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.

Kangerlussuaq

The charter Greenland Air jet touched down in Kangerlussuaq at approximately 08:15.  I could only imagine what an amazing flight it must have been over the Greenland Icecap, however I could imagine it very well as I have made the same flight several times.  On a day like today with clear blue skies and crystal clear air, the view over the second largest icecap in the world is jaw droppingly beautiful. Miles and miles of seemingly unending blue ice punctuated here and there with searing blue ponds and lakes on top of the ice-sheet.

Today is of course a changeover day.  The crew back on the ship was busily preparing the vessel for the new arrivals - which means changing the linen on beds, cleaning cabins, doing laundry, vacuuming, more cleaning, preparing meals, etc. etc. etc.  Fram is a bee hive of activity on changeover days and we only have about eight hours to get ready!!

But since the ship was obviously not ready for new arrivals it meant that we could go out and play in the Kangerlussuaq area.  It was a short walk across the tarmac and into the small airport. The Expedition Team from the ship was there to greet us and to show us to outside to three waiting… hm, I’m not sure what to call them, how about, “Tundra-buggy/buses” and two conventional buses.  Half of our group set off to view the icecap in the Tundra-buggies and the other half went in the buses to explore the countryside around Kangerlussuaq which was followed by a really great BBQ style lunch by a small fresh water lake. And then after lunch we swapped vehicles so that everyone got equal opportunity to see the icecap and area.

Kangerlussuaq is the warmest part of Greenland in the summer.  Because of the warm sunny weather the wild flowers are further ahead here than in most other areas of Greenland.  Lapland Rosebay was growing in profusion.  Other flowers blooming included Arctic Cinquefoil, Alpine Arnica and Entire-leaved Mountain Avens.

Our tour of the Kangerlussuaq region ended at a remote pier.  Suddenly the road just ended in the middle of nowhere and there was a sizeable pier.  A barge was busy loading and offloading both for Fram and a container ship.

At the pier we were each issued a lifejacket and shown how to put them on. We hopped in the Polar Cirkel boats and enjoyed a short ride to the ship.  Once on the ship we were issued ID cards and then shown to our cabins.

 Before we got underway we all took part in a mandatory safety drill outside, in the warm sunshine on deck 5.  It was quite interesting to observe the demonstration for donning the exposure suit and life vest.

Right after the drill it was time for a delicious buffet dinner.

 At 21:00 we were invited to the Observation Lounge for the Captain's welcome cocktail.  The Captain gave a speech and then introduced us to key members of all of the departments of the ship.

 It is June 15, six days before the longest day of the year.  We are, for all intents and purposes, at the Arctic Circle.  Indeed, we will cross the Circle as we make our way down the fjord and then later in the evening we will cross it again as we exit the fjord and make our way northwards. There will be no darkness tonight.  We are in perpetual light.

The Early Bird Gets The Whale.

The early bird gets the Whale. Just before 07:00 the navigation officers slowed the ship down to engage in a little whale watching. We were able to maneuver quite closely to four Humpback Whales. Watching huge marine mammals was a great way to start the day as we approached the capital of Greenland, Nuuk.

Just before 10:00 we were tied up to the pier just behind two Danish military vessels. We had a rather tiny pier allocation but no matter, the bridge officers are used to maneuvering Fram into and out of tight spots.

As usual when we are in Nuuk, we had a shuttle bus that would transport everyone from the pier to a very central downtown location. The shuttle left every half hour, from the ship and every half hour, on the quarter hour from the National Museum so it was a very convenient service.

The beginning of the day started out rather overcast but by late morning the clouds were parting and the sun was beaming through.

A cultural and historical walk began on the shuttle bus on the pier at 10:30 which made sense as it was a fifteen minute walk through a marine industrial area to the central part of Nuuk.

Lots of people went on the Nuuk city tour. Two more buses pulled alongside Fram at 10:30. One bus was for German speakers and the other tour was conducted in English only. After a comprehensive city tour we had the option of getting off the tour bus at the national museum or in downtown Nuuk.

The weather continued to improve throughout the day making our visit of Greenland’s capital really special. We had ample opportunity to explore on our own because Fram did not depart the pier until 19:45.

Once back on open sea fog enveloped Fram in a dense white blanket.  Visibility was reduced to 100 metres.

Later in the evening at 22:00 the crew entertained everyone in the Observation Lounge with the MS Fram crew show. It was really a lot of fun as the crew sang, danced and even juggled for us.

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!

