Sunday, August 12, 2018 | Anchor and drift off Raudfjord, Spitsbergen | Anchor and drift off Smeerenburg, Amsterdamøya  Forecast: 5°C, 41°F Light winds NE 10-20 knots | Midnight Sun (no sunrise or sunset)

Today we watch another bear. He was generally bored with us but finally rolled over to give us a photo of a lifetime – the polar bear version of Burt Reynolds on the rug.

But before the polar bear there was the polar plunge, a true must on any polar expedition. What is a polar plunge? The insane tradition of jumping into freezing cold water, with icebergs floating in it, while in the Arctic or Antarctica. I’ve already plunged in Antarctica …

I had decided that I was definitely maybe possibly doing the plunge here. Yes, the water is cold (very cold at zero degrees) but you don’t really stay in long enough to feel it. Just for fun, I wore a tutu.

All being said, I felt exhilarated afterwards.