Friday 31st July 2015 - London to Svalbard

It is a bright day here in London as we get ready for our afternoon SAS flight from Heathrow Terminal 2 to Oslo.

Our driver, Audley, is collecting us at 12.30pm, and our flight leaves at 15.30.

It was our first time at the new Terminal 2, opened 14 months ago by the Queen. We were both very impressed, especially as the last time we had used the terminal, it was absolute chaos!

Our flight left on time and two hours later we arrived in Oslo, where it was bright and sunny with a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius.

Oslo Airport

As we had a couple of hours before our flight to Svalbard, I had paid 22 Euros to use the SAS lounge. It was worth it, as the flight to Longyearbyen was delayed by 35 minutes to 9.30pm.

It was a 2 hour 45 minute flight to Svalbard, but with 24 hours sunlight, it felt like a daytime arrival!

We arrived at 00.15am in sunshine. We waited a while for our bags and then took the shuttle coach to our hotel, the Radisson Blu Polar Hotel.

Entering Longyearbyen

A long way from anywhere!

Radisson Blu Hotel

Our room was in one corner of the hotel and was bathed in sunlight at 1am! We had a good view of the town looking inland towards the surrounding snow-capped mountains.

We had a drink in the hotel bar, which was full of students from the university who stay and work during the holidays.

Before crashing out, we booked a two hour tour of the town at 10am tomorrow before we take a taxi to the boat.

Saturday 1st August - Longyearbyen

After a short night, we had a good breakfast in the hotel. The weather was fine and sunny. We packed, paid the bill and left our bags in the left-luggage room, ready for the two hour tour of the town and local area.

We were in a party of 14, guided by a retired army officer who was quite a character.

We had an interesting tour of Longyearbyen, then went to the mountain-top site of a solar research station, where we saw two large dish antennae.

The satellite dishes at the solar science station

Great views into the fjord and to the town in the distance.

We drove back to the town, passing the docked Silver Explorer on our way to the Global Seed Bank.

Global Seed Bank

It has a rather gaunt concrete entrance, with an illuminated art installation above the door. The artist, Dyveke Sanne, has installed a network of 200 fibre-optic cables, which produce a muted turquoise-green and white light in winter. In the summer months, it reflects polar light. The entrance leads to a tunnel that goes deep into the mountain, where the seeds are stored at sub-zero temperatures in the permafrost.

The entrance of the seed bank leading into the mountain

Our guide said that the only country in the world that had not sent seeds to be stored was North Korea.

We returned to the hotel for a soup and beer and Wendy noticed this sign in the foyer. It tells guests to ask at reception for the key to the hotel's weapons locker, where they can leave their rifles, pistols and revolvers.

Hotel Weapons Rules

We booked a taxi to visit the most northerly church in the world before going to the ship.

Longyearbyen Chuch

It has to be the only church with a stuffed polar bear next to the pews!

Down at the harbour, we boarded Silver Explorer and checked in. We saw Kate, who booked this cruise for us two years ago. Sadly, she was leaving the ship to go home. We also met two of our expedition team friends, Luke Kenny and Chris Srigley.

We unpacked our bags and then I went on deck for a beer and met a couple from Brisbane, Bob and Jennifer.

At 5pm we had the pre-tour briefing and introduction to the expedition team and the crew.

The Expedition Leader, Kit, introdung the Hotel Staff

This was followed by the safety drill and then Kit van Wagner, the expedition leader, talked about the cruise and what we were going to see.

We had drinks and canapes on the aft deck as we sailed away. There we met, amongst others, Margaret and her daughter Caroline from South Kensington, who use the dentist in the same building in Herne Hill where our osteopath, Tom Sheehan, has his practice.

Welcome drinks and canapes on the aft deck

Then it was dinner, where we sat with two ladies from Norfolk, Pauline and Jan, and a couple from Brisbane, Ingrid and Gary. We were tired and had an early night.

Sunday 2nd August - Sjuoyane Ice Cruising - Monacobreen Glacier

It was not a bad night at all - daylight all night! It was a beautiful sunny morning when I went up to the observation lounge for a cup of tea while cruising into the fjord that leads to the Monacobreen or Monaco Glacier, our destination for this afternoon's Zodiac ride.

We had breakfast with Eugene and Jurate from Toronto, plus another couple from Florida and then went to the mandatory briefing on Arctic protocols for environmental care and safety. The morning was then spent out on deck looking at the spectacular scenery. Wendy went and tried on the boots she was borrowing from the ship and I had my own ones labelled.

Later, we went to the restaurant for lunch, during which there was a large calving off the glacier, which went on for quite a long time. Unfortunately, I did not have the camcorder with me!

