001 Introduction to Curiously Polar

What this episode covers

In this first episode we introduce this podcast series. Chris and Mario are onboard the S/V Noorderlicht cruising along the West coast of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago. The time is the end of May and winter is loosening its grip from the land and the sea. The pack-ice is receding and the separation between water and rocks becomes visible in spite of the sub-zero temperatures and the snowstorms. Birds arrive to the nesting grounds from far and wide and wait impatiently for the snow and ice to melt and reveal the solid ground on which they will build their nests. Reindeer roam eagerly between barren patches and graze as much as possible from timid vegetation popping up between the stones. Polar bears take advantage of the last remains of the pack-ice to hunt seals before the thaw and the first whales profit of the large krill and small fish shoals.