Ilulissat Means Icebergs

Today was all about icebergs. All sizes. Small ones, big ones, really big ones. All shapes. Like snow flakes. Every one a different shape. Hm. Curious. They once were snow flakes. Billions and billions of snowflakes over centuries piling up deeper and deeper getting heavier and heavier. Compressing. Turning snow into ice. And then the ice, still getting deeper, spills over the gigantic basin it sits in and slowly, inexhorably makes it’s way down to the sea. The glacier seeks the path of least resistance carving out huge valleys and fjords and dumping the debris en route and into the ocean. And as ice meets sea, the ice begins to break up creating icebergs. The icebergs we saw today came from Sermeq Kujaleq glacier. The most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere. The size of the area that feeds this one glacier is 110,000 ㎢. All of that ice flows down into Kangia Fjord at a rate of 19 metres/day. It then takes 12 to 15 months for the ice to make its way to the mouth of the fjord and into Disko Bay where the bigger bergs get hung up on an undersea moraine embankment. The sight of that huge sea of ice is really impressive.

We started off the morning with all excursions going hither thither and yon. Boat load after boat load of people saw the mouth of Kangia from the sea. Others hiked through town and out to the fjord. Helicopters flitted back and forth from the terminus of the glacier. Many people combined excursions and saw the ice from land and sea and a few people managed all three views.

The weather cooperated completely. We had sunny skies all day long. And believe me, it’s a long day when it’s July north of the Arctic Circle.

The last excursion returned to the ship at approximately 20:00 and shortly after that we lifted the anchor. It’s 23:05 and the sun is still shining brightly as we make our way towards Sisimiut.

A Perfect Ending

Sunset in Nordfjordeid

Olden and Nordfjordeid

It was a beautiful sunny morning as we sailed into Nordfjord.  At 106km long it is the sixth longest fjord in Norway.  Our first stop was in the town of Olden. The population (2009) of Olden is approximately 480. 

Two bus loads of happy people departed the pier at 08:30 to visit Briksdal Glacier. Briksdal glacier is a part of the Jostedal glacier icefield, which is the largest glacier on the European mainland.  It is located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Olden, at the end of the Oldedalen valley.

People had the option of hiking three kilometres from the parking lot or they could take “Troll cars” – which are sort of like Norwegian golf carts.  The hike to the glacier is really great along forested paths with beautiful waterfalls along the route.

Waterfall on hike to Briksdal Glacier

In the afternoon we cruised deeper into the fjord and at 16:30 dropped anchor outside of Nordfjordeid.  People were free to wander about the very pretty community on their own.  The Nordfjordeid Sunday flea market was still in full swing and we were invited to the local church for a performance by the choir.

Back on the ship we were treated to a barbeque on Deck seven.  It was a perfect way to end the cruise.  As we sat on the stern enjoying delicious food and great company, the sunset keep getting more and more dramatic as the sun sank below the horizon.

Briksdal Glacier

Our superb bbq!!!

Nordfjordeid

Trollfjord, Solvaer and Henningsvaer

Fram, and Polar Cirkel boats with Captain Andreasson in Trollfjord

This morning we wove through the picturesque narrow Raftsund Strait.  You could feel Fram leaning into the turns of the tight passage.  At 08:30 we arrived very near the entrance to Trollfjord.  There waiting for us in his own small boat was one of the Captains of Fram, Rune Andreasson! 30 lucky passengers had booked an excursion aboard our very own Polar Cirkel boats and Captain Andreasson was going to lead our small Norwegian Armada into Trollfjord and then on a long tour ending in the port of Solvaer.The mouth of the Trollfjord where it joins Raftsund Strait is a mere 100 meters wide and at its widest point is only 800 meters. The mountains surrounding Trollfjord are 600 to 1100 metres high and the fjord itself is 72 metres at its deepest point.

Needless to say it is spectacular.  To make it even more exciting two very large White-tailed Sea-eagles were soaring around inside the fjord.  We got some really good looks at these magnificent birds of prey.  White-tailed Sea-eagles are closely related to Bald Eagles.  They are the fourth largest eagle in the world. The largest population of these majestic birds is along the coast of Norway.  There are approximately 10,000 pairs in the world.

Rainbow in Trollfjord

As Fram exited Trollfjord back into Raftsund the Polar Cirkel boats went on their own route to Solvaer.  A shallower route that Fram wouldn’t be able to follow.  About two hours later at noon, Fram and the Polar Cirkel boats rejoined at the pier in Solvaer.  No matter whether you went on Fram or in the Polar Cirkel boats it was one of the more spectacular sections of scenic cruising in the world. 

