Lemon or Orange, Flag or Chart…?

Wow, so this is how Svalbard can also be, huh?

Ice is cold, so the air above it gets denser and starts to sink, gaining momentum over the glacier, coming down as a catabatic wind. These winds can either be terribly strong in their own right, or - like today - add to the weather conditions that are prevailing already.

Anyway, we are greeted by a strong gale on entry of the Hornsund. The waves display  small white crowns and the howling is unmistakable. So, no Kayaking here, that is for sure. As for the hike we have to change plans, too, as the original itinerary involves a 2,5-mile boat ride, which would result in a group of hikers who start already drenched to the bone…

But there is more options, always. So we take off at the other flank of the valley, where huge whale bones and green mounds tell the tale of the whaling times that were. But this is not the only important piece of history that we come across. In the mountains around we see several cairns that were not put there by happy tourists but by the participant of a famous scientific expedition, Arc Meridian.

At the end of the 19th century people were keen on knowing more about our planet, especially how it is shaped. Two schools were discussing hard: Those who said Earth looks like a lemon, e.g. elongated towards the poles, and those who favored the orange with a dent north and south.

The method: Measuring the distance between parallels close to the poles; a greater distance means lemon, a shorter indicates orange. This required meticulous gauging and loads of trigonometry, which was carried out by the Russian/Swedish participants of the expeditionHence the cairns which served as beacons.

The orange won.

And in Gåshamna a hut in great solitude is all that remains from this amazing effort.

In spite of the strong wind and the sand storm we go out, and we enjoy this last landing very much.

In the afternoon Captain Hårvik invites to his Farewell Speech, followed by the charity auction, the proceedings of which go to polar bear research and protection. Maybe the fact that we saw ten of these remarkable animals was still present in everybody’s mind, the auction yielded a substantial amount. Well done!

The day ends with the last dinner on board, well deserved. And well served, too…

The Nature of Expedition

If it weren’t for the ice one would really have a doubt: Are we really in the highest Arctic??

The morning finds us with immaculate blue skies, mild temperatures above 5 degrees celsius and literally no wind at all. No need for the big sweater - “why did I bring all these warm clothes…?” 

But then again, just look ahead. We are using the morning hours to hover in front of one of the most majestic glaciers in Svalbard, the Monacobreen. Named after Prince Albert of Monaco (the older), who was an ardent fan of the Arctic and financed many costly enterprises to explore the beauty of this barren world. Well, we can only wish he had one single day like we are having today!

But that was only the beginning. High north as we are, we definitely like to have an audience with the King of this beautiful place. So all binoculars are propped to keen eyes, every bright rock, log, dirty snow patch is a suspect for a short moment.

But no, it seems like Master Bear doesn’t want to be seen today, not in the pretty labyrinth of Andøyane, neither on the expanses of ice that lie north of this.

Well, patience is a virtue…

After a while we see the flat silhouette of Moffen ahead of us, usually a reliable resting place for walrus, but of course we are a little skeptical now. However, on approach we see a medium-size group of the brown “monster sausages” on the beach, the tusks gleaming white in the sun.

But what is this? One of the big logs on the land spit is suddenly starting to move and raise its head. Round white ears, black nose big neck - a polar bear!

And indeed, the massive male gets to its feet and walks leisurely across the island, right past all the camera lenses that are pointed at it. We have our first bear…

And now it’s ice time. While a week ago we had to move another 25 miles north to find the ice edge, we see the white stripe on the horizon after only half an hours ride.

The pack ice stretches from horizon to horizon.

Now Expedition Leader Karin plays a trump ace: We launch the Polar Cirkel Boats and start a cruise into the pack ice with everybody. Sometimes it looks as if the boats are totally engulfed by the ice floes and will never make it out again. But that is of course an illusion, all drivers and staff are experienced and safely bring everyone back to FRAM. 

As the light of the evening imbues the whole world in soft colors we start heading for the Hinlopen Strait to continue the tour around Spitsbergen. But today we encounter a surprising obstacle - the ice itself. So much of it has accumulated at the entrance of the strait in the last to days that it is absolutely impossible to pass. Here goes the circumnavigation…

But it would be only half the fun if everything were foreseeable, wouldn’t it?

Immediately a plan B is forged, so we turn the ship around and start heading down the west coast to get to a place that we normally don’t have the time to visit, Bellsund.

