This morning we visited Ny Ålesund, one of the
northernmost communities in the world.
It was a brisk 5˚C, overcast, with patches of bright blue sky. At 08:30 we began to assemble in our boat
groups on the pier. We were then lead on
a walk through the small but fascinating town.
The Expedition Team regaled us with stories of adventure and
exploration. There were heroes and
villains. There were stories of
historic achievements in Arctic exploration and of tragedy and death. There
were tales of commerce, mining, exploitation and more death. This is where
Roald Admundsen launched his Zeppelin in 1926 and successfully flew to the
north pole and back. It is where Umberto
Nobile’s subsequent challenging expedition ended in death, intrigue and
tragedy. It is where 21 miners died in a
mine that already had a bad history of accidents. 72 people died in this mine between 1946 and
1962.
The checkered past of Ny Ålesund has now been
replaced by an international co-operative of Arctic Scientific discovery and
research. As many as 15 nations conduct
research here annually.
After the tour, many people took the opportunity
to send post cards. It is unlikely that
their friends and family will ever receive another piece of mail from such a
northerly destination.
By 11:30 everyone was back on Fram. We then enjoyed ship’s cruising by
magnificent glaciers and mountains deep in Kongsfjorden.
The afternoon’s plans to land at Julibukta at
15:00 were interrupted by two Polar bears on the landing site. A female bear and her cub watched Fram drop
anchor from the precise spot we had hoped to land. Well, what can I say? Bears have priority and after all, they were there first. In actual fact, the bears were another
highlight to a trip already littered with highlights and we’re not even half
way through!
Our original plan included landing 43 energetic
hikers on the opposite side of the fjord.
The Polar Bears were far enough away that they posed no threat to them.
While the hikers were shuttled to shore, the bears slowly meandered to a safe
distance away from the landing site.
Before long, landing operations began at the original site and soon
everyone was safely on shore.
At the end of the day, more than one red face
was a testament that the sun had shone throughout the afternoon. By 19:30 everyone was back on the ship. The
hikers returned exhausted, but happy from a strenuous hike up and down boulder
strewn moraine.
