Others weren’t so lucky, though, and I didn’t see them for a few days!
Traveling around in the zodiacs was a lot of fun. We got quite close to the icebergs and various wildlife. Coming into shore and seeing a completely different landing site each time was always an incredible experience. They also go very fast across the water, which is rather exciting (when you aren’t running over bits of ice).
The sea kayaks were a fantastic way to immerse ourselves in the environment. We could go and explore without the noise and disruption of the zodiacs. We even got a bit of exercise.
Walking around on land allowed us to truly get exploring, which I really enjoyed.
I greatly enjoyed our time in the sea kayaks, as it felt like we were really connected to the environment. We were in the water with the elements in our faces--chilling wind and freezing water. Seals would come right up to us and we had whales circle the group. We also got to get close to some of the landscape, beaches, cliffs and icebergs. We had big patches of ice scrape along the bottom of our kayaks and we challenged ourselves to run over "bergy bits" that stuck out of the water.
When we stopped paddling, it was absolutely silent. That's when I felt the most connected.
Kayaking, unlike using the zodiacs or being on the ship, has a relatively small impact on the environment. We aren’t directly producing carbon emissions by powering the kayak ourselves with our own muscle power.
Walking around on land makes you think about the environment very carefully. As explorers of a fragile ecosystem that is protected by a series of treaties, we are there only to observe.