That’s what we mean when we tell you at the beginning of our journey: You’re not on holiday - you’re on expedition…

First Cruise Day

First cruise day! And we woke up surrounded by beautiful blue bits and pieces of glacier ice from the Kongsvegen and Kongsglacier.  

14 lucky ones tied on their crampons and went for a fantastic glacier hike on the Conway-Glacier. 

All the others visited this morning Ny Ålesund, one of the world`s northernmost year-round communities, with about 150 mostly scientists, living there during the summer months (in the winter there are about 30 people). Since 1964, so 50 years already, Ny Ålesund is now a science “town”, but it`s full of mining history as well, as this was the start of the place, when Kings Bay Coal Company initiated mining in 1917.

Several mining accidents with a severe happening November 5, 1962 when 21 miners got killed lead to the closing of the place as a mining community. A white painting of a coffin on a harbor hall still marks that tragedy.. We were heading further into “town” and discovered the old school, the Nordpolhotel, the Svedrup Station and also the house of the famous polar expeditioner Roald Amundsen! He came there in 1925 to make an attempt to reach the Northpole by seaplane, but did not succeed, as they had to do an emergency landing about 136 nautical miles apart from the Pole. Nevertheless, Amundsen started a second attempt with the airship “Norge” and this time they succeeded! But as tragedy is tragedy, he died on the way to rescue his earlier fellow Nobile, who went to the Pole with the Airship “Italia” in 1928. How much history in this tiny town somewhere high up in the Arctic!

In the afternoon we dropped our anker in front of the majestic mountains in Magdalenefjorden, one of the most beautiful spots on Spitsbergen. Beside a just magnificent landscape with high mountains and tall glaciers, this place also tells a lot a bit of a story: one of the largest burial grounds for whalers on Spitsbergen can be found here, with at least 130 graves. But on Trinity harbor something really “alive” happened: Some of us went for a polar plunge! In 2°C “warm?” water the brave hearts went for a dive, neither afraid of the cold, nor the “Greenland Shark”! ;). 

A bit further away, we had a nice view on a bay on the westside of Gullybreen, where we`ve seen walruses lying on the shoreline, digesting and resting. Back on board we went for dinner and did as the walruses, while watching the beautiful scenery passing by as we went through Sørgattet. 

Would you wanna know...

What your Expedition Team is doing in the few hours that they have on Thursdays?Thursday is the day where we have to be quick in every respect - It’s changeover day for MS FRAM in Svalbard, starting with the farewell to the guests who have shared our adventures for one week. Then they are gone and we dig out the to-do-lists.

So many things, so little time…

But first things first: Training with the rifle is imperative in this line of work, so everybody has to go. Every week. Period.

But then again, rifle training is also fun.

Then there is the shopping, toothpaste, shaving foam, tea, coffee, maybe some crackers. Our hotel manager comes out of the shop with bags full of wool for the next knitting frenzy.

OK, our food on board is great, no doubt. But every once in a while you just crave for something different - a huge piece of crusty pizza for example.

At the same time it’s meeting friends. Feels a little odd, having to rush the conversation because we have to go back to the ship. But that’s thaw way things go in this business, it never sleeps, it never stops.

Just after lunchtime the luggage for the new guests arrives at the ship, has to be sorted labeled and brought to the cabins.

And not so long after the buses with the “future bluejackets” pull up on the pier.

After a few hours of civilization it is: Here we go again, ready for a new adventure!

And, friends of the Blog: We will be out of connection in a few hours, no chance to do anything about it.
See you on Monday night!

The Sound of Magic - Horn Sound

Well, we must have done something right, very right…

The skies are bright blue and clear as we stop the ship deep inside the Austre (Eastern) Burgerbukta. It is one of the side fjords of Hornsund, the Horn Sound. Not a breeze, gentle 7 degrees - are we really in the Arctic…?

Whatever, the conditions are more than perfect for a hike. Well, not just a hike, but a real piece of expedition: With 24 bold people we set out in the eastern flank of the fjord to make our way across the difficult terrain and up the moraine slopes.

That means balancing on boulders, crawling up the loose material that is giving way under our feet, crossing snow fields and muddy areas.

Truly no walk in the park. But our efforts are rewarded by the most magnificent views you probably can get here, and that says a lot. The majesty of the surrounding mountains and glaciers is breathtaking (well, the hike is, too…).

And after a great many photo stops, after 3 hours of scrambling, we arrive back at the beach, where we are picked up by the boats.

