August 12^th, 2026

Philpot’s Island and Devon Island

Today we had our first Zodiac rides (well apart from when we embarked on the ship) and our first wet landing.

As only 100 people are allowed on shore at any one time, and to prevent crowding in the mudrooms while we all do battle with our boots, the guests are divided into 6 groups. Then each group is called in turn and asked to go down to the Zodiac landing zone. We are in the red group, and as luck would have it, today our group was the last to be called.

We put on all of our layers of clothes and waited expectantly in the Expedition Lounge. Finally, our group was called. By that time, we were severely overheated. We went to the mudroom to put on our boots. Despite feeling like the Michelin Man with all of my layers I was able to put on my right boot. Then I struggled with the left boot, meanwhile I could see that the rest of our group had left to board the Zodiacs. Finally, I got the boot on, but in my struggle, I strained a muscle in my side. Maybe expeditions aren’t for me.

Boarding the Zodiac went well, and soon we were speeding to Philpot’s Island, a barren island next to Devon Island. The Zodiac took us to the beach, but we had to disembark into the frigid waters, no way to stay dry. Our first wet landing. Well despite my misgivings I was able to swing my legs over the side of the boat and jump into the water. Yes, my waterproof pants got wet, but my feet remained cozy and dry inside my boots. That wasn’t bad at all.

The goal was to hike around the island, so I picked up a hiking pole and off we set.

In Antarctica when we got off the Zodiacs we could remove our life jackets whilst we explored the terrain. Not here, we had to keep them on at all times just in case we had to leave the island in a hurry. There can be polar bears here, and if we saw one we would need to get away as soon as possible.  One of the expedition team was armed and ready to defend us if necessary. It would be nice to stumble across a polar bear, but not nice if it got hurt.

The island was very barren, and I was glad for my walking pole as we crossed the very rocky terrain.

In the distance we could see ice covered Devon Island, our destination for this afternoon.

There were also icebergs out there.

Philpot’s Island has sparse, high-arctic tundra vegetation consisting primarily of hardy lichens, crustose ground covers, and moss.

It was a fascinating place to be. I mean here we are in the high arctic hiking around this desolate island, looking out for polar bears, and best of all, I feel nice and warm in my layers of clothing, and my toes are comfy and cozy in my boots. It was such a wonderful feeling.

After a while on the island it was time to get back on the Zodiac. You had to wade into the water, but luckily there was a stool to stand on so you could sit on the edge of the boat and swing your legs around to get you safe and securely into the Zodiac. No jumping or climbing needed. When we went to Antarctica one of my many fears was not being able to get in and out of the Zodiacs, but I managed then and 4 years later it looks like I am still doing OK, yay!

On returning to the ship after our Icefjord boat ride in Ilulissat we had to go through security. I had my video camera around my neck but when I tried to remove it so it could go through the X Ray machine, it became entangled in my life vest and the hood of my parka. The more I tried to untangle it the more it got caught up in the tassels of my hat, and then my hair. Brian had to come and help me, meanwhile there was a long queue of folks also trying to go through security, and also security had stopped people trying to leave the ship until the situation was settled. Finally Brian was able to extricate the video camera strap and triumphantly I placed it on the tray so it could go through the machine. Phew. I stepped forward to go through the metal detector and as I got there I realized my phone was in my pocket. I tried hard to get it out of my pocket, but to no avail. At this stage the security man just looked at me and told me to go through anyway, phone and all. Oh dear.

With this memory fresh in my mind, when we got back to the ship after our time on Philpot’s Island I left the Zodiac firmly clutching my video camera and phone in my hands. No straps around my neck, or phone in my pocket this time, I had learned my lesson. Not easy with thick gloves on. Low and behold, we didn’t have to go through security. Which makes sense seeing as all we had done was wander around a deserted island. Not much chance of taking contraband back on board.

Back on the ship, we had to wash off our boots so that we don’t bring anything foreign back on board, or more importantly we don’t transfer anything to our next landing.

We returned to our cabin and put our wet clothes into the drying cabinet so they would be ready for our next outing.

Then I noticed – there were bubbles in our bathtub. Esther, our suite attendant, had drawn a nice hot bubble bath for me to soak in on my return. What a brilliant woman. It was just what I needed. Soaking in the warm bubbly water after the boat ride and island visit was the perfect thing. I was in a very good mood going to lunch.

After lunch we arrived at Devon Island. Devon Island, is the largest uninhabited island in the world. It is about the same size as Croatia. Most of the island is covered with a very large, deep icefield. The rest of the island is polar desert which has a stark, rocky landscape. There is a large impact crater, the Haughton Impact Crater, which is apparently the closest thing to Mars on earth and is the site for Mars exploration research.

It would have been great fun to go there, but instead we explored the coastline.

We went out in a Zodiac with Max and the rest of the Image Masters program folks. One of the fun features of the program is that we have our own Zodiac and can stay out longer on our trips.

We started out looking for wildlife on the rocky coastline. Apparently, there are muskoxen, arctic foxes, and polar bears on the island, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any. There was a walrus in the distance, and a small seal swimming by, but that was it for wildlife apart from several arctic birds.

Then we moved on to the ice-covered coastline where there are miles and miles of walls of ice. It is totally wonderful. The colors and textures of the ice are amazing. There is just so much ice there.

And then there are the little icebergs. As a matter of interest, the official name for these is growlers or bergy bits.

They were beautiful. We spent a long time just looking at them, and taking loads of photos.

Max even found a cute little one!

It was getting late and also getting cold. Time to head back to the ship.

This evening Charlie did a wonderful one-man show of Irish music. Actually, he is Welsh, but I must agree with him that Irish music is a bit more uplifting than Welsh music. It was a fun toe tapping evening.

At 10:00 we stopped at Dundas Harbour. The outpost was established at the harbour in 1924 as part of a government presence intended to curb foreign whaling. The Hudson’s Bay Company leased the outpost in 1933. Then the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were there for a while, but they left in 1951 due to ice difficulties. I am sure the horses didn’t like it either. So now it is totally abandoned and decaying.

A polar bear was seen in the distance, but I never saw it. They have a fancy camera at the front of the ship which enables you to see wildlife on the shore, and so we had to make do with seeing the bear on the TV. Still, it was our first polar bear sighting, I hope there will be many more