MV Dirona travel digest for Summer 2023


Show Summer 2023 travel log map Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.

On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at //mvdirona.com/maps/LocationCurrent.html.


   

6/2/2023: Spanish Grand Prix
Barcelona was high on the list of stops for our aborted trip to the Mediterranean in 2020. And we're big Formula 1 fans, but hadn't attended a race since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2018. So when a last-minute opportunity came together to attend the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, we jumped on it.

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6/5/2023: Barcelona Gothic Quarter
Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter is the oldest section of the city, with ruins dating back to the Roman Empire. Narrow cobblestone lanes, wonderful to explore on foot, wind through the quarter past varied architecture. Although most of the buildings appear medieval, many actually were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s as part of a renovation project aimed to improve tourism, particularly for the 1929 International Exposition.

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6/6/2023: Barcelona Gaudi Architecture
Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudi is famous for his unique and fantastical designs inspired from nature. The majority of his creations are in Barcelona, with seven comprising the UNESCO World Heritage Site, “Works of Antoni Gaudi”, including his masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia.

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6/7/2023: Montserrat Day Trip from Barcelona
The Montserrat mountains rise almost vertically from the surrounding landscape to 2,055 ft (1,236 m) above sea level. Montserrat means "jagged peaks" in Catalan, and their unusual shape is prominent for miles around.

The mountains are a popular day trip from Barcelona, reachable in just over an hour by train or a 45-minute drive. The main attraction is Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, a Benadictine monastery perched near the mountain top 2,000 ft (600m) above the valley floor. The mountains also have several good hiking trails, and two funiculars that ascend and descend from the monastery area. The monastery can be reached on foot, or by automobile, rack railway or cable car.

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6/8/2023: Barcelona Montjuic
The Montjuic hilltop was the birthplace of Barcelona, in the 3rd century BC or earlier, and the site of many of the city’s significant events. With a commanding view to the Mediterranean and the surrounding area, several fortifications were built on hill, the latest being the still-standing 17th-century Montjuic Castle. More recently, the hilltop hosted the 1929 International Exposition and was the main site for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.

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6/9/2023: Girona Day Trip from Barcelona
The city of Girona is famous for its medieval wall and many centuries-old buildings and artifacts, including the 14th-century Girona Cathedral. The city’s Jewish Quarter also is one of the most well-preserved in Europe, with a maze of narrow, cobblestone streets, steps and arches dating from the 12th century. These features made it the location of choice for filming season six of the medieval fantasy saga, Game of Thrones.

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6/10/2023: Barceloneta
On our final day in Barcelona, we returned to the Barceloneta waterfront district to tour the area in more detail and visit Barcelona’s L’Aquarium. The aquarium is among the largest in Europe, with a spectacular 262-ft (80m) shark tunnel, and contains one of the world’s best collections of Mediterranean sea life. The 11,000 creatures housed here also feature sea life from all over the world, such as the Red Sea, the Caribbean and the Great Barrier Reef.

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6/15/2023: GranKito
GranKito, the first of the Nordhavn 64 series, departing Bell Harbor. The vessel currently is for sale with Yacht Tech in Anacortes.
6/15/2023: Downtown Sailing Series
Vessels taking part in the weekly Downtown Sailing Series from Elliott Bay Marina across the Seattle waterfront and back. Running since 2004, the series is a casual summer regatta designed to showcase the sport of sailing and encourage people get out on the water in their boats, either racing or simply cruising along with the field.
6/15/2023: Insignia Gardens
The verdant 7th-floor gardens between the two towers of our apartment complex, Insignia.
6/16/2023: Leschi
The Seattle Fire Department fireboat Leschi testing its pumps in Elliott Bay. Using two MTU 8v-4000 M71 diesels, rated at 1,550 hp at 2,000 rpm, the ship can pump 20,000 gallons (75,500 L) of water per minute.
6/16/2023: Mariners vs White Sox
We've not generally been big baseball fans, and attended a game a couple of weeks back for the first time in years. We found being so close to the field of play made a huge difference to our interest and enjoyment of the game. We had another great experience tonight as the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2.
6/17/2023: Testing Iridium GO! exec
Testing our recently-purchased Iridium GO! exec on our balcony. We were weren't hopeful we'd get a clear enough view of the sky here with the cement roof above, but it hooked up just fine.
6/17/2023: Iridium GO! exec app
The Iridium GO! exec has a nice app that displays data consumption and controls how long the port is open and what apps can use it. Choices include one of several pre-defined profiles that allow specific apps to use the connection, or "All Open" meaning no restriction on internet access. We are using the latter to test with the apps James needs for work at Amazon (Outlook, Slack, Chime, Wickr, and internal work web pages), and it worked flawlessly.

