Early Morning Sighting....

We were woken earlier than usual but this was the reason!! A blue whale. It was well worth the rush to get up on deck. It gradually got closer and this shot was taken when it last surfaced about 50 metres away. Wow! What a start to the day. We also saw a couple of fin whales.
The circular marks on the whale's skin are from cookie-cutter shark bites.

Again, we had beautiful weather and calm sea. We continued to the edge of the polar pack, a perfect spot for polar bear spotting? 

We moved along the ice pack's leading edge and saw a few seals including a bearded seal (see extra shot) but no big white fluffy things.