Northwest Passage: August 12-August 28

August 12: Pond Inlet, Nunavut Canada

We crossed the Baffin Bay overnight arriving in Pond Inlet late morning. No one got off the ship as it was a "technical stop" - the entire day was saved to allow the Canadian customs to board the ship and clear us for the journey through Canada -  a laborious process (for the crew) that could take up to 9 hours.   But Filip did take this beautiful video off our balcony:

August 13: Dundas Harbour on Devon Island

We were supposed to arrive early for hike in Dundas Harbour but the ice was bad and the visibility was very poor.  The ship made it into the harbor around noon and we were scheduled for our hike at 2:30.  It had been advertised as being very cold, but we quickly warmed up and felt overdressed.  The first stop on the hike was an old house where 3 Canadian guards had lived to stake claim to the land. They apparently were there for 3 years and only had contact with others once a year when their annual supplies arrived. The second stop was a graveyard where there two graves of young men (25 and 36) who had lived in the house and a small child. The story was they died cleaning their riffles but the belief was that they committed suicide.  

We then continued over the hill to see the other side of the bay where the Canadian coast guard was doing some kind of research and then up to the high point and back around to the landing spot to head back to the boat. It was a short hike but very nice to stretch our legs.

Canadian Coast Guard ship

On the hills of Devon Island

There were many bones on the island

August 14: Beechey Island

We arrived in the harbor along Beechey Island around 7am and we were scheduled for our tour at 10:15. Our current location is just above 74 degrees north and it the furthest north we will go. 

Beechey Island is best known for the explorer Sir John Franklin and his expeditions of the Northwest passage. His ships spent the winter of 1845 on Beechey Island waiting for the spring thaw, but then he disappeared in 1846 without a trace. We took the zodiac to the shore and first walked to look at the remains of a house that had been built for him in case he returned (he didn't) and some other artifacts. We then walked along the desolate coast towards 4 graves - 3 of Franklin's crew. 

On Beechey Island

Coast of Beechey Island

After getting back onboard the ship we had lunch and then they announced a polar bear sighting. We got our NOCs and our jackets and went to the bow to see. The bear was sliding down a snowy hill to the beach down to the water and then got in and started swimming towards the boat. It was pretty far away but very neat to see.

August 15: Bellot Strait

Today was a sea day, but the first day of the Northwest passage experience. The morning started with some bowhead whale sightings as well as a polar bear swimming to the ship.  We saw the polar bear from our window but not the whales.

The ballot strait is narrow and 17 nautical miles long. We started crossing around 10am so that we would get to the end of the strait when the swell was minimal.  We saw more wildlife in the crossing - a group of muskox and a female polar bear with her cubs. Even though we don't really like our new camera- we did get some shots of these (they were pretty far away).

Muskox

Mama polar bear with her cubs

Sunset off our balcony

August 16: Gjoa Haven

We arrived at Gjoa Haven in the afternoon and we were scheduled for a 2:30 zodiac ride. There was a town visit with entertainment in the community center planned.  Filip really didn't want to go but he felt bullied by Peppi (the hotel director). We joined our guide who showed us the caribou pelts hanging outside the houses, the medical center and the retirement home. At the community center there were two women who were sitting outside a teepee serving very fresh arctic char sushi as she was chasing away the flies with a rag. (We didn't participate in this delicacy). After standing around for what seemed like a long time we decided to skip the tour of the community center and for a walk to see the memorial to Roald Amundsen (the first captain to successfully naviage the Northwest passage in 1903 on the Gjoa).  The walk along the beach was nice and the weather was really amazing.

Abandoned ship on shore of Gjoa Haven beside the memorial

Memorial to Roald Amundsen

 

August 17: Jenny Lind Island

We arrived at Jenny Lind Island at 7am and we were in the first group to go to shore at 8am. The goal today was a tundra walk as the island was pretty desolate.  The water was pretty choppy and the zodiac rides pretty bumpy. Our trek was about a mile beginning with a walk along the shore and then we headed up into the marshy tundra. The only wildlife we saw was a family of snow geese in the distance, unless you count the dead seal washed up on the shore.

Jenny Lind Island

On the shore

Dead seal on the shore

Venture in the sun

August 18: Lady Franklin Point

Lady Franklin Point is located on the southernmost tip of Victoria island in between the Coronation Gulf and Dolphin and Union Strait. As with most of Nunavut, it was pretty desolate. There was a deserted military base that housed a DEW (Distant Early Warning) line built in the mid to late 1950s. The DEW line was system of radar stations used to detect and provide an early warning of any incoming bombers of the Soviet Union during the cold war.  Most DEW lines were replaced with NWS (North warning system) as technology evolved, but the one here was deserted in part because of a fire in 2000 which destroyed much of it.

