All aboard and even those unlucky with lost luggage set of
towards Barenstburg with a smile. The expedition cruise had started. With the clear blue sky Barentsburg was
bathing in sunlight. We enjoyed a culture show and a guided trip in the Russian
mining town before set out towards the mouth of Isfjorden and the start of our
expedition.
Day 2
Bright and shiny we encountered a nice meeting with four
Polar bears two females and two cubs in the Kongsfjord. Arriving Ny-Ålesund,
the northern most settlement we got a good overview of the old mining town which
is now a research town. Stories of old explorers succeeding and failing were
told and still visual like the Amundsen mast. Leaving the Kongsfjord we met two
Polar bears cooling down in the waters nearby land before we sailed into the
ocean fog. In the Magdalenafjord the clouds made the scenery moody and
thrilling. We set out on a hike and got to walk all the way to Gullibreen were
we could enjoy the forces of nature watching the glacier calving and creating
small tsunami waves. Those still awake at 2am got to see the most popular sand
beach in the north – Moffen. Right after we got company of several whales
whereas two of them were confirmed to be Blue Whales, the biggest animal that
has ever lived.
Day 3
We reached our northern most point the sea ice edge 81.50
north. Here we met with the king of the Arctic and some ringed seals while
cruising in and near by drift ice. The ivory gull, pomarine scua, guillmot,
puffin, fulmar, arctic scua and little auks was flying around the ship. We
cruised passed the northern most Island at Spitsbergen, Rossøya and headed
towards Phippsøya. The smelly walruses lied on the beach stuffed with bivalves
and clams. The beaches here was full of plastic that has arrives with currents
up to the pristine arctic and everyone contributed to clean as best as we
could.
Day 4
Alkefjellet – The New York of birdcliffs was the sight we
woke up to on day 4. To get really close to this amazing place we had a cruise
for all guests. We got close enough to both see and smell the thousands and
thousands of Brunich`s Guillmots nesting there. It’s a truly fantastic
experience to get this close to the hectic life in the birdcliff. Just the
sound from all the birds is enough to take your breath away. Later that day we
did a landing at Torellneset. The welcome commity was in the form of a big
group of smelly walruses. The Walrus is a fascinating creature that always puts
on a good show. Some of the guests were lucky enough to get onto the
Mariaglacier, a part of Vegafonna. It was a cold hike with hard winds, but the
view up there is world class and made it all worth it.
Day 5
This morning we woke up to a white world outside. The plan
was to make a landing at Kapp Walburg in Freemannsundet, but when we couldn’t
even see land it looked quite unlikely for a while. This being an expedition
cruise we sent our expedition team on shore and after making sure there was no
Polar bears around we started our landing. After a while the fog lifted and we
could enjoy this beautiful place together with the Kittiwakes, polar foxes and
some even found droppings from the white king himself.
Day 6
Austre Burgerbukta welcomed us with high mountain peaks and
remains of Polar bear lunches. A dead fox could show us how long decomposing
takes in the high arctic being almost intact after already two years. Here we
stood and felt the arctic weather and the pure and ruff wind coming down from
the two beautiful glacier fronts, Mühlbacher glacier and Kvalfanger glacier. We
cruised in the beautiful Brepollen area and stood on deck imagining the
vastness of the glacier connecting to each other only 50 years ago. Sailing out
of Hornsund heading northwards on the west coat the Gulfstream collaborated
with the winds to make in a bit bumpy, but the show must go on and the crew
show put a lot of smiles onto our faces.
Day 7
Arriving Alkehornet in Isfjorden the fog was dense and the
wind speeding at 17m/s. We sailed forwards to Ymerbukta and the Esmark glacier.
Here we were sheltered from the rough seas and could set out on our
expeditions. Some were kayaking and some took on crampons and went hiking on
the glacier. The rest of us hiking up the moraine and some found beautiful
fossils of ferns. After we got the wet clothes off and had a warm shower and
lunch we had a farewell cocktail with the captain and his crew. The last
expedition was the ghost town of Pyramiden, once holding over 3000 residents.
Nordenskiöld glacier with its magnificent beauty was a perfect last stop before
we set sailed towards the safe harbor of Longyearbyen.