What a morning! And, man, are we hungry!!! Fortunately, we are welcomed aboard with a delicious barbecue, so we eat a lot - outside, just in front of the glacier.

One thing the hikers didn’t see was polar bears. This is not a complaint, a glacier moraine is not the place where you want to meet them.

But this doesn’t meant there are not around: Only half an hour after FRAM moves deeper into Hornsund we see two of them, on the ice and swimming. And this time we got really close, as if the day wasn’t good enough already.

Time to leave the fjord, now we go out further at sea, to a special place: The continental drop-off. What sounds like an accident-prone place is rather our best shot to spot whales. It is the place where the continental plateau of Svalbard dives deep into the ocean. The resulting cold currents provide a lot of food for marine animals, so often they gather in these parts. The conditions again are perfect, all we can do is hope.

But alas, this evening we are not lucky, the gentle giants won’t show up. Maybe this is faith telling us “Hey folks, you had so many sensations on this trip, why not leave a few for the ones after you…?”

Never mind, everybody had a blast at the hilarious MV FRAM crew show the same night.

First day out - and bears!

Svalbard has so much to offer - birds, rocks, reindeer, flowers, incredible landscapes embedded in vast amounts of ice. A chilly paradise.

But secretly - or not so secretly - everybody wishes for one thing: Seeing Polar Bear.

And of course we do everything in our powers to make exactly that happen (And, by the way, we like them, too…). But as it goes with wildlife, it’s alive and it’s wild, so you cannot expect the King of the Arctic to be waiting for us around each and every corner. 

So there is always quite a bit of pressure on the Expedition Team, and we watch out all the time to find among the many yellowish rocks ashore the one that moves.

In the meantime there is other things to do. Ny Ålesund awaits, the northernmost civilian settlement in the world, now dedicated to Arctic sciences carried out by more than 20 nations. It was also the location of Amundsen & Nobile’s famous first flight across the North Pole, undertaken by a huge airship that was launched from a big mast which is still standing upright next to the place.

For 14 lucky others the time has come for an exciting walk on the Conway glacier on the other side of Kongsfjorden. This in itself is already an adventure, but on the long boat ride to the opposite shore we spot a polar bear walking swiftly on the shore, close to some reindeer. Voilá! This already is proof that we are really in polar bear country. And it makes the glacier walk even more interesting, as the bear was heading our way…

Constant vigilance, that’s what it’s all about in Svalbard, the binoculars being the most powerful protective device.

In the afternoon everybody else was rewarded for not being too jealous - right on entry into Magdalenafjord there is another bear!

The decision is easy: Check out the bear with the Polar Cirkel boats, see if we can take everyone closer. And really, after a short observation we notice that the bear is actually feasting on a large prey, a reindeer. That is a very unusual thing, as normally they don’t hunt them. A great opportunity for everyone to get their first good shots of the bear, so the boat ride has the main attraction first.

A great day for wildlife! And ice! And - everything…!

Soaking Up The Sunshine In Greenland!

What a day! We woke up to blue skies and sun just beaming all over the place.  Already by 07:30 it was 12ºC.  The air was so clear that the sun seemed extra bright.  The colours more vibrant. It seemed that you could see forever.

These were absolutely ideal conditions for an excursion on the water in our Polar Cirkel boats.  Immense icebergs loomed aground just outside the tiny harbour of Qasigiannguit.  Nearly 100 people elected to go cruising amongst the ice giants.  It was a wonderful experience on a perfect day, never to be forgotten.

It was so sunny that unusual green reflections were being cast on some of the icebergs.  The water itself was a luminescent green at the base of the iceberg.  Depending on the angle of the sun and the ice in the water, green light sometimes reflected off the water and onto the face of the iceberg.

The reason for the green coloured water is because there is so much phytoplankton blooming right now.  We are nearing summer solstice and with 24 hours of sunshine the microscopic plant life in the Arctic Ocean is exploding with growth.

There was a large program of activities arranged by the people of Qasigiannguit.  This was the first visit of Fram to this small community this year.  And in fact this was our first pre-arranged visit as in the past we had used Qasigiannguit as a back up plan for when there was too much ice to make it to Ilulissat. 

These townsfolk were prepared for us!  At 09:30 the kindergarten children and escorts were on the pier to welcome us.  We then returned the favour by invited them all up to deck seven to meet everyone on the ship.

The schedule of activities prepared by the local people included: an exhibition of hunting and fishing gear, an open peat-house, clothing and tools from the late Thule culture with locals dressed in period costume reenacting by the museum, craftwork displays at The Women’s House, a dog sled demonstration/explanation by locals and the choir singing at the church.