This is great news because we'll need it for our upcoming trip to the geographic north pole. Much of the time we will be north of 70° latitude, beyond the reach of the ship's satellite system, and being disconnected for over a week doesn't work well with James' job. The GO! exec also would open up some land-based trips out of cellular range where our Starlink satellite system is either too big to transport or doesn't yet have coverage.
6/17/2023: Insignia Garage Door
The garage door in our apartment building was hit by a service vehicle. But fortunately we can still get in and out while they work on it.
6/17/2023: Mukilteo
Mukilteo, a small Snohomish County city about a 45-minute drive north of Seattle, was a native-American settlement for centuries before the arrival of Europeans. Captain George Vancouver was among the first to visit, when he landed there in 1792. In the mid-1800s, the land was ceded to the Washington Territorial government and European settlement began. The still-operating Mukilteo Lighthouse was built here in 1906, with a rotating Fresnel sextagon shaped lens that in 1927 was replaced with the current fixed fourth-order Fresnel lens. The lighthouse was automated in 1979 and the keepers’ homes turned into a museum that is part of Mukilteo Lighthouse Park.

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6/21/2023: Fog
The Olympic Mountains visible over a morning fog bank drifting from Elliott Bay over Seattle.
6/21/2023: Sunset
The morning fog dissipated and the day ended with a spectacular sunset over the Olympic Mountains.
6/22/2023: Hood River, Oregon
With five breweries and a population of only 8,341, Hood River, Oregon has more breweries per capita than any other city in the US, and possibly the world. All have tasting rooms and, combined with the city’s many pubs and bars, beer lovers will never go thirsty here. And the city has numerous excellent restaurants and winery tasting rooms, much public art, and is close to many good hiking trails.

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6/26/2023: Spitfire
Spitfire dozing in the sun under James desk.
6/27/2023: T-Mobile Park
At T-Mobile Park to watch the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball team take on the Washington Nationals.
6/27/2023: Honeycomb
A striking way to serve honey at the Mariners Diamond club.
6/27/2023: Mariner Moose
Jennifer loves to get pictures with team mascots and added another to the list with the Mariner Moose of the Seattle Mariners.
6/27/2023: Overtime
The game ended up being a late one with two extra innings. Unfortunately the Nationals scored three unanswered runs in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Mariners lost 4-7.
6/30/2023: More Floors
The apartment tower under construction to our west at 4th & Bell continues to grow taller, and windows have been installed in some of the lower floors.
6/30/2023: Sunset
The Olympic Mountains painted orange in the glow of a dramatic sunset.
6/30/2023: First Win for Ross Chastain
Ross Chastain, one of our favorite NASCAR drivers, celebrating his NASCAR Cup Series win at Nashville Superspeedway by throwing a watermelon to the track while standing on the roof of his car. This traditional victory act reflects Chastain's roots as a watermelon farmer on his family's Florida farm.
7/1/2023: Whistler Blackcomb
The Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, about a two-hour drive north of Vancouver, Canada, is frequently ranked as one of the best ski resorts in North America. It also is one of the largest and busiest in North America, has the greatest uplift capacity, of 65,500 skiers per hour, and annually draws more than two million winter sports enthusiasts.

But Whistler Blackcomb is not just a winter sports destination. The complex sees over 2.5 million summer visitors annually, 25% higher than in the winter, for activities including mountain biking, golfing and hiking.

