It is now day three
of our Arctic escapades. The scenery in
Liefdefjorden surpasses our expectations.
Glaciers tumble down to the ocean on three sides of the ship. Ragged mountains in sombre tones clutch at
the glacial ice as it struggles to flow to the sea. Fram is surrounded by heavy brash ice that has calved off the front of Monaco
Glacier. The wind is less than 5 knots
and variable. Everywhere you look lies a
postcard in waiting.
Our plan this
morning was to sortie in the Polar Cirkel boats and cruise through the brash
ice. At first it was heavy going as the
ice was thickest at the ship. It took
about ten minutes to arrive near the front of Monaco Glacier. The lucky people in the first two boats were
graced with a pod of Beluga Whales. We
could see two calves sticking close by to their mothers in a group of
approximately ten whales. The whales
seemed to be feeding right at the base of the glacier. Monaco was calving a lot today. Large blocks of ice landed perilously close
to the whales. The Belugas continued
their way west along the glacier front where Polar Cirkel boats didn’t dare to
go.
We continued east
along the glacier front encountering hundreds of Glaucous Gulls, Kittiwakes and
Fulmars. Parasitic Jeagers (Arctic
Skuas) patrolled the sky looking for unwary seabirds making a catch of
fish. As soon as they spotted a Gull
with a fresh fish, a chase would ensue with the result usually being that the
gull dropped their meal and the Jaeger would catch its breakfast in mid air.
In the afternoon we
landed at Mushamna. There is a beautiful
hunter’s cabin there. It is possible to
over winter as the cabin is in very good condition. Each year there is a different tenant as qualified
people need to apply to the Governor of Svalbard. Tenancy is for one year only with a
possibility to extend for a year, however Mushamna has been empty for the past
three years.
It is very easy
terrain in which to walk around. We were
free to explore the area around the cabin and to go much further afield. The Expedition Team was, as usual, keeping a
watchful eye out for Polar Bears.
There was also the
opportunity to go on a two and a half hour hike. The hike wound through a gorgeous valley with
steep mountains rising abruptly on three sides.
Inside the valley you couldn’t hear a sound. There wasn’t any wind. No birds calling. No engine noise from the ship or Polar Cirkel
boats. None of the noise associated with
the trappings of a modern society. It was
truly serene.
The last of the
hikers returned to the ship at approximately 20:15. Soon after Fram was on her way to Moffen
Island where we hoped to see Walrus.
At about 22:30 we crossed N80˚ and could plainly see a group of Walrus
huddled together just up from the beach.
Fram stood about three hundred metres off shore where we had excellent
views of these unique marine mammals.
