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.