Since some people are wondering, here’s the answer. It’s actually not much different than home, except for the fact that you can’t drink the water, or even rinse your mouth with it when you brush your teeth. The toilet is kind of like the airplane kind with the loud, scary suction noise, but other than that, pretty normal! You just have to watch your step because you may sway a bit as the ship sways. There is some rough water out here.
Linsday,
Our class has a few questions after reading your blogs posts today:
Can you shower, even though you can’t rinse your mouth after you brush your teeth?
Do you have any pictures of the polar bears you saw?
Have you seen any seals? What birds have you seen that live only in the Arctic? Why don’t penguins live in the Arctic?
Thanks!
Mrs. Arnow’s and Mrs. Kennedy’s 4th grade class
Boulder, CO
. Mrs. Arnow and Mrs. Kennedy, thanks for the questions! Yes we have a shower in our cabins that is ok to use like a regular shower. It’s just that the tap water onboard is desalinated seawater through old pipes, so it’s best not to drink it. I do have a couple photos of polar bears (that are pretty far away), but they were taken by someone else here. I still haven’t seen one myself, but fingers crossed. You can look back at posts from a day or two ago and see the picture of the polar bear. We have seen a couple seals, and some birds too (someone onboard who knows about birds says we have seen Northern Fulmars, Black-Legged Kittiwakes (both known as ship-following birds), Thick billed Murres, Dovekies, Ivory gulls, and Pomarine Skuas – have you heard of those?). As for penguins, they are just naturally only in the extreme south, while polar bears are naturally only in the extreme north. Maybe they came to this agreement at some point? 🙂
Why Can’t You Drink The Water Or Even Rinse Your Mouth With The Water When You Brush Your Teeth?
Dear Nicki, we were told that the water is fine for washing, but that it might make you sick if you drink any of it, because it is desalinated (meaning the salt is removed) seawater from old pipes. To be honest, I have forgotten a couple times and rinsed my toothbrush with the tap water out of habit, but I haven’t gotten sick, so maybe it’s not that bad.