ship. It was so graceful walking from ice to ice, taking a quick dip to get to another piece of ice, then checking us out, and then wandering back. Meanwhile, a second polar bear lazily slept nearby…and then a third bear appeared.

Note: Apparently, the Svalbard government is scouring the internet for photographic evidence of expedition ships not honoring the limits recently set. I have been requested to mention that many of my photographs are taken with a telephoto lens and that Aurora Expeditions (to my photographic frustration) adhered to the rules at all times.

Combining the beauty of the bear with the vastness and textures of the ice was breathtaking. And while most of the guests were outside on Decks 7 and 8, I decided to head to my balcony stateroom on Deck 4 so that I could view it at eye-level as it fed on a harp seal.  So, while others endured the cold, I literally sat in my warm stateroom with the door open and comfortably and quietly soaked in this fantastic experience. (I also saw a rare Ivory Gull, which, for you birders out there, is the Holy Grail!) Alas, this was just the start of our 36-hour polar bear experience!

There was another amazing event that not even the most experienced of the expedition team had ever seen: 1,500+ harp seals hauled out on the ice. Distances are very hard to determine, but my guess is that it spanned over a quarter of a mile. When one of the bears wandered over to the seals, about 500 of them almost instantaneously disappeared into the ocean. Wow!

That evening (well, there really isn’t an evening as the sun is up 24 hours a day), a sperm whale carcass was found in the ice. It was hoped it would become the Golden Corral “all you can eat” buffet, so the ship repositioned itself accordingly. At 5:30 a.m., an announcement was made that a polar bear was right next to the ship. And then one by the carcass…and another…and another!

Again, comfortably in my stateroom, I watched as a male and a female interacted. I’m not sure if the male was interested in mating, even though that season had passed, or if they knew each other, or if there was a fight, but it was both beautiful and fascinating.

(ChatGPT aided my speculation; now an integral part of my travel toolbox. I uploaded two photos, gave a bit more information and the options appeared.)

On another day, we were going to make a landing to observe a walrus haul out. That wound up being changed to a zodiac cruise because a polar bear was in the area. While one might think that would be a disappointment, it was another mind-blowing experience as the polar bear, after feasting on what I assume was a young walrus, wandered right into the walruses.

That caused the smaller ones to stampede into the safety of the water, while the larger ones – clearly too large for the polar bear to kill – just watched. Fascinating.

Well, that should be enough of some of my polar bear encounters. So far, we have seen either 19 or 20 of them. (A healthy onboard debate on this issue!)  I have been in the Arctic and seen only a few. Regardless, this time, both the quantity and quality of what Aurora Expeditions has made happen (talent and luck, with a substantial sprinkling of experience) are truly once-in-a-lifetime moments…and that is coming from me!

Uncharted Territories!

Svalbard has also restricted access to many of the sites I had previously visited on my two prior expeditions here. Added to that, there has been an extensive, persistent weather system on the west side of Svalbard, which has prevented us from exploring that area. (High winds mean waves, and waves mean very limited zodiac operations, if they are even possible.) And, if that wasn’t enough, for the first days there was persistent dense fog. (Without good visibility, you cannot properly assure that there are no polar bears.) So, Aurora’s expedition leader, Christophe, has been quite creative in finding new spots, including a number where there are no navigational charts and no history of prior visits. 

However, while the number of landings has been reduced, the impact on the overall experience might, in the long run, might actually be a net positive as you generally can see much more from a zodiac than on land.)

Earlier on the expedition, we visited the famous bird cliffs of Alkefjellet, a definite favorite of mine, as there are over 90,000 breeding pairs of Brünnich’s guillemots, so when you add in the non-breeding (younger) ones, estimates are of over 250,000. (Hey, for birders it is cool.) Added to that are kittiwakes and skuas. And an artic fox.  (My next article will, in part, focus on birds. How exciting!)

But on this day, Christophe wanted to explore another bird cliff that he had previously sailed by but never visited. What a discovery! 

Two beautiful arctic foxes, Svalbard reindeer, more Brünnich’s guillemots and kittiwakes, but nesting glaucous gulls (with chicks) and the real highlight, puffins!  (Oh, and around the corner were two more polar bears.)

Aurora Expeditions has, once again, been challenged by the weather, but despite the challenges, has delivered what rightfully be called Multiple Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences for this guy, who has been on dozens of expeditions. 

This expedition, which is not over, underscores that it is not the quantity of landings or zodiac cruises, but the quality. Bravo, Aurora Expedition Team!

Next up: Beluga whales, Glaciers + Ice and…Birds!