Like Kayak Tacos For Bears

Our kayaking expedition almost got canned thanks to bears 12 & 13.  They were distant bears, but even a distant bear can sneak up on a kayak, attack it, and eat like a human-stuffed taco.

(By the way, a Jaws-like Hollywood blockbuster featuring a lone polar bear slowly killing off passengers on an expedition ship would be pretty cool.  Pierre, Lynne, if you can get this idea in front of some studio execs, I will make sure you get a cut!)

So, when those last two bears were spotted a long ways off, the kayakers who were out were recalled and it was put on hold.  (Because of the 100 people or so who wanted to kayak, we were sent in waves).

Meanwhile, I was up above the bridge, watching the polar bears.  We lost one for a while.  Meanwhile, what some of us thought was a seal kept popping its head up.

Turns out it was a male polar bear with an unusually dark head who was chasing the female polar bear. . .whether to eat or for love, we do not know.  We're not even sure why the dark head -- was it from being in the water so much, or had it been rooting around in some dirt for some reason?  One of the mysteries of nature, I suppose.  (I did NOT say it was an IMPORTANT mystery.)

Eventually the expedition team decided they were too far away and not at all interested in us, so the kayaking continued.

We got out on the water, and had some struggles staying anything close to straight until I noticed that Carol did not have her hands properly distributed on the paddle.  Like a great hitting coach, I  had her make that minor adjustment, and then we rocked.  

It was, without question, the further north we've ever kayaked!