First, we apologize for not posting until now, but internet connectivity is somewhat limited on a ship in the middle of the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. This will be a rather long post, but please read it all – there have been some amazing things to see and do here.
We spent a day and a half in Longyearbyen before boarding our ship. We went to the museum located at the university as our first sightseeing stop. It was very nicely presented and covered information on Arctic nature, geology, and human history of the area. Sidney particularly liked the reading area where she could sit on sealskins and sealskin pillows and read books about the Arctic. One point of note to anyone traveling here – it is customary to remove your shoes when entering a public building (like a museum or hotel). Museums provide slippers, though not always in smaller sizes, but many people in the hotels wear socks or slippers they bring with them. Make sure to bring a pair for yourself, especially if you have small feet.
We also visited the Arctic Airship Museum. This documents the attempts made to reach the North Pole by hot air balloon, dirigible, and airplane, as well as the rescue efforts that followed many of the attempts. It is a beautiful museum with tons of information and displays. It was started by an Italian gentleman and another guy as a hobby and has grown enough over the last two years that they will soon be moving to a larger building.
After the airship museum, we walked to the town’s church which, like most other places in town, has a stuffed polar bear. This one apparently got a little too close to the church and couldn’t be scared off. The church is very nice and is always open and welcoming of visitors. It is also right beside a kindergarten with a playground, so Sidney took a play break here.
We took a nice walk within the city limits and saw several birds, including Arctic buntings and barnacle geese. We also saw the remains of several coal mines which dot the hillsides and are a dominant feature of the town. Mining is still a major part of life here, and the coal power plant that provides electricity is the only one in Norway.
Two of the most famous Arctic animals of the area are the Svalbard reindeer and the polar bear. The reindeer differ from the type seen on the mainland in that they are smaller, fatter and have shorter legs that the mainland variety. This keeps them warmer in the colder climate. They also tend to travel alone or in smaller groups, not the big herds like the mainland reindeer. Polar bears are generally not seen in town, but there is enough of a danger of encountering one that permission must be obtained to go out of the town limits and you must have a guide with a gun. There are signs with polar bear warnings at the town limits to remind you.
After our explorations in Longyearbyen, we started getting things together for our voyage. We attended a couple of briefings, then some guided tours around the area. We then got on board and set sail.
A little about our ship – the M.V. Fram. Named after Amundsen’s ship in which he did his Arctic and Antarctic exploring, it is a specialized expedition vessel designed for trips to areas like Greenland, Antarctica and Svalbard. The ship can handle over 300 passengers with 150 or so crew, and handle them in comfort! The cruising speed is a little over 13 knots in open water, and the ship is still small enough to get into some of the more sheltered coves for anchorages/landings.
Captain Hansen is definitely Norwegian. First, he is tall. VERY tall! His head almost touches the ceiling in several places on the ship, and it would touch the ceiling in our cabin’s bathroom. He would not need a ladder to change a light bulb. Second, he apparently likes Norwegian food, as evidenced by the cod he is allowing to dry up on one of the conning towers!
We are in a mini-suite (because we have three people) and it is very nice. It is on the port bow and has a windows facing bow and port. There is a seating area, desk/work area, bathroom with shower, and a queen size bed. The picture is a view from our cabin looking toward the bow.
Our first port of call was Barentsburg. The town is a Russian coal mining settlement west of Longyearbyen going toward the Barents Sea. The population is about 450, of which 300 or so work in the mines. The town is very much like the towns of Russia with similar architecture, murals and mosaics, and even a statue of Lenin. There are 260 wooden steps from the port leading up into the town.
After a guided tour of the town, we were treated to a show of folk dancing and singing in the town’s performance hall. It was a very enjoyable performance, and Sidney even stayed awake until almost midnight so she could see it all. At the conclusion, we headed back to the ship for our overnight sail to Hornsund.
Hornsund has traces of human habitation dating back almost 400 years. It is an area filled with beautiful fjords and soaring peaks, the highest of which is Hornsundtind at 1431 meters above sea level. The fjord and mountains had an eerie look about them with several layers of mist covering different levels, and peaks that would appear floating above the scenery suddenly and then disappear just as quickly.
There were whaling stations here at various times, as well as scientific and meteorological outposts. A Polish research station is still in the area. Signs of the human activity litter the area – whale bones, an old hut, bricks, wood and nails.
The flora and fauna are present in the form of several low-growing plants, birds and reindeer. Polar bear are also in the area, though we did not spot one here. Our bird list here included the Arctic skua and the guillemot.
As we were finishing our landings, some ice started to move into the fjord. The Fram had no trouble handling it, and the ice was beautiful as we passed it.
We continued south for the next day’s stop at Bjornoya, an island halfway between Spitzbergen and the Norwegian mainland. Along the way, we passed through another patch of ice floating around the south side of the archipelago and encountered hundreds of harp seals hanging out on the ice. It was a most amazing site. Many dove into the water as we passed, but we were able to get photos of them both on the ice and in the water from our perspective on deck. Later in the evening, we saw some humpback and minke whales, as well as white beaked dolphins. They were in the distance, so I couldn’t get any pictures.
