The Seven Islands Archipelago

We traveled much further north to 80 degrees 45 minutes north.  Much colder and windy for sure.  No satellite or Internet up here!  These islands are famous for the British North Pole expeditions by John Phipps and William Parry.  We hopped into a zodiac and explored around the islands.  Waterproof gear, warm hats and gloves are recommended.

And we found some walruses.  Could not get too close to them, but the zoom lens on the DSLR camera makes a huge difference.  Some are brown looking and some are reddish.  What does that mean?  If they are red, it means they are HOT! They are getting too warm laying on the beach with their friends!

If they are cool, they are much more grey.  Here are two of the younger ones playing in the water nearby to cool off with a little water polo in anticipation of the upcoming Olympic games that they are looking forward to watching.  They have to be careful of puncturing the ball sometimes with their large tusks.

Walking back to the Zodiac, checked out the local hunting/explorer cabin/shelter.  It is amazing on how many people visit these islands for exploring and rough campsites.

It has a small stove and two bunk beds.  For the adventurous types, these islands could be a fun place for a little hiking and camping.

Also, look what I found on the shore.  Do you know what it is?  A small whale vertebrae.  Who knows how old it is…I guess you never know what you may find here in the Arctic Circle!  It was a little too big to consider for my carry-on luggage when returning to the US though…