Svalbard Expedition Sunday, Part 1

Awake to -7°C (19°F) and winds greater than 20 knots. We are going ashore in an area with reindeer. The reindeer run to us, take a short sniff, and run quickly away.

We hike to the top of a small hill. Resolution appears to have beached herself but money in on dynamic positioning.

In the afternoon the wind dies and we launch kayaks. Sue partners with CJ. He wears his snowboard helmet with GoPro. Unfortunately, the slippery jacket causes him to constantly slip into a horizontal. It is not a comfortable time.

Our naps, essential after hiking and kayaking are interrupted by a polar bear sighting. For the next few hours, the ship slowly creeps on this bear that they detected from an infrared smear across the bow.

Svalbard Expedition Sunday, Part 2

It is a bear with a recent seal kill. We spend hours creeping up on it through pack ice and shore fast ice. At the start only the IR camera and longest binoculars can see the bear. By the time we back out of the ice, it is visible to the naked eye.

There are people on deck with mega-cameras. CJ gets a decent tiny look with his Nikon. Eventually he takes images off the television screen that is projecting on the large screen in the lounge.

The ship approaches for so long that we can eventually see it with the naked eye and CJ can get great shots with the zoom on his Nikon. Great images are captured from CJ's camera and projections from the bridge screen.

Svalbard Expedition Saturday

We are WAY up there! This is a flat image. The latitude lines are curved on this map. We are well above Greenland, Canada, and those islands to the east.

We wake to -15°C and the sounds and hull shuddering of Resolution pounding through pack ice.

80° 44’ 4.381”N, 16° 30’ 13.359” E. Both have apparently been quite soothing for sleeping since the morning wake up call rousted us from sound sleep in spite of the noise and vibration.

The day is spent unsuccessfully searching for polar bears. We make a long run driving through the ice north before abruptly turning to the west and south. By day’s end, there have been numerous walrus, some have seen seals, but no polar bears.

During the afternoon debrief and captain’s introduction of crew, we are surrounded by sea smoke and sea fog. It must be a unique occurrence. Sven Lindblad is standing next to CJ and races outdoors to get pictures. He returns exclaiming that in all his years travelling to the Arctic, it is the first time he has seen such a phenomenon. It is also a first for our guide, Bud with 30 years travelling to the Arctic. Also standing with CJ is our experienced ice captain who is Norwegian. He is one of the few who have seen sea smoke.

The decision is made to turn south.

Resolution

We are met on the brow by the entire ship’s staff where one member breaks off to escort us to our cabin. Our luggage has been delivered. The room is marvelous and we quickly unpack and stow four suitcases under the bed.

The first order of business is the obligatory abandon ship safety drill.

The second event returns us to the lounge for a briefing by Bud, our expedition director.

Some of Resolution’s personnel were on Orion for our Antarctica cruise. Were CJ’s exploits on Orion really that notorious? Why does the entire bar staff on this ship already know him?

Cruise Friday

Overnight we have travelled above the 80^th parallel. An attempt to find pack ice and wildlife in Wood Fiord goes barren.

We are more successful on the east side of Svalbard at famous bird viewing cliffs.

Crossing the channel to other islands in the Archipelago, we sight the first polar bear. When spotted, most likely on the infrared bridge camera, it is 2 miles in front of Resolution. She creeps through the ice to get closer. Eventually we stop in the ice. The sighting delays dinner by a half hour and forces postponement of the daily debrief until tomorrow. We stay locked in the ice near the bear and her two cubs for six hours.

At 11 pm, the ship finally backs a bit to break up the ice and then proceeds to break out of the ice. 

Cruise Thursday Part 2

In late afternoon, Zodiac cruises are offered. Today’s show consists of walrus sightings, birds and their nesting sights, and ice. Until today, we did not know a Zodiac could act as an icebreaker.

We spot a walrus.

Back at the ship, this evening we have the special Chef’s dinner on the 8^th deck. This is an 8 course tasting menu. Everyone cycles through it on the cruise.

After dinner, we have a snowball fight.