Crystal’s Unexpected Adventures Part 1: Ursus Maritimus

Featured image credit: Crystal guest Peter Graffagnino

By Katie Jackson

You know when you’re in the middle of a really, really good dream and then suddenly, you wake up? You want to just roll over, close your eyes and continue the dream. That was me this morning. But instead of rolling over, I answered the ringing phone.

“Katie, want to go out in the zodiac??? We found some ice!” John Stoll, Crystal’s vice president of land programs and mastermind behind extraordinary experiences like this, asked enthusiastically into my ear.  I shot out of bed and said yes.

A few layers and a big red parka later, I was out in the black rubber watercraft, parked in a sea of floating ice. Eight other lucky guests were with me. All of us had signed up for the “unexpected adventures” offered as excursions, and this was our first.

“If you see a trail of urine down the rear, it’s a female,” said our guide. “If it’s down the belly, it’s a male.”

“It” was the polar bear we were fixated on. Less than 100 yards away, the elusive Ursus maritimus napped. To the naked eye, he looked tiny, but through the binoculars’ lens, he was magnificent. We sat there, silent and in awe, for a good 15 minutes. We didn’t dare wake him. After all, he was probably in the middle of a really, really good dream.

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If the updates of these epic adventures spark your wanderlust, book your 2017 Northwest Passage journey now for the best value!