Polar Bears. Ivory Gull. Bartholin Glacier.

We continued to explore Northeast Greenland for the next couple of days. There were so many blues, blue-greens, and even misty pinks and blues in the water, that I could bore you with pictures of the water for quite a while. I'll spare you. Here are just show a few.

Finally, a polar bear was close enough to see in a picture! This young one was floating on an ice floe, waiting for some dinner to swim on up to him.

We spotted an orca, or killer whale, after the bear. And a couple of minke whales.

Pelin, our Zodiac driver on the 13th, is a birder. She'd been looking for ivory gulls for years. This was her lucky day! You should have seen Pelin smile. The lack of sea ice due to human-induced global warming is endangering this beautiful bird. 

We visited Bartholin Glacier. We were all out on Zodiacs photographing the glacier when a piece calved! Dee managed to catch a glimpse of it in her camera, before everyone dropped to the floor of the Zodiacs.

Speaking of Pelin, she gave a lecture on Fridtjof Nansen, who was the first to cross Greenland's interior, in 1888, doing it on cross-country skis. Now this was an interesting Norwegian!

 

We had a lecture on Marie Tharp, mid 1900s scientist who developed the map of the ocean floor, showing ridges and rifts encircling the continents. Her work made the theory of continental drift believable. My female scientist side just loves learning about women like Tharp!

 

Our expedition is ending. The crew entertained us with a show. It was amazing how talented they are! If they can't sing, they can dance. A bartender did amazing juggling with liquor bottles and shakers. Costumes were awesome. One of my favorite sets was "If I were not at sea, what would I rather be?" We all yell, "What?" The last person came on stage wearing a bathrobe and announced, "I would be an Endurance guest. Eating here, drinking there, and exploring every day!"