The next day’s adventure included viewing the bird cliffs at Bjornoya from below and above. The cliffs soar over 400 meters above the sea, and several species of birds nest on the sheer cliff faces. We saw common and Brunnich’s guillemots, kittywakes, glaucous gulls, northern fulmars, and I am sure there were others I can’t identify. We also saw more plants (it is warmer on Bjornoya) including the Arctic poppy.
The island is also interesting from a geological perspective. It has formations that are between 500 million and 1 billion years old, including dolomite and limestone spires and caves along the shore.
Human activity here includes some whaling but mostly walrus hunting and processing as well as coal mining. There is a permanent meteorological station on the island. This is also where the last physical sign of the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen (a wing from his plane) was found after his disappearance. Another more recent crash can be seen along the shore – a Russian fishing trawler that ran ashore last year and now sits broken in two.
On a side note here – Sidney is still able to con people into thinking she is sweet and wonderful and fun to be with. Each hike or shore excursion, she picks some poor unsuspecting soul and holds their hand and talks their ear off the whole time. This is Line, the Chief Purser from the ship, who was the victim on Bjornoya.
We sailed back to the north after Bjornoya, heading back to Spitzbergen for a stop at Bellsund. Along the way we saw more humpback whales and dolphins. You can see the tail of a humpback in the distance if you click on this picture. Sorry the quality isn’t that good.
As we were preparing to land at Bellsund, we noticed a small motorboat that didn’t belong to our ship out with our landing vessels. Kimber asked about it later, and found out it belonged to a film crew doing a BBC documentary up the sound. They were apparently out of beer and one of the crew’s birthday was coming up, so they came out to the Fram to see if they could get a beer resupply.
At Bellsund, we made a landing in somewhat choppy surf, but it was well worth the bumpy wet ride on the landing boat. The beach opened up to a flat area below a mountain where there were several Svalbard reindeer feeding. A few were a bit confused by the large groups of humans walking through their grazing area and ran back and forth between the groups. Unfortunately, they encountered an Arctic skua that was nesting and was very defensive. The skua (about the size of a seagull) attacked the reindeer, pulling several clumps of fur out with each dive. I felt bad for the reindeer but was somewhat entertained that this little bird was so fierce as to take them on.
We also saw barnacle geese and little auks. There are bird cliffs on the mountain that was above us, and the little auks breed there along with guillemots. An Arctic fox ran across in the distance. Kimber saw it and described it as looking “like a Springer spaniel” in its summer coat.
Bellsund has active coal mining further up from where we were, but has also seen gold mining and trapping as its primary human activities. The place we landed had several old fox traps, some hunting cabins and an abandoned gold mine.
On the next day’s itinerary was Magdalenafjord, the 80th parallel, Moffen Island and the Raudfjord. It was an absolutely SUPER day!
We started with an early landing at Magdalenafjord. It is one of the most scenic fjords in Svalbard with two glaciers, a calm bay and beautiful granite peaks jutting into the sky. We went ashore and saw the remains of the whaling station from the 1800’s, as well as the graveyard. There are over 130 graves of whalers and others that died here up to two centuries ago. We also hiked up to a moraine and looked at one of the glaciers. It is amazing that many of the glaciers here were at one time connected together at their terminus in the bay.
After the hike, we had the very special opportunity to become polar bears. A sandy beach and warm (9º C) and sunny weather were too inviting to pass up. All three of us took a dip in the bay, with Sidney being the youngest “polar bear” EVER from the Fram or on any of the Arctic Expeditions. After getting out of the water, she played on the beach for more than 30 minutes in nothing but her bathing suit. The guides and others couldn’t resist helping her make sand castles.
We sailed out of Magdalenafjord heading northeast through the fjords to Moffen Island and the 80th parallel. On the way, we spotted a polar bear near a glacier, so we stopped the boat to have a closer look. It turned out to actually be a mother polar bear and her cub, and they came out closer to us to have a look. The cub was quite playful, and it was very special to see the two of them interacting right in front of us.
Sailing on, we reached the 80th parallel right around dinner time. We went out on deck for a special ceremony. “King Neptune” came out and splashed ice water lightly on the crowd, then proceeded to “baptize” (as Sidney called it) those of us brave enough to go through with the ceremony. The ceremony consisted of having a ladle of ice water dumped down your back while kneeling before Neptune. Somehow I got extra special treatment with two ladles of ice water, but the payoff was two shots of Aquavit!
The ship stopped for the ceremony right off Moffen Island, which isn’t much more than a sand bar in the lowest part of the Arctic Ocean. The walruses like it, though, and there were at least 50 on the beach and in the water right in front of us. They are huge, but very graceful swimmers. I was also intrigued by the fact that they tend to walk on their flippers like legs as opposed to just waddling to move.
