POLAR PLUNGE!!!!!!

June 28, 2015. 

Up early to the Chart Room and started working on photos from last night - 0430, coffee is always on. 

Plan is to Zodiac Cruise and then after lunch make a final landing here in Svalbard. 

Morning is grey, windy and cold. Appears to be a fjord we will be going into where there is a Glacier. 

Calving Glaciers were observed at Smeerenburg Glacier, Fugelfrjorden. 

Snow and fog as we enter the fjord. The wind came up so we are off to another location.

 Plan B is in effect.  Plan B did not work so Plan C - the Polar Plunge. I hate cold water but Lynn convinced (shamed) me into making the plunge. Had to do it as we had done it in Antarctica. Amazing it did not seem as cold as Antarctica, water temp was reported to have been 39F.  After making the plunge you are greeted with a nice warm towel and the Hotel Manager Heinrich was there offering a stiff shot of rum or whiskey.  Nice warm shower afterwards. 

POLAR PLUNGE!!!!

Now we can say we have done it in the Arctic and Antarctica. 

Then a great lecture by Magnus Foresberg about Polar Bears. 

Lunch again was in the Observation Lounge. 

Today there was no photo walk and we did the medium walk with Dennis and Eduardo. They are an informative and entertaining pair. 

We see the historic area of Smeerenburg “Blubber Town”, a significant Dutch whaling area. This was an area where the whale blubber was rendered. Lots of nesting Arctic Turns and there were a few walrus near the shore. 

The Arctic Turn is becoming a favorite bird of mine. It migrates from Pole to Pole on an annual basis. Simply amazing as this is the longest migration known, earning 44,000 frequent flyer miles annually. 

Walked across the boggy moss covered area and along the beach. 

Back to ship for tea, shower and then time for recap and dinner.  Tonight we start sailing towards Greenland. 

Exploring Mosselbuta and Later we find the Chocolate Boat!!!

Bear Tracks to Cabin!!!

Day 5 

Actually slept rather well and got a solid 8 hours. Woke to a misty morn. 

Today we are exploring Mossellbuta. Here we will be exploring the remains of a hunters cabin and the remain of the Nordenskiold 1872-72 Arctic Expedition. 

We opted again for the Photo Walk, really don’t go near as far but the photo information is great. We explored a trapper cabin and talked more about composition and being 

creative. 

The wind picked up and sadly we were back to the ship early as  people were getting cold.  On the shore walks the group must stay together for Ice Bear Safety. 

We did see  Long Tail Ducks. 

We continue our tradition of having lunch in the Observation Lounge. Here we can enjoy a great ample lunch. Lunch there is billed as a light lunch, basically a limited menu compared to the dining room.  

After lunch was a zodiac ride. Wet, cold and fun with a mist that turned to snow.  Lots of bird life. We saw Arctic Turns, Brant Geese, Pink foot geese, Arctic Gull, Kittiwakes, Guillemots, King Eiders, common eider, Jager.

We were fortunate to find what is known as the Chocolate Boat. During the zodiac cruise the galley crew loads a zodiac with a large thermos of hot chocolate and other additives such as schnapps and rum and whiskey. We meet them amongst the ice for a warming drink. 

                                                                       CHOCOLATE BOAT!!!!!!!

Lynn was glad we made it back in time for Tea. Here there are small sandwiches and cookies and other goodies. The pastry chef is amazing. 

Reindeer tenderloin was our choice of what was for dinner. It was EXCELLENT!!!  Dessert was chocolate mouse.  

After dinner we learn the Walrus and an Ice Bear have been spotted on the very small Moffen Island. This is a nature reserve where walrus like to haul out. Dressed and out to observe the 30-40 walrus and the Ice Bear. Ice Bear had to have swam many many miles to get there, he was sleeping. 

Very cold and windy, time for bed. 

Sailing North Into The Ice

Sailing north to more Ice. 

The plan, such as it is, for today, is to sail North looking for ice and Ice Bear. 

I was awake to bright sunny skies at 0330. I gathered my kit and made my way to the Chartroom. Here I am catching up on the Blog, sorting pictures and enjoying the morning quiet and coffee. 

I was greeted by the Midnight sun as we were sailing 

through the Hiniopen Strait to a point of land known as Kapp Fanshawe. The location is known for it shear cliffs where many many many Guillemots were nesting, along with Kittiwakes, Arctic Gulls and a couple Barnacle Geese.  

The Arctic Gulls prey upon the Guillemot young and eggs. It was nesting season and the Guillemots were standing watch over their eggs as the Arctic Gulls cruised by looking for an opportunity to find an unguarded egg. 

As we were finishing up breakfast, the call came out there were Norwalls off the bow. One must be ready to get out at a moments notice to see what has been spotted. So it is binoculars always around the neck, camera at the ready, and proper outdoor gear always accessible.  They were a good bit off and all that was visible was their heads as they surfaced. Stephanie Martin our expedition leader is very well studied in the whales of the world and was super excited about this sighting. It was estimated there were 30 in the pod. 