We were in the early group doing the "long hike" with a zodiac departure at 8:30. The water was pretty choppy (one person in our zodiac got pretty soaked) and the outside temperature was pretty cold. The walk was 2 miles and the tour took about 1.5 hours.  We saw a family of loons and rough legged hawks. The terrain was very soft and in places not very stable. 

The beach we landed on was covered in mussel shells

Rough Legged Hawks nested on an abandoned airplane hanger - they were unhappy having visitors 

Buildings from the DEW- the white structures housed the actual radars

August 19: Cambridge Bay

The Venture backtracked through the Coronation Gulf and Dease Strait to Cambridge Bay where we stopped for most of the day. The weather was amazing, particularly at the back of the boat where there was little wind, so we skipped the formal town tour and ordered a room-service lunch which we enjoyed on our back deck. It was a really nice change of pace. After lunch we had some gelato on the main deck in the sun. We then grabbed a zodiac to the town and walked along the streets- ending at the town dump, which we thought was humorous. There were a lot of really nice birds along the ponds that lined the dump.

Cambridge Bay from the ship

Our lunch on our back deck

Enjoying some gelato in the sun

At the end of our walk before we turned around (it was windy)

August 20: At Sea (Dolphin and Union Strait)

Today was a day at sea - we spent time in the hot tub, read books, played team trivia, and played on our devices. Dinner was with the pilot of our submarine tour earlier this trip. The icebergs continued to increase as our trip progressed.

August 21: Gillet Bay and Smoking Hills CA

Today we were supposed to have our last shore landing at Sachs Harbour, but the ice was too think and after some conversations with the Canadian Coast Guard the plan changed. We went to Gillet Bay instead for an expedition of iceberg viewing and bird watching which we opted to do from the ship.

Around 5:15 they announced a change in plans (which we missed because we were in the hut tub) - we were going to make it to Smoking Hills tonight instead of tomorrow. But on our way there was a polar bear sighting on the ice. We watched the polar bear for about 30minutes before continuing on to Smoking Hills.

Polar bear on ice

Smoking Hills - we could smell the sulfur from the boat

August 22: At Sea (Beaufort Sea) 

We went through several pods of bowhead whales - we saw several blows, a lot of whale backs and a couple of tales. We only know they were bowhead whales because they told us.  We have several more days at sea as we cannot stop in the US due to Coast Guard regulations and we are projected to cross into Alaska tomorrow morning around 8am (assuming we don't slow down to see something).

August 23: At Sea (Beaufort Sea)

Today was definitely a polar bear day, we saw 7 in total included 2 mamas with cubs.

First bear - on the right

First mama with cubs- these guys were pretty far away but we finally found them

Second mama with her cubs snuggling on the ice - these 3 were the closest of the day

August 24: At Sea (Chukchi Sea)

Today's sighting was a walrus on ice. It was snowing and cold on deck but we grabbed our coats and went out with our NOCs and camera. The walrus was pretty far away and we finally saw him just as he was jumping into the ice - but we did get a picture.

August 25/25: Sea days

We spent these days similarly to how spent most sea days: going to the fitness center, going to team trivia, reading.  Although we did treat ourselves to a nice bottle of champagne with caviar followed by Eggs Benedict one morning.

Filip had whined to the Ship Hotel Director so much about Micki forcing him to go to the gym that he left us a gift as well.

From Peppi, the Hotel Director - who took pity on Filip having to workout so much

August 27: Nome Alaska

We had signed up to do a hike to Newton Peak in Nome.  We had to alter the route immediately because Muskox were along our route. Rather than follow the trail we went down the road and then headed straight towards the top through the tundra, stopping along the way to eat berries from the ground. 

Muskox from the road

View of Nome from the top of Newton Peak

Filip getting busted placing a Filicki sticker

Muskox in the path on our route down

August 28: Nome Alaska and Anchorage Alaska

Today we disembarked from the ship. We needed to be out of rooms by 8 but not off the boat until around 10 so we had some free time in the morning. There was an organized tour of Nome to look for muskox and see some cultural dancing followed by a buffet lunch at a local church, but we opted for some light shopping and lunch at a pizza restaurant with some friends. (After comparing notes with others, we definitely made the right choice!)  After lunch we were shuttled to the airport for a flight to Anchorage where we stayed in the Captain Cook Hotel before our flight back to Denver to get the Lambo out of storage.

Filip showing off his goblet of beer at the Airport Pizza (which wasn't actually at the airport)

Overall impressions

Our route through the Northwest Passage

In general, it was such a unique experience to sail through the northwest passage, learning about the Franklin Expedition and to see the unusual terrain above the arctic circle, the icebergs, the wildlife, the birds, and the unique flora. We are not sure that "cruising" is active enough for us right now, but Seabourn was definitely a great way to experience this voyage. We liked it enough to book another to Antartica.