Fantastic scenery on the way to Solvaer

Fram spent the afternoon in Solvaer but there was a shuttle available throughout the afternoon to the picturesque community of Henningsvaer.  It is one of the larger fishing villages in the Lofoten Isands and a very busy tourist attraction in the peak summer months.  We were able to take a stroll through the attractive town, visit a coffee shop or stop in one of the gift shops that were still open.

At 20:15 we left the pier of Solvaer.  After a summer of 24 hours of daylight 7 days/week it was strange for it to be so dark.  But maybe, if the clouds parted just a little we would get a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis.

Embarkation Day

Occupied and abandoned buildings in Barentsburg

It was a fine sunny morning in Longyearbyen.  For most people joining us today there was a morning briefing in the hotel outlining the plan for today and tomorrow and describing how various systems and procedures function on the ship. 

Lunch was at the hotel which was followed a bus tour of Longyearbyen.  The comprehensive tour took us to a gallery and a museum and gave us a good understanding of what life in a high Arctic community might be like.  We arrived at the ship at 16:30 and before too long we had been issued a photo I.D. card and were escorted to our cabins.  At that point we could choose to open up a cruise account at reception, get a blue jacket (which was included with the trip!) or try on a pair of Muck Boots. The Muck Boots were part of a new boot rental program on board. So far it has been really successful.  People seem to love their Muck Boots.  

Sign in Barentsburg

In the dining room we enjoyed the first of many sumptuous meals to be prepared by Chef Johan Ludwig and his fabulous team in the galley.

At 20:00 we arrived at the pier in the curious Russian coal mining community of Barentsburg. Barentsburg is unique.  From the moment you step on the pier it feels like you have entered another world.  

Fram at the pier in Barentsburg

Mining for coal started here in 1916.  Ownership of the mines changed hands a couple of times but was resold to a Russian company in 1932.  The mines were nearly completely destroyed in WWII by the Germans but were rebuilt in the 50’s.  During the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s work was sought after in Barentsburg.  It was very well paid and food was free.

Now Barentsburg is a community of 450 people.  The architecture is Russian.  Many of the buildings are abandoned and in a state of decay.  It has a feeling of a ghost town except people live and work there all year round.

We were met on the pier by two local Russian guides and were lead on a 30 minute tour of the community.  After the tour we were invited to a beautiful old  theatre where we were entertained with Russian folk dancing and singing.

We were reminded to be back on the ship by 22:45 as the ship was leaving at 23:00.

Welcome to The Twilight Zone!

Today we were enshrouded by fog all day long.  It was like an episode from Rod Sterling’s: The Twilight Zone.  Was there really a world outside of that white wall of mist?

Samarinvågen glacier in the fog (Photo © Joe Decker)

We weren’t scheduled to land at Gnålodden until 14:30. Many people chose to attend one of the lectures we had scheduled from 09:30 until 12:00.

At 14:30 it was plain to see that it was too foggy to land at Gnålodden.  Like I mentioned yesterday, playing peek-a-boo with Polar Bears in the fog is not exactly the safest thing to do.  Exciting? Yes!

It was an easy decision to cancel the landing and seek out a landing site with good visibility.  It was a good plan, but the fog persisted.  There were moments of sheer beauty like when the sun poked a hole in the fog blanket to illuminate parts of the glacier at Samarinvågen.

Samarinvågen glacier in the fog (Photo © Joe Decker)

Heavy sea fog near Gnålodden (Photo © Joe Decker).

A very big part of a vacation on a ship can be the ship itself.  Fram is a very comfy vessel.  A day like today was a day to pamper one’s self.  After all we had been kept hopping with two landings just about every day. There are two excellent jacuzzis outside on deck seven and up high on deck eight there are the nicest saunas I’ve seen on any ship. There are also plenty of places to sit quietly to read a book. The gym was busy for much of the day.  Perhaps people were using the opportunity to burn some of the extra calories they had been consuming while on board. 
A day of complete relaxation today, means energy to burn tomorrow! Hah!

A Day of Exotic Wildlife.

Female Polar Bear with two cubs on a whale carcass.

If someone had told you when you were a troubled teenager that one day you would be high in the Arctic watching Polar Bears and Walruses in one of the remotest wilderness areas in the world, what would you have thought? Would you have believed them? I certainly didn’t imagine that I would be so privileged.  Privileges like that were reserved for Marlin Perkins and Jim on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.  I was wrong.  Today we experienced the wild kingdom first hand.