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7/5/2023: Assaggio Ristorante
A delicious meal over a bottle of Barolo on the terrace at Assaggio Ristorante. We really enjoy living downtown with its seemingly endless supply of restaurants to try. We mostly stay within a 15-minute walk of our apartment, but if we ventured further, dozens more are within a 15-minute drive.
7/7/2023: Orthopedic Boot
James foot has been hurting quite a bit since our hikes at Whistler, so he saw a podiatrist today. The diagnosis was a possible broken foot, and he'll be wearing an orthopedic boot until he can get an MRI and know definitively.
7/8/2023: Three Wheels
Our Honda Passport on three wheels as we navigate a washed-out section of National Forest Development Road 9021 at Mine Creek. We continued another 3 miles beyond this point, but the road became very overgrown. We did find a potential campsite, but the area thick with mosquitoes and so fogged in we couldn't be sure of the view. That combined with a difficult return discouraged us from staying.
7/8/2023: Big Load
A big load coming down Forest Road 4832 as we head up. We're impressed that the driver could manage that big trailer on these rutted and windy roads.
7/9/2023: Keechelus Ridge North
After bailing on the site along National Forest Development Road 9021, we checked out Keechelus Ridge North and were surprised to find both sites empty. It's really dry and dusty here, and we have James' orthopedic boot wrapped in a garbage back to keep it clean. The boot isn't super-compatible with camping, but we made do and had a good time.
7/10/2023: Air Force Planes over Seattle
Two air force planes, one with a refueling boom, flying over Seattle.
7/10/2023: MLB All-Star Week
The Seattle Mariner's are hosting the Major League Baseball All-Star Week, and the posts supporting the monorail are decorated in celebration.
7/10/2023: Serious Pie
Serious Pie is another restaurant that is close to our apartment but for some reason we've never tried. The pizza was excellent and we'll definitely be back.
7/13/2023: Happy 20th Spitfire!
Spitfire the wonder kitty enjoying a can of his favorite food, Applaws tuna fillet, as a 20th birthday treat. We've always used August 1st as his birthday, but learned recently from his original microchip record that it is in fact July 13th. We told him that now that he's 20, its time for him to get a job and start paying his own way :-).
7/13/2023: Celebrate Merlot, Walla Walla
We've always favored full-bodied reds, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, over lighter choices such as Merlot and Pinot Noir. But after attending a couple of Winemaker's Dinners at the Butcher's Table restaurant, arranged by Merlot-enthusiast Jason Sanneman, we began to appreciate that varietal more. We'd also become interested in visiting Walla Walla in eastern Washington, after receiving several recommendations. The Celebrate Merlot weekend hosted by the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance seemed like a perfect opportunity to explore the Walla Walla area while sampling the region's Merlot.

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7/21/2023: Maiz, Seattle
A delicious Margarita at our favorite table overlooking the street at Maiz in the main floor of our apartment building.
7/22/2023: Smashed Windows
Seeing a car with smashed windows makes us glad we have underground parking and don't have to leave our Honda on the streets overnight. Downtown Seattle is still a bit rough in places.
7/23/2023: Bell Harbor Marina
Bell Harbor Marina, our old home port where we lived aboard for four years, at Pier 66 in Seattle. On the left is Anthony's restaurant and the Norwegian Encore is on the right.
7/23/2023: Norwegian Encore, Pier 66
The massive 1,094 ft (333 m), 4,000-passenger Norwegian Encore, that we took on a Caribbean cruise last year, moored at Pier 66 in Seattle between Alaska cruises.
7/23/2023: Here Today Brewery & Kitchen, Seattle
At Here Today Brewery near the Seattle waterfront for a lunch of wings with their excellent Hazy IPA.
7/23/2023: Patio
We really like the patio at Here Today Brewery, with it's peek-a-boo view to the Seattle waterfront and Olympic Sculpture park. Partly visible in the background is the top of the monumental sculpture Echo by Spanish visual artist Jaume Plensa.
7/23/2023: Train
Another reason we like visiting Here Today Brewery is to watch the trains.
7/23/2023: Outside Paramount Theater in Seattle
Outside the Paramount Theater in Seattle before attending the musical Six.
7/23/2023: Paramount Theater Lobby
The Beaux-Arts lobby of the Paramount Theater prior to the start of the musical Six. Hollywood-based Paramount Pictures built the theater in 1928, as part of a project to build a theater in every major city in the US to ensure broad distribution its films. The theater's lavish interior compensated for its remote location, on 9th Ave, several blocks away from Seattle's finest theaters on 2nd Ave.
7/23/2023: Paramount Theater Stage
View to the Paramount Theater stage from our balcony seats. Starting in the 1970s, the theater became one of the city's foremost music venues and played host to bands including Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, The Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Queen, Madonna and Nirvana. We saw Motley Crue play there in the early 1990s. The audiences of such productions were hard on the building and its furnishings and a recent $37 million renovation has returned the theater to its former glory.
7/23/2023: Six Musical, Paramount Theater in Seattle
The start of the musical Six, at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. The Tony-Award-winning show, based on the six wives of English King Henry IIIV, was energetic and entertaining.
7/23/2023: Deep Dive, Seattle
After watching the musical Six at the Paramount Theater, we stopped at Deep Dive for one of their creative cocktails. We love the hushed ambiance of the speakeasy, located under the Amazon Spheres. Getting in without a reservation often is difficult, but it was quiet on this Sunday night.
7/27/2023: Puget Sound Co.
The a cappella group Puget Sound Co. entertaining at a dinner party we attended along the west shore of Lake Washington. They were quite talented and we really enjoyed their performance.
7/29/2023: Dirty Harry's Balcony
Dirty Harry’s Balcony offers great views of the western Cascade Mountains on a relatively short hike that is closer to Seattle than most. The 4.2-mile (6.8 km) return trail ascends 1,354 ft (412 m) through healthy, second-growth forest from a trailhead that is only a 45-minute drive from our apartment. The trail is named not after the Clint Eastwood movie, but refers to Harry Gault, known as “Dirty Harry”, who built precipitous roads and aggressively logged the area in the 1940s.

