CRUISING THE BELLOT STRAIT

CRUISING THE BELLOT STRAIT

I was on the Promenade Deck by 8:15 this morning joining Nigel who was scanning the sea for birds. Not much was happening so I began my hour walk through a number of snow squalls. The temperature is below zero now. Norma joined me later. Everytime I went around the deck, I'd stop and check in with Nigel to check on what I had missed. Luckily, on one of my rounds, Nigel pointed out a Parasitic Jaegar - another lifer for me. Just at 9 o'clock when Nigel was finishing up his stint of duty, I saw a bird land on the railing of the bridge above me. I called to Nigel and took a look through my binoculars. It was a Peregrine Falcon. Nigel didn't hear me at first but when I caught up to him, he confirmed my sighting. I hope I have established my birding credentials with him. He took several pictures and left to try to get one from higher up on the ship. Norma also got a good look at the bird who she christened, Perry, the name of the pianist who entertains us in the Saloon where we have become among the regulars for our pre-dinner drink.
We entered the Bellot Strait - a very narrow passage that was the trickiest yet for the captain. In fact, it may be the most difficult one he faces. We were very close to land on both sides of the ship. We were told to keep an eye open for a polar bear on the port side. Sure enough, I spotted two whitish lumps that moved - another mother and cub. Now, we've seen sixteen!
After the excitement of the going through the Bellot Strait, the Captain announced that an iceberg had been spotted about 20 miles away and because we had made such good time going through the Strait, we had time to divert from our course to go and see them. There were two huge icebergs in the ocean - one a huge slab and the other with the most wonderful shape.
We came back to our room to binge watch the rest of the tapes of House of Cards that are due back today. Dinner is with our tablemates and Jim at a new small-plates restaurant. Phil is coming down with a cold so may not be feeling well enough to join us.
We are hoping for another "unexpected adventure" tomorrow, weather permitting.