In the morning starting at 08:30 we were able to watch Polar Bears along the shoreline from our Polar Cirkel boats. We were in Freemandsundet between Edgeøya and Barentsøya Islands. Despite a heavy fog, the Expedition Team was able to find three bears, a female with two cubs, near an old whale carcass.  It was difficult to identify the species of whale but it was possibly a small Fin Whale.   Most of the carcass had been stripped clean although there were enough scraps left to keep the bears interested.  

Later when the fog began to lift, the Expedition Team discovered another three bears! To be able to see one of the most powerful and beautiful predators on the planet in its natural habitat was an experience that none of us will ever forget.

Male walrus hauled out at Kapp Lee.

In the afternoon we sailed further south to Kapp Lee on the north west coast of Edgeøya.  From the ship we could see a group of at least twenty Walrus hauled out on shore.  At this landing site we had planned the options of going on a long hike or short hike.  For the long hike we had hoped to go to the top of the escarpment at Kapp Lee but there was a heavy fog layer part way up the slope.  Hiking in the fog in Polar Bear country just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense so both hikes were restricted to lower elevations. 

Whether or not you chose a long, or short, or no hike at all, there was plenty of time to go visit those crazy Walruses.  I mean crazy in the cool, outlandish, extreme kinda way.  If you were to design an animal that specializes in eating clams and lives in cold water, would you have come up with a Walrus?  Lounging on a soft sandy beach, not more than 40 metres away in a big, grumbling, snorting pile, was a group of approximately twenty heavily tusked pinnipeds. Occasionally one of the bigger animals would decide to move from the periphery to the interior of the pile, possibly because it is warmer in the centre.  This procedure involved sharply poking the bloke in front of you with your tusks which of course resulted in much grumbling from the pokee and loud grumbling from all of the disturbed neighbours.  It was fascinating to watch how they sorted themselves out.  Several of the Walruses had broken tusks.  A couple of them even had two broken tusks.

Eolusneset in Sorgfjorden & Torellneset

At 08:30 we started landing operations at Eolusneset in Sorgfjorden which is located in north east Spitsbergen near the entrance to Hinlopen Strait.

Pooling surface water due to permafrost at Eolusneset

There was a lovely gravel beach to land on with a long narrow lagoon just above the beach. Beyond that a huge flat area stretched for several kilometres.

Overlooking the landing site there was a cross on a small hill.  It was placed there in 1855 as a memorial to the fallen whalers in the famous sea battle between the French and the Dutch in 1693.

The terrain was extremely flat. In such a flat area there is little chance for the water to runoff nor can the water penetrate the permafrost.  Since the water has no place to go, it tends to collect and lie at the surface.  These wet areas did not pose a problem.  It was easy to walk around them.

In the distance we could see a herd of approximately twelve reindeer. It was getting close to rutting season so the reindeer were starting to gather in small herds.

Many people chose to walk around the entire perimeter set by the Expedition Team. At a leisurely pace it was accomplished easily in an hour’s time.

Hiking across the tundra at Eolusneset

We were all back on board the ship by noon.  We had about 50 nautical miles to cover before our next proposed landing at 18:00. While we enjoyed an afternoon of scenic cruising there was also the option of attending a couple of lectures.  

As we headed south down Hinlopen Strait the wind picked up imbuing a respectable chop to the previously calm seas. 

At 18:00 we dropped anchor off of Torellneset.  From the ship we could see that there were two large groups of Walrus hauled out on the beach.  Now that is exciting news!  It was still quite windy which meant for a very wet ride to a protected beach where the landing was then accomplished easily. 

Male walrus hauled out at Torellneset

 We walked about two hundred metres along the shoreline to where we had excellent views of the walruses.  What astonishing animals they are!  At one point two walrus that were in the water came really close to people standing by the water’s edge. The curious walrus sat in the water looking at the strange group of blue people on shore. They were at most five metres away! It was an experience that those who were lucky enough to be so close to those magnificent beasts will never forget.  I know, because I was one of them.

Now as we sail southward in Hinlopen strait it is 22:00 and it is getting dark.

Monacobreen & Mushamna

Snow falling at Monaco glacier.

When we woke up this morning it was snowing outside!  Fantastic. It never fails, every time the first snow falls I feel like a little kid again!   The dining room on Fram has huge picture widows on three sides.  It was lovely to enjoy breakfast and watch snowflakes gently drift down.  The closer we got to Monaco Glacier the more ice we encountered and all of the ice was covered with a blanket of fresh fluffy snow.  

