September 1 at sea around Cape Hay and Bylot Island

 Our days are brim-full with new wonders, fascinating history, the ongoing discovery of a culture fairly unknown to us 'southerns' - the Inuits. This morning we were heading towards Cape Hay on Bylot island. In 1965 this place was designated a protected bird breeding place. Reportedly during the season there are 140,000 breeding pairs of Brunnich’s guillemots as well as black-legged kittiwakes and greater snow geese. While we navigated there we were treated to the first in a series of lectures about the quest to find a passage across the top of Canada linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans - the Northwest Passage. A centuries long search. Our lecturer is Nina Gallo with whom we travelled in Antarctica and South Georgia earlier this year; she is totally engaging as a storyteller. That feast was followed after lunch by another feast, a total delight as we zodiacked along bird cliffs passing stunning icebergs as we went. The cliffs were a geologists’ and bird lovers’ delight. 

When we boarded our zodiacs it was snowing just a little - and cold!

Just look at those strata. The mind boggles at the geological history that forged such wondrous patterns

The loudest voices are the kittiwakes chattering incessantly

Birds dotted like chocolate chips in ice-cream

Eventually we had to turn our zodiac around and slowly made our way back to the ship passing a rather spectacular iceberg on the way. Hans, our driver and guide took us right around the iceberg but it looked like it was starting to tilt and you definitely don't want to be around icebergs when they flip - there a heck of a lot more ice underneath than on the surface so he hit the gas and we flew on past back to the ship but boy was it exciting for a while.   This is a wonder-filled voyage! 

A phantasmagorical humbug-striped beauty!

Opps its calving big chunks which throws the whole thing out of balance.