Day THREE with the Bears!

This day was spent on an official tundra buggy, the original tundra vehicle designed to see the bears. It was quite a bit rougher ride than I'd been on the previous 2 days. A visit to my chiropractor will be a welcome relief! I was with a really nice group of people who were experiencing the tundra and the bears for the first time. That was fun to see! They were kind and shared spaces, quite unlike the photography group that was connected with my group on the other tours. I have learned a lot and will be sure that I avoid those kind of people next time. But that is another story.

Back to day 3 on the tundra... We saw fewer bears than the days before but every bear is a thrill to watch, even if it is just watching them breathe while they sleep! We had the special opportunity to watch a bear frolic in the snow and other than the size, it wasn't much different than watching a dog enjoy the snow! He was adorable!! Stuck his head straight down into the snow and then turned a somersault. It is said that polar bears are an animal that plays and this was certainly proof of that! Luckily I remembered that I could take a video with my small camera and even though it is shaky, it is fun to watch the guy and his polar antics! That was a treat that I hadn't experienced before. Many of the bears we saw were sleeping, it was so hot for them. The guide told us that even though it was -4C that was like the bears had on 5 winter coats. Bears can heat themselves up but not cool themselves down so they have to be careful in the warmth. Watching the bears wander and sleep in the wild was, as always, a delightful experience! They are so beautiful!! I've not come across a person yet who wasn't totally thrilled to be in the presence of such amazing animals.

A highlight of the day was getting to see Kevin, the 'polar bear' man I met in Antarctica. He was surprised to see me, but I assured him I would be back, I'm in love with that experience! I had asked our guide if we would see him on the tundra and he said we just might run into him. But we were lucky to catch him at the dock, before we took off in vehicles. Later in the morning my driver backed up and ran right into Kevin's vehicle and I told him I hadn't literally wanted to run into him! Quite a coincidence with all of the buggies out there. There are 18 permits for vehicles in that area, 12 are for Tundra Buggy and 6 are for Great White Bear. You pass them but mostly you are not too close to them, except in unusual circumstances! Seeing Kevin was great, how nice it was to see both of my friends in Churchill!

At the end of the day we flew back to Winnipeg and I'm not sure exhaustion can describe the feeling after boucing around for 9 hours, hurridly repacking and heading out to the airport for a flight that was late and then finally arriving late. Mr. Perlman was there to meet and that was a nice way to end the trip.

Polar bears beware, I will return!

Day 2 with THE Bears

Not sure what to say, another spectacular day with the bears!! So many stories, so many pictures, so many memories! Today was a day of tundra buggying around on the shores of Hudson Bay watching bears and hanging out at the dog place where bears hang out around the dogs. Good pictures? A few!

Day 1 With THE Bears!

Before I start with the happenings of polar bear watching on the tundra, I have to share my spectacular experience last night. Ready for bed, exhausted from the day that started at 4:30 AM in Winnipeg, and included all of the above mentioned activities including shopping, I had a frantic knock at the door. One of my new friends shouted out that the lights were out! 'The Lights' here refers to the spectacular aurora borealis, the northern lights, a phenomenon I had yet to see but hoped to this trip. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to put on so many clothes! And the sight, well I'm not sure there words to describe the dancing lights. How lucky we were to be able to just stand down the street from our hotel for the light show. Streaks of greenish white lights wove around in curves in the sky above us. A stunning sight! The colors weren't as vivid to the naked eye as they showed up in photos. Bright streaks of green were waving in people''s photos, my camera was unable to capture the sight, but I doubt my mind will ever forget it! The Inuit people believe it is the spirits of their ancestors dancing in the sky, a belief that feels so possible as you see the lights gently weave their colorful magic across the sky. Maybe it was close to an hour that we stood outside watching, but as with the torch, nothing else seemed important. I'm sure I was cold, but I don't have any memory of that. I was, however, aware that the trucks marked 'polar bear alert patrol' kept passing us. Not sure if it was a comforting sight or not. Apparently this has been a big year for bears in town. Thank goodness there were no bear sightings while on foot! What an amazing job of keeping people safe they do here! And so finally the lights faded and one of the most extraordinary days of my life came to an end!