Fresh snowfall at Monaco glacier

Snow. By the calendar it is still summer.  Autumn doesn’t arrive for almost three weeks.  By the calendar, winter doesn’t arrive until December 21. Well scratch autumn off the calendar because around here it looks like we’re going from summer straight to winter!

Everyone loved cruising through the heavy ice in the Polar Cirkel boats while it was snowing. How could you not?  It was magical. It took about four hoursfor everyone to get there turn on the water.

Black-legged Kittiwakes were abundant.  Many of them rested on small icebergs and ice floes.  The juveniles have very different plumage than the adults making the young birds from this year very easy to tell apart from the adults.

Polar Cirkel boat cruising at Monaco glacier

In the afternoon we landed at Mushamna.  There is a beautiful hunter’s cabin there.  It is possible to over winter here as the cabin is in very good condition.  Each year there is a different tenant as qualified hunters need to apply to the Governor of Svalbard.  Tenancy is for one year with a possibility to extend for a 2nd year.  

Ships need to gain permission from the tenant if they wish to pay a visit to Mushamna, however this year’s tenant had already left for the season.

It was easy terrain in which to walk around.  We were free to explore the area around the cabin and to go further afield where the Expedition Team was, as usual, keeping a watchful eye for Polar Bears.

Hunter's cabin at Mushamna

It was a beautiful calm evening.  Hardly a breath of wind disturbed the air.  In a small lagoon by the cabin were a pair of Loons.  There were also Purple Sandpipers, Arctic Terns, Pink-footed Geese and Bryants Geese in the area.

Later in the evening, back on Fram, the ship’s officers and the Expedition Team put on a Fashion show in the Observation Lounge.  Just about all of the fashions available in the gift shop were modeled for us.  It was an evening that was full of fun as these were not professional models!

Gnålodden

Polar Bear scat!!!

Because of the great distance involved we were not due to arrive at our landing site at Gnålodden until later in the afternoon.  It was a perfect day for scenic cruising and just about everywhere you go in Svalbard is scenic.  We had partly cloudy skies and calm weather throughout the day.  Partly cloudy also means partly sunny.  It was a day to put a smile on your face.

Mornings or afternoons without landings are never wasted on board Fram.  We always use that time to continue with our lecture series.  This morning was no different. We had lectures on several topics in English and German as well as showing two different documentaries.

I need a thesaurus to come up with new words to describe the scenery in Svalbard.  Gnålodden and the bird cliff, Gnålberget are spectacular. I believe I have also used all of the following synonyms for spectacular when describing Svalbard: stunning, incredible, amazing, fantastic, fabulous, magnificent, brilliant, dramatic, dazzling, breathtaking, astonishing, marvelous, wonderful and exciting.  Take your pick.  They all work.

At 14:30 we hopped into the Polar Cirkel boats and enjoyed a short ride through lots of small bergy bits to a gravel beach.  Looming impressively overhead were the lofty bird cliffs of Gnålberget.  Thousands of Kittiwakes, called shrilly. The cliffs seemed to amplify the sound.  There were also a lot of Northern Fulmars still soaring about the cliffs as well as the occasional Puffin and Arctic Skua.

In one area of the landing site there was so much bear dung that it more resembled a cow pasture than a scene visited by Polar Bears beneath a remote sea bird colony.  Most of the scat was relatively fresh.  This information put the Expedition Team on high alert.  Before long the Team spotted a lone bear on a large ice floe about a kilometre away.  With good binoculars you could see that the bear was busily eating a seal.  The bear posed no immediate danger so we continued with the landing operation.  After about an hour the bear hopped into the water.  It appeared to have no destination in mind as it seemed to swim aimlessly about.  Perhaps it needed to bath after feasting on the seal.  Regardless, after about twenty minutes the bear went back to the same ice floe and continued with its fine meal of seal.

Meanwhile on the other side of the landing site, an Arctic Fox came very close to some people and was even chewing on the boot of one of the Expedition Team.  Amazing!

Many people chose to go high up on a grass covered scree slope where they could view the sea birds better and where they also had good viewing of both Barnacle Geese and Pink-footed Geese.

By 17:30 the last Polar Cirkel boat had left the shore and soon after, Fram was under way again.  At 19:15 there was an announcement that several large whales had been seen on the horizon.  We changed course and headed for the whales.  As we got closer we could see that it was two feeding Fin Whales, the second largest animals to have lived.  The whales were feeding right at the surface.  At times we could see them roll onto their sides with their mouths wide open in a feeding lunge.

We stayed with the whales for 45 minutes before going back on course.  Perhaps we would encounter more whales on route.