The meeting of a life time

The clouds are getting thicker, the day slightly more depressing. A crowd of 10 persons and an expedition leader are cramped in a rubber boat, surrounded by a blue grayish sea with chunks of ice in it. The day is coming to an end, a day filled with excitement, sceneries they have only seen in travel magazines and books.
In front of them is a very tiny island, maybe 100 by 50 meters and no more than a couple of metres high. In the horizon a glacier, rumbling and sqeeking as it is moving, suddenly a big thud and splash when its calving.
It’s an eerie feeling. The screaming of the birds nesting on the big cliffs surrounding the bay, the only sound that has accompanied them all day long. There are thousands and thousands of them. Their guano is painting the cliffs a pinkish color mixed with white. The only growth is splashes of green moss on the dark grayish cliffs, rising several hundred metres straight up from the sea.
And then, suddenly, out of nowhere comes the king of this small island. A male, around 4 years old, muscular, in good health, fit for his environment. He moves with grace, sniffing around in the air, smelling them. He is only 15-20 meters from them. They all are instantly on alert, binoculars and cameras in their hands.
They have one of the most stunning experiences of their lifes. Sitting there in the rubber boat, looking at this gorgeous male and suddenly eyes meet. They can feel the adrenalin pumping, they are scared and at the same time infatuated. The king seems to tell them that he has noticed them, but today he’ll leave it with that. He is proud, and he knows his power.
He stands there for about 10 minutes, then he wanders away on his small island and disappears. And we have had the experience of our life. We have looked a polar bear straight into its eyes.