Crossing the Bering Strait, we sailed between Little Diomede Island (U.S.) and Big Diomede Island (Russia), separated by just a few kilometers and the International Date Line. This strait has long been a vital crossing point, and during the last Ice Age, a land bridge connected Asia and North America around 20,000 years ago. We entered a very calm sea with abundant pack ice and saw numerous gray whales feeding on the abundant krill. In mid-afternoon, we crossed the Arctic Circle southbound.