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7/31/2023: Quantum of the Seas
The cruise ship Quantum of the Seas on a early-morning approach to Pier 91 in Seattle.
7/31/2023: Boeing 737 Fuselage
We love watching the trains pass by from the patio at Here Today Brewery. Today we got a real treat when an entire Boeing 737 fuselage passed by en route from Boeing in Everett.
7/31/2023: Sounder Commuter Train
Normally we just see freight trains along the Seattle waterfront, but today we got both the Boeing fuselage and a Sounders commuter train.
8/1/2023: USS Barry
The 505 ft (154 m) missile destroyer USS Barry parading across the Seattle waterfront as part of Seafair Weekend.
8/2/2023: Le Commandant Charcot Travel Documents
Our flight and ship boarding passes for our upcoming cruise to the North Pole aboard Le Commandant Charcot arrived today in a nice leather pouch with matching luggage tags and passport holders.
8/2/2023: Serious Pie
Enjoying a pitcher of IPA on the patio at Serious Pie while we wait for our pizza to cook.
8/4/2023: North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is known as the American Alps for its dramatic mountain scenery, with jagged snow-covered peaks, alpine lakes, hundreds of the waterfalls that give the Cascade Range its name, and over three hundred glaciers. Despite the many attractions, and the park’s proximity to Seattle, it is one of the least-visited national parks in the country. Barely 30,000 people visited last year, making it the sixth-least visited of the 63 national parks. Compare this with Mt. Rainer, a similar distance from Seattle, that saw 1.6 million visitors in 2022.