At 15:00 Fram departed the pier in beautiful Qasigiannguit and headed once again into Disko Bay.

As we cruised into the early evening we encountered more and more ice.  Indeed we began to see remnants of open sea ice from last winter.

At 21:00 Michael entertained everyone in the Observation Lounge.

Ahhh, the Q's.

Ah the Q's.  So many Q's in Greenland. Qaqortoq. Qassiarsuk. Qooroq. Qeqertarsuaq. Illoqqortoormiut. Well, we don’t actually go to Illoqqortoormiut which is a relief because I can hardly spell it, never mind pronounce it. Today though, we had a really lovely time in Qaqortoq and Qassiarsuk and many of us we went to Qooroq as part of an excursion.  At 08:00 the sun was shining and and it was already 10º C when we pulled alongside the small pier right in central Qaqortoq.

As soon as the ship was cleared quite a few groups of people quietly began to queue on the quay for their various excursions.  Some people set off to the Upernaviarsuk Agricultural station, while others gathered for hikes, or to join a Keffemik, or to visit the Great Greenland Tannery.

For most people it was their first opportunity to actually set foot in Greenland. Sure we had been cruising in Greenland waters for more than a day but that’s not the same thing as stepping on terra firma. I’m sure it was a moment that they won’t soon forget.

Many people in Qaqortoq were wearing their national costumes as there was a conformation in the morning and it was also a religious holiday.

By the early afternoon the temperature was hovering around 17ºC.  Many people were strolling about in short sleeved shirts.

At 12:30 everyone was back on the ship and we waved goodbye to our friends in Qaqortoq.  The sun continued to shine as we cruised down a long narrow fjord.  We had planned on delivering a couple of lectures during the afternnon but it was such a nice day we thought it a better idea to get everyone outdoors.  Lectures cancelled!  Everyone get outside and enjoy the sunshine and scenery with the Expedition Team! And they did!  Who wouldn’t?  The decks were crowded with people sunning themselves and enjoying the great scenery. It was a quintessential day for cruising!

Shortly before 17:00 we quickly dropped anchor in front of Qassiarsuk.

The landscape seemed practically luminous as the setting sun cast a warm glow to the lush green country side.  This part of Greenland is very much farming country.  Sheep were grazing in pastures and farmers in tractors were busy in their fields.

Here too there were various excursions to choose from. there was the Erik the Red settlment walk.  There was a hike between two fjords and there was a really nice boat trip to the Qooroq Icefjord.

Statue of Lief Erikson

There was nothing but happy smiling faces as everyone had ample opportunity to explore to their hear’s delight on this, their first full day of landings in Greenland!

Nature is the Boss

As the night approaches, more and more strange sounds are heard all throughout the vessel: like something is crunching, brushing against the hull

We have reached the ice.

Funny material, ice: It is so much more predictable when it is really cold outside, the frost keeps it well in place. But comes springtime, then it starts moving. Incredible amounts of white begin to follow the major currents, and one of them is bringing them to Greenland’s South, to Kap Farwell. But the journey doesn’t stop there, instead the cold voyagers take a sharp turn to the right and then skirt the western shores of the world’s largest island.

In our case a long and mighty arm of sea ice is stretching north-west, forming a long frozen peninsula almost parallel to the coastline. This is unfortunate, because our destination for the day lies behind this barrier, so Captain Hårvik and his crew try their best to get through/around it, making the route in the electronic navigation Chart look like the footsteps of a drunken spider.To make it a little more challenging for him we encounter dense fog, forcing us to slow down to low but safe speed. What sounds like a bad morning is actually a very picturesque scenario, the silhouettes of the ice floes and ice bergs appear like faint ghosts, drifting by in majestic silence only to fade to white just behind the ship. Every now and then we have to kick one out of the way, and then FRAM is slightly jerking. She can take that, point of fact she is built just for this! So we utterly enjoy the ice ride, as well as the lectures and the music (and the delicious Norwegian pancakes)

The ice belt, however, proves to be unyielding, and as time progresses we finally have to give up on the plans to reach Qaqortoq in the afternoon. Instead the decision is taken to head north towards Bredefjord and make another attempt in the morning of the next day.This is it - this is real expedition! We have to adapt, to embrace the unexpected. And one thing is clear (as ice…): not we are the ones commanding the events - Nature is.