Page 20 - Seniors Today - Vol1 Issue 3

Especially on the water, the air was frozen and
misty, but we were rewarded when our guides
saw a school of belugas. About 13-feet long,
small by whale standards, the whitish whale is
aptly named beluga, derived from the Russian
word belukha for white. Our guides then
dropped a device into the water which detected
underwater sonar and allowed us to eavesdrop
on the whales as they “spoke” to each other.

Gigantic Paw mark of a Polar Bear
Excitement flooded my veins and I felt my
heart beat faster, from thrill, from fear, as we
looked around in anticipation for the polar bear.
We were soon rewarded: there he was – the
‘resident’ polar, whom we will call Hugo.

Beluga Whales
As we mounted ashore, our adventures were

Our resident Polar Bear - Hugo not done. On our way back to the lodge we saw
A giant among the sparse terrain, white and a scuffle between two polar bears: our fellow
cool, staring at us, his body languid, his eyes resident and an unwelcome intruder. Hugo
alert. After a few cool seconds, and a final threateningly warded off the interloper and we
desultory sniff, he ambled off. I forgot to be arrived, exhilarated but cold, at the end of the
scared and could only take in his big beauty and day.
marvel how despite his size he could move so
fluidly and gracefully.
Arctic Safari
On our second day, we strapped on water
galoshes – thick waterproof rubber shoes – and
piled into a zodiac, an inflatable boat, as we
made our way into Hudson Bay , to spot the
elusive beluga whale The air above the lake was
even icier and as we drifted along, I took in the
barren beauty of the shore, dotted with black
spruce.

Polar Bear faceoff
Later that evening while we ate dinner –
incidentally a meal that involved aloo bhaji,
we noticed we had a wayside guest: Hugo had
propped himself up on his hind legs and was
peering into the dining room, as if to hopefully
invite himself over for dinner.
On the Zodiac boat to see the Belugas

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