We had a lazy afternoon waiting for our Zodiac ride at 4.30pm. We went out on deck at the front to watch our progress towards the glaciers and became increasingly chilly as we felt the cold air coming off them. We were the last off the ship as we were put in Group 4, the final Zodiac grouping.

Cruising up the fjord to our destination, Monacobreen Glacier

Below you can see Monacobreen on the left, and another glacier that was linked to Monacobreen on the right. This is now separated by the mountain in the centre, as the glaciers retreat. Monacobreen was named after Prince Albert I of Monaco at the end of the nineteenth century. Breen is Norwegian for glacier. It is at the head of Liefdefjord in the Spitsbergen National Park.

 

Monacobreen Glacier with the afternoon sun glinting off the still waters in the fjord

The wall of ice at the face of the glacier 

Our Zodiac driver was John Fonseca, an American who has spent time at both the North and South Poles.

Shortly after this photo was taken, a huge chunk of ice calved off into the fjord, causing large waves and swell to hit our Zodiac.

Our guide and Zodiac driver, John Fonseca

John gave us a fascinating insight into life at the Poles. He kept us well informed as we cruised up to the glacier. There were constant sounds of ice calving off the glacier and several really large falls took place. The sounds of the ice moving, as the glacier crept forward, reminded me of thunder. The magnificent sight, combined with the sounds of movement, was truly impressive. I managed to get one good slow-motion film and some photos. If we heard the sound of the calving, we knew we had missed it, as the sound comes after the event, so we would see only the splash. There were hundreds of Arctic terns feeding at the base of the glaciers and John said that, when they all fly off, it could be a sign that something is about to break off. Also, the areas of bluer ice are usually the places where calving is taking place.

After nearly two hours, we headed back to Silver Explorer. John is a lecturer, but also one of the bear guards, together with Chris Srigley and Luke Kenny. Our Zodiac had to be the last back to the ship as we were carrying the gun! This is an Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) rule. Soon after our return, it was time for Captain Denis Radja's welcome cocktail party, followed by dinner. We had been invited to dine with Selvaggia Rimoldi, the cruise consultant. Also on our table were Philip and Kay Snowden from Australia, Judith from Perth and Maria Paola, the sister of Selvaggia. It was an interesting evening, and I had an intriguing conversation with Judith, who has been married three times!

We all went to bed but then, just before midnight, we were wakened by news of blue whales near the ship. We went up on deck and watched the whales spouting and then briefly coming to the surface. I managed to take one piece of video. Below are three stills taken from it. Not brilliant, but a good record of having seen the giant of the oceans, the largest creature ever to have inhabited the earth!

The huge plume of spray as the whale 'blows'. The blow is a very distinctive ball shape, quite unlike that of other species of whales.

The distinctive shape of a blue whale spouting

The gently curving back of the whale as it starts to dive

The small dorsal fin of a blue whale (upper right)

Another box ticked!!

Monday 3rd August - Ice Cruising - Polar Bears!

We were woken at 7.45am by the news that walrus had been sighted on an ice floe! We had cruised overnight to the most northerly islands of Svalbard's archipelago, Sjuoyane, Martensoya and Parryoya. They are all located at over 80 degrees North, a mere 690 miles from the North Pole. We had beautiful sunshine and a temperature of one degree above freezing!

The walrus, a group of maybe six, were lying on the floe. We got quite close before they slid into the water. Not quite as impressive as the walrus colony in Hudson Bay, but still a box to tick, as we never saw any walrus the last time we were cruising around Svalbard!!

We went down and had breakfast with a couple from South Africa, John and Beth, and were joined by Eugene and Jurate.

I decided not to go to Will Wagstaff's lecture on birds. We can't believe the weather, not a cloud in the sky and virtually no wind. How long will this last?

Enjoying the sunshine on the aft deck. Life is hard!!

We cruised through a very narrow channel between two of the islands, passing this flat-topped island, a result of glaciation from the last ice age.

We soon came to large areas of sea ice.

Almost immediately, we had an announcement from Kit that there was a bear on the ice!

Getting deeper and deeper into the pack ice, on our way towards the bear.

 
The bear was miles away and could hardly be seen. The captain decided to plough through the ice to get nearer and we were able to take some long distance photos of the lone bear on the ice. The front of deck 4 was opened, so that we could see as well as possible. With binoculars, the bear was clearly visible, as she walked over the ice waiting for seals to pop up.

The lone female bear hunting on the ice

When the time came for us to move, the ship was stuck in the ice.

Looking back at our path through the ice

We decided to have lunch while the ship went back and forth trying to free itself.

Reversing out of the ice

It took a couple of hours finally to make an exit from the ice and we headed around the pack ice to get a closer view of the bear. On the way, we were told that another bear had been sighted by a nearby ship, so we went there instead. While we were sailing there, we had tea in the lounge with Eric and Marcee and their son Nick, from Seattle.

