29 Jul 2015

Wrangel Farewell

As we said farewell to Wrangel Island and her caretakers this afternoon it was just as well some of us were wearing sunglasses. There were definitely tears in some eyes – once Wrangel is in your blood it is never easy to leave and more than a few on this expedition have been affected. We had a brilliant last couple days which included some unforgettable experiences like the Polar Bear on an ice floe that allowed us to get fairly close while it was feeding on a freshly killed seal. Then there was the Zodiac cruise in fog around the bird cliffs at Dragi Bay last night and a close encounter this morning with a Snowy Owl, herds of Muskoxen on the tundra and an Artic Fox.

Our last rendezvous on Wrangel was to drop off the rangers who had accompanied us and pick up the awe-struck southbound Overlanders who had some amazing stories and photographs to share from their 3 day adventure.  It is a quiet ship at the moment as everybody reflects on their own personal Wrangel experience and downloads photos. We will enjoy an early dinner tonight and have a good rest as we make our way south again.