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8/8/2023: Happy Birthday James
Celebrating James' birthday at one of our favorite Seattle restaurants, Butcher's Table.
8/9/2023: Crane Tour
We normally never see anyone other than the operator on the crane. Today a lucky group somehow got a crane tour. Not sure how that was arranged but sign us up!
8/9/2023: Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners on the field just before the start of a game against the San Diego Padres at Safeco Field. James had a customer work event that was held in one of the suites, so we got a different perspective from where we normally sit near home plate.
8/10/2023: Seattle Seahawks
At Lumen field to watch the first home game of the season, with the Seahawks taking on the Minnesota Vikings in preseason week 1.
8/11/2023: Metropolitan Grill
We've not been to the Metropolitan Grill for ages, as it's a bit out of our walking distance radius. But today we decided to grab an Uber and enjoy a great meal.
8/11/2023: New Archetypes
The sculpture New Archetypes by renowned French sculptors Anne and Patrick Poirier, outside the office building at 1201 Third St. in Seattle, is considered one of the city's significant works of public art.
8/12/2023: SLU Saturday Market
The weekly Saturday Market in the South Lake Union (SLU) neighborhood. We're not usually in town on weekends, but have been traveling quite a bit recently, and have the North Pole trip coming up at the end of the month, so are spending a couple of weekends at home.
8/12/2023: Insignia
Looking way up to the top of our apartment building, Insignia, from the street entrance.
8/12/2023: Felix Hernandez
Seattle Marines legendary pitcher Felix Hernandez, known as "King Felix", speaking during the ceremony to induct him into the Mariners Hall of Fame. In 2012, Hernandez threw the 23rd perfect game in MLB history, and the first for the Mariners. He also holds Marines pitcher records for his 2,163 strikeouts and 146 wins. To his left are fellow Mariners hall-of-famers and teammates (from left) Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey Jr. (hidden behind Hernandez).
8/12/2023: Mariner Moose
The Mariner Moose wearing a red cape in celebration of "King Felix" Hernandez's induction into the Mariners Hall of Fame.
8/12/2023: T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile park glowing in royal purple following "King Felix" Hernandez's induction into the Mariners Hall of Fame.
8/13/2023: Bell Street Diner
When the weather is nice on the weekend and a cruise ship is in dock, we enjoy having lunch at Anthony's Bell Street Diner at the foot of Bell street. Just visible behind in the background is the Norwegian Encore that we took on our Caribbean cruise last fall.
8/13/2023: Suncadia Resort
The view from James' room at Suncadia Resort, off I-90 east of the Cascade Mountains, where he is presenting at an Amazon internal conference.
8/14/2023: Traffic
Lots of boat traffic in Elliott Bay this morning, with two fast ferries arriving at far left and right, the Victoria Clipper crossing from bottom right to refuel, and a Maersk container ship approaching the port under tug assist.
8/15/2023: Spitfire
We emptied our hall closet to install a new shoe rack, and Spitfire was immediately inside to check out the new space.
8/15/2023: Shoe Rack
Our new shoe rack is a lot neater than storing our shoes on the floor, and allows us to keep many more pairs of shoes in the hall closet where they are more readily available.
8/15/2023: Seattle Police
The Seattle Police never seem to show up in small numbers. Here at least 6 cars are responding to an incident at 6th and Olive.
8/15/2023: Summer in SLU
The Amazon South Lake Union (SLU) campus decorated for the summer.
8/16/2023: Natural Causes
Spitfire staring intently at a spider beneath the railing in the corner of our balcony. Whenever he looks about to jump up, we always remind him that the rule is "Natural Causes" for how he should finish his life, rather than falling from a high-rise apartment. He's more careful than when he was younger, but we always keep a close eye on him if he's outside as he's still pretty fast when he wants to be.
8/17/2023: Sunrise over Cascade Mountains
A striking sunrise over the Cascade Mountains, viewed on James' flight to California on a short business trip.
8/17/2023: KRB7 Knights of Beaumont
James at the Amazon KRB7 Storage and Distribution Center in Beaumont, California. It's a big one at 1.2 million sq ft and 13 million sq ft of rack storage. The KRB7 team is proud of their facility, and "Knights of Beaumont" is their logo. This video clip shows the group James was with cheering them on.
8/17/2023: Lake Union
View to Lake Union from James' return flight home from California. The visible bridges are, from foreground to background, the Aurora Bridge over Lake Union (SR 99), the Ship Canal Bridge (I-5), and the Evergreen Floating Bridge over lake Washington (SR 520).
8/17/2023: Insignia
The twin towers of our apartment complex, Insignia, as James' flight banks over the city. Looking at the two towers central in the picture, our apartment is the upper closest corner in the right tower.
8/17/2023: Stadiums
View to two of Seattle's major league sports venues, Lumen Field at left and T-Mobile Park at right, from James' return flight to Seattle. Lumen Field is the home to the Seattle Seahawks NFL team and the Seattle Sounders MLS team, and T-Mobile Park is home to the Seattle Mariners MLB team.
8/19/2023: Seattle Fire Department
The Seattle Fire Department at the ready in the Lumen Field parking lot prior to a Saturday Seattle Seahawks preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys.
8/19/2023: Seahawks vs Cowboys
A surprisingly good turnout for the Seattle Seahawks' match with the Dallas Cowboys, given it's a preseason game.
8/20/2023: Ballard Locks
In most Pacific Northwest rivers, dams and locks block the spawning path, and the salmon work upstream around these barriers through fish ladders and other passes. One of these ladders is at the Ballard Locks in Seattle. This year's Chinook spawn was trending to be one of the best in years, with visitors raving about the incredible number of salmon passing by the viewing windows.