The second bear was lying on a small ice floe, occasionally moving his head and stretching his legs. It was a large male that appeared to have blood on his face from a recent kill.

We spent some time taking photos and then I went back to the cabin for a nap. Wendy stayed on deck and took more photos as the bear moved around the ice. Silver Explorer had sailed to 80º 56", the farthest north the ship has been this season. Wendy felt really cold outside on Deck 4, so she came down to the cabin and was pleased to discover the bear moving closer to our window. She got some good photos through the window, then woke me up to watch the bear walking away again.

We had the evening briefing with contributions from Danny on blue whales, from Luke about walrus and Kit about the polar bear. We then had dinner with Pauline and Jan and also Tim and Jo from Berkeley, California. He is a retired humanities professor. We had a great time and agreed to meet again tomorrow night for a "Hot Rocks" dinner on the aft deck.

Tuesday 4th August - Faksevagen - Zeipelodden

Overnight we sailed south back into Hinlopen Strait that divides Svalbard into two.

At 7am we were woken by Kit announcing that the way through to the ice cap that covers much of the eastern half of Svalbard was blocked by pack ice and so we had to divert to a new landing site at Faksevagen in a fjord off Hinlopen Strait. It was a great shame as I wanted to see the ice cap again, but it was not to be! We didn't want to risk getting stuck in thick ice again.

We took the Zodiac ashore to do a walk up one of the mountains surrounding the fjord.  Our group was led by Will and we walked in sunshine up the gravel slope. We saw many tiny tundra flowers and some lichen. We spotted 2 reindeer, but no other animals. We reached the top after about thirty minutes, at a height of 554ft. There was a good view over the fjord and the Explorer at anchor. Faksevagen, or Fakse Bay, is named after a horse in Norse mythology.

On the way up, Wendy took photos of the wild flowers that have such a brief existence in the short Arctic summer, as well as this picture of a lone reindeer grazing on the slopes of the hill.

Reindeer

Moss Campion

Arctic Saxifrage

Patches of lichen growing on a rock

On the walk, I heard one of the guests behind me say that they had just found a camera lens cap. I thought no more about it.

We returned to the boat and had lunch on the aft deck as we sailed to our afternoon landing at a fjord on the eastern side of the Strait. In the distance, we had our one sighting of the eastern icecap or Austfonna and the start of the 100km wall of ice.
 

The western end of the icecap wall

We had a lazy afternoon before our second walk started at 6pm. The weather had become cloudy and the temperature was near freezing.

As I was getting ready to go on the next landing, I discovered that my protective lens on the video camera was missing! Could that possibly have been the one found in the morning? We were the last to leave the ship for the landing at a 'polar desert' site, Zeipelodden at Palanderbukta (Palander Bay).

The polar desert of Svalbard

It was a short ride to the shore as the weather cleared and the sun came out. On shore, I found the passenger, Alec from Edinburgh, who had picked up the lens and handed it in to Reception and I was able to thank him.

We had a very interesting hour, guided by Danny, the Ecuadorian geologist. We saw very strange frost-created stone circles. They are made from the the freezing and thawing of the permafrost.

Frost-created stone circles 

On the stony shore were some old whale bones. We saw a large jawbone and the skull of a baleen whale, possibly a fin whale. Where the bones are lying, small "gardens" of plants grow up around the immediate area, supported by the nutrients from the bone marrow. Nitrogen-producing phosphates fertilise the ground. We all marvelled at how nature works and at the cycle from life to death and then back to life again.

Here is our expedition guide, Danny, explaining the cycle.

Whale skull and jawbone

The wild flowers in the 'garden'.

Svalbard Poppy

A short distance away was the carcass of a young polar bear, with a similar 'garden'. It was a 2 year old, that had died of starvation in 2006. We learned this from Chris Srigley, who had seen it when it died. Over the years, it was reduced to bones and a few tufts of fur. We could see the femur, a ball-joint and the skull with a complete set of teeth.

Polar bear skull with Arctic flowers

On the way back to the boat, we stopped to take photos of a small iceberg which was not far from the Explorer.

The Silver Explorer framed by an iceberg

We returned to the boat in time for our 'hot rocks' dinner on the aft deck with Tim, Jo, Pauline and Jan. First, I went to Reception and, amazingly, they had my lens and it wasn't damaged!

We had a great evening, especially so with the wonderful scenery as we cruised along the Hinlopen Strait.

A very happy group enjoying 'hot rocks' in the Arctic

Pack-ice caused a detour and we had to abandon the visit to the bird colony that we had seen on our previous cruise to Svalbard. The boat slowed to a crawl as it forced apart large chunks of ice while we made our way to clear water. All very exciting! The 6 of us were all freezing by then, so we finished the evening in the bar. Another wonderful day.