This was the second of our back-to-back trips on the Vavilov to Svalbard, led by the irrepressible and inexhaustible Paul Goldstein and ably supported by brilliant Nate Small and his expert One Ocean team. We had wonderful encounters with Polar Bears on the pack ice, but a bonus was the sighting of three Bowhead Whales at the ice edge. This was a huge privilege because the population in this area is classed as critically endanged.

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