This morning after a quick breakfast we headed out to get on the Great White Bear tundra vehicles for a day that was filled with bear sightings! What magnificent creatures these bears are! Most were not doing anything but napping. A couple came to our vehicle and I believe I did get some nice shots. I believe my new camera did great and I loved the 10x zoom. The people counting said we saw over 30 bears! My favorite was the bear who walked towards us but stopped several feet back and stood in one place for quite a long time with his head hanging down and his eyes shutting. Finally he carefully and gracefully laid down right there on our path, covered his eyes with his paws and went to sleep. We are told to be silent so as not to scare them away, but when we were leaving I decided I just had to talk to the big guy and I .said "bye handsome". Surprisingly his great head lifted, he looked right at me and smiled. Okay I did make up the smiled part, but the eye contact was amazing, just the two of us looking at each other. What incredible creatures they are!

My day ended with dinner with Shari, the friend I met here last year. She has spent the year working with Polar Bears International and what interesting stories she had to tell! Today she got to help with a polar bear airlift from the 'polar bear jail' and actually got to touch the bear before it woke up in it's new location. So many dreams come true here for people like me, whose passion is the bears.

And hopefully tonight I will dream of my bears.

Churchill,Manitoba,Canada

What can one say when in the subarctic tundra? "Beautiful day out, only 0 degrees" Ör maybe 'Lucky we got a few new inches of snow last night." For me, just being here is the thrill! I'm currently watching the sky hoping the light clouds move out and this is one of the rare nights when the northern lights shine. Hopefully they can be seen from my hotel window if they appear. And I use the word hotel loosely.I tried everything to find a way to see the lights and although you could walk a short distance for a great view, going out at night alone is discouraged, the bears roam. So the only solution that anyone came up with is that I could call a taxi if I see them appearing. Last time at the lodge I had a room facing the street, this time I requested a room facing the back, where bears roam at night from time to time. My guess is that I'll be up most of the night looking out the window for one stunning sight or the other.

I arrived easily this morning, none of the drama that was part of last year's arrival. We left Winnipeg at 6:30 and watched the incredible reds of the sunrise on the horizon. Spectacular sight! I am thinking I need s thesaurus when I write about this trip, I don't know enough adjectives to describe it! The Calm Air flight was nice, almost all seats were full, people anticipating the upcoming adventure, most for the first time. People were calm, I was one of the most excited. Not only because I knew what was to come, but because the kid in me takes over at some point in my adventures when the worried adult is no longer useful. I was talking to the flight attendant who told the cutest story. She never flies the early morning flights but she did this morning because of 2 passengers. Paul and Mary have been coming to Churchill every year for 20 years and they have been married 40. They became friends with Tanya when they always seemed to be on her flghts. Now they email her when their plans are made and she always flies with them. Ah, how wonderful that they have each other to share this passion with! I shouldn't complain, I do have Mr. Perlman in Winnipeg who says he likes seeing my pictures and hearing my stories on my return. Hmm...

We waited a bit to be picked up at the airport when we got here. But the wait was made up for when our driver, Mac from Grand Junction, agreed to drive us into town to look around. Well, as we drove in it turns out we ended up following the Olympic torch! He let us out and we followed the end of the run to the end at the city square. We didn't run, I more or less slipped and slided behind the torch. I was shocked to immediately see Shari, who I met last year here. She is the one who told me about the torch being in town so that is the reason I'm here. It was fun to meet up with her for a bit and then I went to the front of the crowd to get pictures of the torch and the festivities. A kindergarten teacher who is also the school choir teacher was the first to run with the torch. She gave a nice speech about the meaning of peace and the Oympics and then led the children's choir in some songs. While this was going on I saw people having their pictures taken wth a young man and the torch. I talked to him, he was selected to carry the torch because of all of the service he has done for his community. And then the big moment arrived, I had my picture taken holding an Olympic torch! I learned something new, there are several torches, it is the flame that is passed on. Never too old to learn something new. As I was savoring every moment of this small town's celebration, Mac came up and everyone was back on the bus waiting for me. Funny, they were all cold and wanting to go to the lodge to dress appropriately. Only then did I realize how cold and wet I was. It was too bad we had to leave then, because by the time I changed into my boots and walked (well, slipped and slided) back to the square, the native Inuit dancers and drummers were over. So sad I missed that, but I'd held an Olympic torch so I guess you can't have everything. Or so they say, but sitting in my little room in the lodge, watching the light oranges of the sunset under the clouds, watching the helicopters fly by to land and listening to the train whistles, I think just maybe I do have it al!

Tomorrow at 7:30 the real polar bear adventure begins!