The polar bear chose a nice time to visit – right after a very pleasant Sunday dinner (an impromptu acoustic concert accompanied by a few glasses of wine). After all the hope and anticipation, there he was, nonchalantly floating by, curled up on an ice floe, sometimes getting up to stretch, yawn, and walk to the water. It was fascinating to see such a massive beast in the middle of what appears to be a barren landscape, and sad and strange to know while seeing it that these animals, perpetual symbols of the Arctic, are becoming fewer and fewer as the Arctic changes and melts.
Polar bear!!
The wheelmen slowed the motor for a bit and we watched him for maybe ten minutes, and then we both floated onward in opposite directions.