Next we headed to the Wallenberg Fjord ICE and were lucky enough to see three Ice Bears. Two approached the ship and seemed rather curious. Simply amazing, beyond words.  These were quality Ice Bear experiences. 

Our Captain is Lief Skog, a Captain with many many years of Ice experience and one of the most knowledge Ice Captains in the world. His experience in polar waters runs deep, navigating vessels in Antarctica nearly every season since 1979 on more than 100 Antarctic voyages. He is also Chairman of the IAATO Marine Committee (International Assn. of Antarctic Tour Operators), he was a primary architect of the IAATO Emergency Contingency Plan for all vessels operating in Antarctica. We could not be in better hands. 

After lunch there were hiking options as we landed at Sorgfjord. Again we opted for the photo hike. Received good information reference exposure compensation and histogram.

Back to the ship to clean up and laundry. Tonight is the Captains reception and dinner. 

The Duck was great!!!! Yep the food is amazing, don’t want you to think we were roughing it too much.  

At about 2209 hours  it was announced we had reached our farthest north point. 80. 44. 378 North, 015 54.8 East. Also there were Bearded Seals spotted, so up and out we went. I did take a GPS reading and got us at 80.45 North. 

Lilliehookbreen Glacier and Landing at Stephan's Garden.

I was awake at 0430 and gathered my things and made my way to the Chart room. The coffee is always on, along with hot chocolate and tea and soft drinks. I use my time there to gather information for the day, reading, taking morning photos, mostly enjoying the peace the Arctic offers with hot coffee. 

 Our briefing sheet for today states Sunrise- None, Sunset None.   

We set sail last night and are making our way North at slightly over 10 knots. The skies are still overcast and the cloud cover is low, and the sea is rather calm.  Lynn and I meet up in the Bistro area of the ship for a light breakfast of fruit and pastries and Lynn can get her fancy coffee (there is no additional charge for the fancy coffee, this is a nice perk).  Soon the dining room opens for the real breakfast. Breakfast is served buffet style, and they have great real oatmeal. All selections are great and the breads and pastries are simply amazing. 

Today we will be briefed about landing and have our gear inspected for contaminates, i.e. seeds etc which should not be introduced to this environment. Our boots, parkas, pants, etc etc are vacuumed to remove the unwanted items. We leave our monopods and boots in the mud room.  

Currently we are maybe going to make a landing in the afternoon. 

The morning was spent doing some scenic cruising amongst the fjords of Lillehookbreen . Peaks covered with snow and glaciers fill the valleys. We find the

 

We did see calving 

 

Lilliehookbreen glacier face 14 miles long. We cruise slowly by observing Arctic Turn, Guillemots , Kittiwakes and small Auks. The peaks appear to be 1000 meters high shrouded in clouds 

Late morning was a photo session, with breakouts by camera manufacture. Always learning new little tricks. Most of the Naturalist Staff are certified Photography Instructors. The primary “go to” Pro photographers on board are Rich Kirchner and Krista Rossow.

The afternoon found us making a landing at Stephan’s Gardens and going for the photo hike. We actually did this twice in lieu of kayaking. Interesting and helpful photo tips were given by Rich and Krista. This walk took us along the base of a Kittiwake nesting cliff. It is here the rich guano deposits help the growth of the rather lush vegetation. Saxifrages, grasses, dandelions are found and many of these plants are flowering. We also see Reindeer, Barnacle Geese, Snow Bunting, and Pink Footed Geese.  

Bear Watch

Amazing scenery with bird and plant life which is so perfectly adapted to the harsh environment. 

We have seen Bearded Seal, Reindeer, and a plethora of bird life. 

Back on the ship, we quickly cleanup, attend cocktail hour and the daily recap and then dinner. During the recap Dennis Cornejo gave us a brief botany lecture. He had been the Underwater Specialist on our Antarctic Trip. His presentations are always lively, with quick humored interjections. 

Dinner was a starter of French Onion Soup, King Crab and Avocado, for our entrees we chose Salmon (Lynn) and a Chicken Curry (Scott), desert was a dark chocolate mouse with a raspberry sorbet. All was excellent. The service is excellent and only gets better as the serving staff learns your likes etc. and the expedition progresses. 

With heavy eyes we made our way to the observation deck and downloaded pictures. 

Then to bed as we have an early wakeup to see Kapp Fanshawe where there is a bird colony. 

Tonight we found a potato chip chocolate bar on our pillows. 

When one retires for the evening on the National Geographic Explorer, you make sure your clothes are ready to go. You lay them out in the order you would don them to make a quick exit from you cabin as the all ship announcement for a special wildlife sighting can come at any hour. You also have your camera gear ready to go with fresh battery and plenty of storage on the media card.