Marilyn's Odyssey: Baffin Bay

Sunday, September the 10th was amazing. We spent the morning in Baffin Bay playing amongst the sea ice. Baffin Bay is located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland and is not navigable most of the year because of the ice cover and the high density of floating ice and icebergs in the open areas. At 0830 we arrived to an immense area of sea ice accompanied by amazing light. The photo opportunities were incredible. More importantly one just had to take the time to take in all the beauty and nature that surrounded us. It truly was a church in nature. The sound as the ship broke through the ice was mesmerizing and the brilliant blues contrasting with the stark whites of the icebergs was stunning. After a couple of hours of enjoying this amazing experience we came upon water where the sea ice was more spread out and our expedition leader Scott had a surprise up his sleeve. The ship stopped and the zodiacs were lowered into the sea. We were taken into small groups and landed on a piece of sea ice! We got to spend 10 minutes walking around the sea ice floating in 1000 feet of water in Baffin Bay. What an unreal experience!!! Certainly one we never anticipated and one none of the guides had ever done. Everyone was thrilled and conversation on board was running high.

Before dinner Adventure Canada held a charity auction which they hold on each expedition to support the Ayalik Fund which gives those Inuit youth who would otherwise not have such opportunities a chance to build self esteem and confidence through challenging outdoor adventures meeting other young Canadians. Many items made or written by guides were auctioned as well as experiences. A great addition was the pour bears who dressed as polar bears poured you more champagne every time you bid. People were very generous and over 20,000 was raised, the most ever.