Whalebones and Walrus
Yesterday we has the opportunity to climb into the Zodiac boats and head to Whalebone Alley. It is know as the Stonehedge of the Artic, Whale jaw bones and skeleton litter the beach and little is know as to why the Eskimos left them there, and what significance the arrangements were. It was truly a magical place, and the sun had decided that it would grace us with it’s company. Unfortunate for me, since we were informed it would be as chilly as the day before and with all of my layers on, and miked up already, I couldn’t change my wardrobe or strip down because of filming continuity. I was drenched in sweat, and it was really warm. The place was really spectacular, it smelled like a someone was crushing and herb garden because all of the tundra was in bloom, and we were trampling all over it! But the smell was sage, and cow parsnip (kinda like mums) and very refreshing. The other unfortunate part of this excursion, was the fact that we were there in the summer, and the blooming tundra has overgrown most of the whalebones that you normally see in the pictures of this place. I trip over many a vertebrae, or two, while trying to pick through the rocks in order to find the bones!
Peter, one of our Russian crew, informed me that the Shaman lived at the top of the hill, and once we were through filming I took of in search of that elusive vantage point above the beach. As I climbed the slope I caught up to a few other passengers, searching for the same thing, after some toil we made it up the ridge, only to find an empty plateau and not much of a view. Oh well, at least I worked off that ravioli lunch! We quickly descended, and hopped into the boats to go back to the ship. Being the last group back onboard, as we stepped out of our boat we heard the “Announcement”. Our excursion leader had located a Haul Out on Aremechechen Island. We were going to see Walrus, up close and personal!! 
The sun, which had previously shone gloriously down on us, had decided it was tired for the day, leaving us in a gray haze of clouds and fog, and the wind was really starting to kick up. I had properly layered in my outerwear, but sitting still in a boat while everyone got loaded up and then slowly, ever so slowly we made our way towards the beach, I couldn‘t help but shiver….and shiver. I can’t even begin to express how slow we were creeping in the water, I probably could have paddled much faster, but the idea was to approach from downwind, and to be a silent and sneaky as possible. We didn’t want to alert the Walrus to our presence, because they would bail, and leave us shivering in the cold with nothing to show for it, and also they are know for freaking out completely like a Hollywood B movie when the Blob comes out of the movie screen. They begin to Trample each other, if they are scared and trying to get to the water. We got within 150 feet of them, enough for my zoom lens, and we all reveled in the fact that we were watching these big blobby creatures, cuddle and occasional poke each other with their tusks. We could hear the barking at each other,and one of them ran for the surf. It was a fluid tons of fun ballet, as he maneuvered himself into the surf and took off in search of food. It is hard to believe that they can get around the way that they do, Amazing. By the end, I was a solid ice cube, my face was a frozen rictus, and the camera man turned the camera on me, and asked me to give a comment on what I was seeing. We still had to whisper, and I could barely pronounce anything, so I said the most honest thing possible, “I can smell them from here!”
I won’t regal you with the details of that scent!
Yesterday we has the opportunity to climb into the Zodiac boats and head to Whalebone Alley. It is know as the Stonehedge of the Artic, Whale jaw bones and skeleton litter the beach and little is know as to why the Eskimos left them there, and what significance the arrangements were. It was truly a magical place, and the sun had decided that it would grace us with it’s company. Unfortunate for me, since we were informed it would be as chilly as the day before and with all of my layers on, and miked up already, I couldn’t change my wardrobe or strip down because of filming continuity. I was drenched in sweat, and it was really warm. The place was really spectacular, it smelled like a someone was crushing and herb garden because all of the tundra was in bloom, and we were trampling all over it! But the smell was sage, and cow parsnip (kinda like mums) and very refreshing. The other unfortunate part of this excursion, was the fact that we were there in the summer, and the blooming tundra has overgrown most of the whalebones that you normally see in the pictures of this place. I trip over many a vertebrae, or two, while trying to pick through the rocks in order to find the bones!
Peter, one of our Russian crew, informed me that the Shaman lived at the top of the hill, and once we were through filming I took of in search of that elusive vantage point above the beach. As I climbed the slope I caught up to a few other passengers, searching for the same thing, after some toil we made it up the ridge, only to find an empty plateau and not much of a view. Oh well, at least I worked off that ravioli lunch! We quickly descended, and hopped into the boats to go back to the ship. Being the last group back onboard, as we stepped out of our boat we heard the “Announcement”. Our excursion leader had located a Haul Out on Aremechechen Island. We were going to see Walrus, up close and personal!! The sun, which had previously shone gloriously down on us, had decided it was tired for the day, leaving us in a gray haze of clouds and fog, and the wind was really starting to kick up. I had properly layered in my outerwear, but sitting still in a boat while everyone got loaded up and then slowly, ever so slowly we made our way towards the beach, I couldn‘t help but shiver….and shiver. I can’t even begin to express how slow we were creeping in the water, I probably could have paddled much faster, but the idea was to approach from downwind, and to be a silent and sneaky as possible. We didn’t want to alert the Walrus to our presence, because they would bail, and leave us shivering in the cold with nothing to show for it, and also they are know for freaking out completely like a Hollywood B movie when the Blob comes out of the movie screen. They begin to Trample each other, if they are scared and trying to get to the water. We got within 150 feet of them, enough for my zoom lens, and we all reveled in the fact that we were watching these big blobby creatures, cuddle and occasional poke each other with their tusks. We could hear the barking at each other,and one of them ran for the surf. It was a fluid tons of fun ballet, as he maneuvered himself into the surf and took off in search of food. It is hard to believe that they can get around the way that they do, Amazing. By the end, I was a solid ice cube, my face was a frozen rictus, and the camera man turned the camera on me, and asked me to give a comment on what I was seeing. We still had to whisper, and I could barely pronounce anything, so I said the most honest thing possible, “I can smell them from here!”
I won’t regal you with the details of that scent!
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