St. Jonsfjorden, Spitsbergen, 5/17/2018, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Arctic
After watching three bears yesterday in Wahlbergfjorden, we have to travel quite a long way today—the final day of our voyage—to reach our next destination, closer and closer to Longyearbyen.
At age 24 Jonathan had his first experience in Antarctica as a scientist at the coastal French Dumont d'Urville Station. Located on the windiest place on Earth (regularly around 200km/h, maximum up to 320 km/h), and bounded by sea ice eight months a ...
We woke to a dramatic, windswept seascape this morning. White-beaked dolphins and abundant seabirds traveled with us as we traversed open ocean waters to the Svalbard Archipelago. Biosecurity and safety briefings were the order of the day heading into the arctic wilderness. The open sea crossing was also a perfect setting for Lars’ talk on Viking longboats. Bjørnøya is not a place one decides to visit, rather, it’s a place we hope will invite us in. Sun and calm wind welcomed our arrival, and our expedition team prepared for a Zodiac cruise under the island’s stunning bird cliffs. Bjørnøya had other plans! As conditions rapidly changed, the Zodiacs were secured and we enjoyed a still stunning and much drier ship cruise, with fulmars so numerous they could even be seen on the ships RADAR!
Today we had a wonderful time visiting Tromsø, often referred to as the “Gateway to the Arctic”, since several important polar expeditions departed from here. We visited interesting museums, tasted some local delicacies (including cod tongue and roe), and played with sled dog puppies. We couldn’t have asked for a better time!
This morning National Geographic Endurance was anchored within a beautiful fjord in northern Norway, not far from the Lofoten Islands and the famous Trollfjord, where we cruised last night. Our mission after breakfast was to explore and enjoy.
