蜜芽传媒

B谩rbara Hern谩ndez is affectionately known in Chile as the Ice Mermaid, she swims in often glacially cold waters and holds the record for the longest swim in Antarctica. She swam in water that was 2掳C for a mind-boggling 2.5 kilometres. She鈥檚 also the first South American to have completed the Oceans 7, a marathon swimming challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims: she had an extra incentive for finishing that one as she promised her boyfriend she鈥檇 marry him if she succeeded. She tells Outlook reporter Jane Chambers that it鈥檚 all an unexpected turn for the little girl who was laughed at for wearing second-hand swimming costumes and never felt good enough in the pool. Barbara is voiced in English by Regina Brandolino.

The list of underwater predators that Amos Nachoum has photographed is long - it includes the Nile crocodile, the great white shark, orcas, anacondas and many other creatures that most of us would hope never to encounter. But for Amos that list was incomplete, his dream, his white whale, was to swim with a polar bear and photograph it. His first attempt went badly wrong, but it did not deter him and in 2015 he made his second attempt. He shares his account of that adventure with Outlook's Saskia Collette. This interview was first broadcast in 2021. To hear the full story search for 蜜芽传媒 Outlook Swimming with polar bears - a photographer's 'crazy' dream.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Andrea Kennedy

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: B谩rbara Hern谩ndez swimming in front of an Antarctic glacier. Credit: Ulises Ya帽ez @zvcarias)