We had a bit of extra time in the evening, so a vote was taken among the expedition team to go into Raudfjord to see if any polar bears were hanging around on the winter ice pack that remained there. This meant postponing the certificate presentation ceremony for those that swam today, and Sidney was disappointed to the point of tears. Karin, one of the team leaders, then arranged a special individual ceremony for Sidney up on the bridge. The Captain presented her certificate there and even let her sit in his chair for a bit! While on the bridge, Sidney decided to practice her somersaults. Another first for the Fram, someone doing somersaults on the bridge.
As soon as we approached the ice edge in Raudfjord, polar bears were spotted. This time, it was a mother and two cubs! These were a year older than the cub we saw earlier today, but they walked all the way out to the ice edge where the ship was, and the views were wonderful. We spotted some bearded seals as well, which is probably why the polar bears were hanging out here.
We then set sail for Lillehook Glacier and Ny Alesund. Lillehook was iced in, but we went to a glacier in Krossfjorden. The ship docked less than 100 meters from a bearded seal floating on a piece of ice. We boarded the landing boats and cruised right past her, for Sidney decided that it was a girl.
We continued the cruise around several icebergs and the glacier front. The sounds the icebergs make in the water as they melt can best be described as like loud Rice Krispies crackling. We also heard a loud crack from the glacier, and less than a minute later a bit of it calved off with a thundering crash.
After the glacier tour, we set sail to Ny Alesund. A baby bearded seal crawled up onto a small piece of ice near the ship as we were sailing away, and Kimber and I were probably the only ones that saw it.
Ny Alesund started as a mining town. The mine ran for several decades, but after many accidents, the last of which killed 22 people, the mine was closed. Because of its proximity to the North Pole, the town has also served as the jumping off point for several polar expeditions. The mooring mast from Amundsen’s and Nobile’s airship still stands just outside the town.
The town now serves as a scientific research town. There are about 30 people that spend the winter there, and about 300 that live there in the summer. Missions from many countries, including China, South Korea, and India, have their stations here. The town also is home to some interesting wildlife, including several bird species and a family of Arctic foxes that live under one of the buildings in town.
After leaving Ny Alesund for the next day’s adventures, we had a ceremony in the lounge for presentation of our “Above the 80th Parallel” certificates and our Polar Swimming certificates. Sidney also presented some certificates of her own, which I will let Kimber tell you about here.
Mom is so proud of Sidney. First she tried everything on this adventure. But more importantly, she worked really hard to make thank you notes and certificates for the guides, crew and staff. She made a certificate for the Captain for crossing the 80th Parallel, which she gave him at the ceremony. She also was always friendly to the staff and of course made friends with nearly everyone, regardless of language.
Our final day of adventures started with an unplanned stop at Poolepynten. It is basically a sandy point of land on an island called Prins Karl Forland on the west side of Svalbard. We stopped there because previous sailings had spotted walruses on the shore, so we made a landing to get a closer look (and smell – they are very stinky!)
There were also several Arctic terns nesting in the area, so we had to be very careful of where we walked so as not to disturb them or step on the eggs. It was also interesting to see a number of logs washed up along the shore. These travel all the way from Siberian logging operations, get caught up in the ice in the Arctic Ocean, float all the way around the North Pole, then drift southward along the eastern side of Svalbard and back up the western side before coming to a stop on the beach. The entire journey takes anywhere from 11 to 75 years.
After Poolepynten, we sailed into Isfjord to a place called Skansabukta for our final landing. Te area is used by locals for outdoor parties and to “get away” from town for a little bit. We landed under a mountain called “The Fortress” because of its tall and imposing appearance.
We saw several types of plants along the shore and on the mountainside. Because it is further south and in a relatively sheltered cove, it is a virtual jungle compared to other areas we visited. One of the most striking plants was the Jacob’s Ladder, which has beautiful purple blossoms. Other plants also seem to grow taller than almost anything else we had seen, though tall here means about four inches.
As other places we visited, this is a great nesting area or birds. There are bird cliffs on the mountains, and birds nesting along the shore as well. One of our favorites was this Ringed Plover, who was vigilantly protecting her nest. If anyone got too close, she would run away from the nest and put on a show of being injured to draw attention away from her eggs, much like the killdeer do in other places we lived.
The evening wrapped up with a barbeque on board. The weather was beautiful, and the smell of the food cooking on the grill was enough to make us stay out for a little longer than usual. After dinner, we relaxed a bit, and Sidney did a little dancing with Mom, Dad, and some of the crew and guides while another of the guides played his accordion.
We went to bed for the last time as the ship sailed towards Longyearbyen for disembarkation and a return to reality.
We will be in Longyearbyen for a couple of days before returning to Stavanger, and will post at least one more time from here. I am sure we have missed many events from our adventure. As we remember things, we will make some new posts.
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