Svalbard Diary
June 19, 2012
Flight from Copenhagen to Oslo and then to Longyearbyen with a stopover in Tromsø. We are a very large group. There are 96 participants, so it took two large buses to transport us from the airport. Our luggage was taken directly to the ship while we had 2 hours to see the city. It was more than enough, it's not very big. The town only exists because there is a coal mine. Here you do not go alone outside the city. Here are polar bears, and they are dangerous. Many locals are armed because of the bears. In several of the shops in town they ask people to deposit their arms before entering.
On board were we installed in our cabins. We are two in each cabin, and we share the toilet with a neighboring cabin. I bed in the dark corner and I can pull a curtain for my berth. Outside it is bright all night.
June 20, 2012
We had safety lectures all morning. In the afternoon we had the first Zodiac (dinghy) trip. We were out there for three hours and we sailed around without going ashore anywhere. Only the birds were spotted. We were inside the base of Horn Sound, where there is a large glacier. After returning to the ship Paul Goldstein gave a lecture on photography. I learned something.
June 21, 2012
Brilliant sunshine all day. And we were spotting one polar bear after another, unfortunately, at a very great distance. Later in the day we came close to a large polar bear and it was by the ship for many hours. I took about 100 pictures.
June 22, 2012
More Bears today. A female with sub-adult cubs who stood and ate from a seal carcass. Later, another female with two small cubs. Suddenly a great male appeared and there was imminent drama. The female and young cubs hurried away, and happily the male did not take up the persecution but stayed close to the ship and let himself be photographed. Later the three turned back to eat a seal carcass, while the male was asleep a few hundred meters away.
June 23, 2012
We were sailing south of Spitzbergen and has now reached the eastern side of Edgeøya. In the morning we went on a Zodiac expedition again. We sailed around the Halvmåneøya, a small island off the coast of Edgeøya. We saw an old whaling station. Back at the ship we saw a bear swimming over a long stretch of open water. Late in the day there was a walrus on an ice floe far from land. The ship approached cautiously and we took some good pictures.
June 24, 2012
Quiet day where we just sailed north. There was no animal to be seen. It was cold and cloudy, and in the afternoon it was snowing. We went to various lectures on seals, walruses and auks.
June 25, 2012
Very early rise and set off in Zodiacs to Bråsvell glacier. Met two walruses in the icy water below the glacier. It was a mother and her young cub. They were very curious and have been always up and look. Back to the boat for breakfast. Late in the afternoon another trip, this time we went ashore to see a large group of walruses. The place was called Torell Neset.
June 26, 2012
We were served breakfast at: 07.00 so we could be early in the boats to sail over to Alkefjellet. It is a large bird colony, which lays out to the strait we sail through. There were a myriad of birds both in the air, on water and on the rocks. I took lots of pictures. We were back on the ship in time for lunch. The rest of the day we sailed on through Hinlopen Strait, where there were 2 walruses each drifting on their ice floe in the opposite direction.
27 June 2012I
In the morning came a Walrus floating on an ice floe. Later we saw a female bear with a little cub. They were laying down and was approximate 600 meters away so it was hard to get good pictures. Later in the afternoon came a great polar bear, and it stood up and walked around. A little later it jumped onto another ice floe. It was between 100 and 200 meters away, so we took good pictures. We are cruising around the south of Sjuøyene, and has here reached the northernmost point on our route 80 º 40' N
June 28, 2012
Sailed to Liefdefjorden, a side branch to Wood fjord. First Zodiac cruise to Monaco glacier. In the afternoon another boat trip to Andøyene where there were plenty of birds to photograph. We saw two Phalaropes mating.
June 29, 2012
First trip to the 14July glacier. We landed and went right up to the glacier. Then back to the boats again and sail to the nearby bird colony of Puffins. Late in the afternoon into the Kross fjord to the Lilljehöök glacier. Here, we sailed around below the glacier and saw it calve several times. We also saw a bearded seal, several small skuas, black Guillemots and many Kittiwakes. In the evening there was a barbecue on the aft deck.
June 30, 2012
Debarkation at Alkehornet. We walked a long walk on the tundra below the mountain which is a bird colony for Guillemots. We took photos of a fox family with three cubs. Later we saw a lot of reindeer. In the evening there was a captain's farewell dinner.
July 1, 2012
After breakfast, we were put ashore in the Zodiacs. There were waiting time again before we could leave for the airport. Many of the group went to see the museum.