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8/20/2023: Smoky Sunset
A striking sunset over Seattle through the smoke from forest fires to our north.
8/21/2023: Monorails Stopped
A rare sight of the monorails that run between Seattle Center and the city core both parked side-by-side between stations on the tracks below our apartment.
8/21/2023: Above Grade
Contruction of the apartment complex to our north at 6th and Bell has reached above grade now.
8/23/2023: Lola
A fun evening at Lola Mediterranean restaurant near our apartment. We particularly enjoy their skewered meats.
8/25/2023: Paris
After many months of anticipation, the departure date for our trip to the North Pole aboard Le Commandant Charcot finally had arrived. We would be flying from Seattle to Paris, spending a day there, then taking a charter flight the following morning to Svalbard, where we would board the ship.

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8/26/2023: Le Commandant Charcot
Le Commandat Charcot, owned by French cruise ship operator Ponant, is the most capable non-nuclear icebreaker in the world. While the term icebreaker typically connotes a military or research vessel, long on capability, but short on comfort, the Le Commandat Charcot has plenty of both.

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8/29/2023: Off the Map
We're only 3.5 degrees and y 235 statue miles away from the North Pole aboard Le Commandant Charcot, but our most recent personal track puts us "off the map" of what a Mercator projection can display. This screenshot from Google Maps shows our current position and route from Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
8/30/2023: 92 Miles
We're now 1.5 degrees and 92 statue miles from the North Pole, aboard Le Commandant Charcot, and even further "off the map". We should reach the North Pole this afternoon. The ship is the world's most capable non-government ice breaker, and we're currently breaking up to 2.5-meter ice.
8/30/2023: North Pole
We've reached the North Pole aboard Le Commandant Charcot. The mercator projection in Google Maps fails pretty badly as we near the North Pole, and no mapping program except Google Earth will even display our location.
8/30/2023: Standing at the North Pole
When we visited Svalbard five years ago, we noted that "lying 600 miles from the North Pole, it is about as far north as a person is likely to get without being a polar research scientist". So we certainly didn't expect to be standing ashore at the North Pole five years later. It's absolutely amazing to be here where so few have been before. Our North Pole arrival is only the 168th visit by boat ever, and some of those visits were repeats by the same boat. Not many ships can make the trip. (Map unable to show position at North Pole.)

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8/30/2023: Polar Bear
Polar bears are rare north of 88°N, so we were lucky to see one at the North Pole while Le Commandant Charcot was "moored" into an ice floe. Whenever people are ashore, armed lookouts continually monitor for polar bears to give the crew ample time to react. When this bear was spotted several miles away, everyone ashore was ushered back on board and we watched from the deck as the majestic animal came right up to the bow. (Map unable to show position at North Pole.)
8/30/2023: Polar Bear Departing
The polar bear spent several minutes wandering around the bow of Le Commandant Charcot, sniffing the air and our footprints to decide what we were, and eventually ambled off towards the edge of the ice floe. (Map unable to show position at North Pole.)
8/31/2023: Overnight Drift
Overnight we drifted five miles as Le Commandant Charcot remained "moored" into the ice floe. (Map unable to show position at North Pole.)
8/31/2023: 90 North
The passengers of Le Commandant Charcot spelling out 90°N. We're at the bottom of the '9'. (Map unable to show position at North Pole.)
8/31/2023: Polar Plunge
Jennifer leaping into the water on a polar plunge at the North Pole. She's now done a polar plunge at both ends of the world, with the first one in Antarctica late last year. (Map unable to show position at North Pole.)
8/31/2023: Around the World in 15 Minutes
As we departed the North Pole, Le Commandant Charcot made a quick blast around the world in 15 minutes by circling the pole. (Map unable to show position at North Pole.)