August 16^th, 2026

Jenny Lind Island, Nunavut, Canada

I wonder if anyone has done research on how the islands around here were named. Many were obviously named for British royals and dignitaries, but I am intrigued as to how a Swedish opera singer made the cut.

Anyway our morning landing was on Jenny Lind Island. When it was announced that a landing place had been identified and we needed to wait to be called to our Zodiac I looked over the balcony and saw the very rough sea below. Was this a good idea? It was early in the morning and I hadn’t come to my senses yet so when instructed to do so I put on all of my layers and waddled down to the mudroom to do battle with my boots.

Getting in to the Zodiac was a challenge as it was bobbing up and down, but with the aid of 3 crew members I achieved it, sat down and off we went. I help on tightly to the rope along the side of the boat as I felt I was going to bounce out at any minute. Also, I was getting jolly wet. That’s OK because several of my layers are my waterproofing, but what about my life vest? They are meant to inflate when they make contact with water. Mine certainly was jolly wet. I had a vision of all 12 of us in the boat suddenly inflating. Would we all still fit on board? It was not a pleasant sight at all.

Despite my misgivings we all survived the trip uninflated and jumped off the Zodiac into the water and waded ashore.

With a member of the expedition team standing guard to ward off any visiting polar bears we set off to explore the island.

It seemed very barren and monochromatic. True arctic tundra. Learning all about it in “O” Level geography I never for one minute thought I would actually get to see it. Wow!

Caribou, muskoxen, Arctic foxes, wolves, and polar bears live in this harsh habitat. Alas, we didn’t see any wildlife today.

However we did see mosses, lichens, grasses, and small dwarf shrubs growing close to the ground to block the wind. On further inspection it wasn’t monochromatic at all. The plant life added a wonderful layer of color.

We could see the ruins of an old Thule settlement in the distance. It must have been a very hard life facing the elements here.

Meanwhile the weather was deteriorating. There was already a coating of fog in the distance, and our ship was beginning to look more like a ghost ship.

Time to brave getting soaked by another Zodiac ride. I didn’t want it to get so foggy that we never found the Venture again. The term misadventure had popped into my brain.

Back on board a hot bubble bath was again awaiting me. Yay for Esther. She certainly knows how to keep me from wanting to abandon ship at the next safe harbor.

I had decided that we should be able to take the rest of the day off, but it was not to be. Olivia in her wisdom had scheduled trivia so we just had to be there. We weren’t winners again today, although yet again we came close. The team called the Bloody Marys won yet again. This time it was a polar bear. Very appropriate. I am beginning to think that these may be the only polar bears we get to see up close.

After lunch our boat building team met again in secret. I am very happy with the way things are progressing. The rest of the team are very creative and talented, and I think it will look great. But the question remains, will it float?

There was an air of mystery to this afternoon’s landing. We are going to a yet to be named island in Anderson Bay. The island is on the map, but there are no nautical charts of the area.

Now we used to have a little boat on a lake and managed to get safely around (well we did hit a sand bank once) without the aid of charts, but this is a big ship in the Arctic. Is this a good idea? Well of course the captain and crew had everything covered. We lowered 2 Zodiacs and they went in front of us using something called a WASSP that could tell if some evil rock was lurking in the deep, and they could safely guide us to the island with no name. I really felt like I was on a polar expedition. This is exciting!

When we reached the island, I decided that I would give the landing a miss, although the weather had improved remarkably and I am sure it would have been really lovely.

Together with two Australian friends, we were dining with the doctor and his partner, and I really didn’t want to come straight from a Zodiac ride to dinner.

Dinner turned out to be really wonderful – stimulating conversation, delicious food, and excellent wine. We were about the last people to leave the Restaurant, and missed the evening entertainment.

There is something remarkably special about an expedition cruise. You never know what each day will bring. Caribbean cruises may seem very pedestrian after this.