Top of the World

  So ends another wonderful adventure. We didn’t quite make it to the top of the world, but at 79N, what’s 700 miles or so between friends. The good days far outweighed the couple of bad weather ones. As for highlights, the scenery around Ny Alesund was breathtaking and seeing the wildlife too of course even though that didn’t include a polar bear(apart from the stuffed one at the airport) ….so hopefully next time! Personally, I had been looking forward to Jan Mayen simply because it is so remote and so rarely visited, and I was not disappointed. As for the journey itself, it was very different to anything involving cruising that we had done before. It wasn’t a cruise, it was an amazing adventure. The ship was the smallest and oldest in the fleet, but that didn’t matter. What did matter was the intimacy and friendliness of the crew, the expedition team and our fellow explorers….everyone got to know everyone by name, and as I mentioned before the Expedition team must be having the t...

We arrived into Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s capital at 7am. Unfortunately there was no time for sightseeing, just a quick breakfast and many goodbyes said to and our fellow explorers the expedition team and the crew. In fact I can never remember getting a big hug from a maitre’D—ess before when leaving a restaurant. The coach picked us up and our guide introduced himself…we were about to get the shortest and most northerly bus commentary in the world because the airport was less than 5 minutes away. He also said that the weather today (more sunshine, no wind and a positive heatwave at 12C) was the best they had had in Longyearbyen in three months. We wondered if he was joking but upon reflection thought probably not. The flight to Oslo was three hours. There were a few wonderful views taking off but unfortunately no photos as I didn’t have a window seat. Similarly, we had great views    over the Lofoten Islands to which we had traveled to before with Hurtigruten. Back on the grou...

Yes, there has been radio silence for 24 hours or so, not because I’ve had a touch of writers block but because MS Spitsbergen has to follow protocols in the settlement of Ny Alesund, the most northerly continually, inhabited settlement in the world. Or so it says in all the tourism blurb, and it was today’s first stop. This is because in Ny Alesund all radios, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity have to be switched off as it is primarily a science research base and any radio connectivity could interfere with with delicate research activity (he says, looking out of the window at the various aerials, radar domes and satellite tracking dishes dotting the shoreline). But before I get to today’s activities, a quick note about yesterday evening. After the usual roundup and briefing, the MS Spitsbergen cabaret troupe took to the stage. And very good they were too….all Philippino crew members. First was one of the receptionists who was very much in touch with his feminine side who sang a few sta...

First of all I’m pleased to report that the seas overnight were flat calm and I, along with everyone else we have spoken to, managed to get at least 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Anyway, we have two landings in Svalbard today, the first being Bamsebu on Ingebrigtsenbukta Bay. This settlement, if you can call one remaining little shack a settlement, used to be a small whaling stop. It’s a fascinating piece of history but also a sad reflection on the times as the bones of hundreds of beluga whales are piled up on the shoreline. We were able to look in through the window of the shack (it was habitable and used a few years ago by a couple of arctic journalists), and could walk along the entire length of the little sand and shingle spit. Bird life was abundant and we saw eider, purple sandpiper, arctic skua and snow buntings, to name just a few. There were also reindeer tracks and droppings and a very pretty purple arctic flower growing very close to the ground. At one point we were chat...

As we neared Hornsund fjord and our first scheduled stop at Burgerbutka the waves, and then the wind died down considerably, much to everyone’s relief. We dropped anchor just after lunch and then the decision was made that we could go ashore using the zodiacs. Under the Association of Arctic Cruise Ship Operators (AECO) rules, no more than 100 explorers should be ashore at any one time and as we narwhals had been first ashore in Jan Mayen, we were in group last ashore here.  We stepped off the zodiac on a small beach of dark sand. Several glaciers stretched to the sea nearby and, not surprisingly, we could only take a short walk along the beach and up through the snow to get a better view of the fjord. Our expedition team had already gone ahead to mark out safe routes and check for any other potential dangers, ie polar bears. None were sighted although we did come across some polar bear tracks. Slightly less benign but potentially just as deadly were icebergs floating in the fjord ...

Before I get on to Svalbard I am writing this post at breakfast time. Now I know I have mentioned the weather a few times before but the last 36 hours since leaving Jan Mayen have been awful in terms of wind and sea conditions and indeed, the last 12 hours have been horrendous.  The captain had warned that it wasn’t going to be a good crossing but the strength of the winds have surpassed his expectations. Overnight, we were facing them head on and it was like one continuous car crash….a small acceleration, a sudden stop, an almighty bang, loose objects in the cabin going everywhere and even us in bed were being tossed to and fro and back and forth. The noise sounded like we were being continually shelled (not the best analogy I know but I can’t think of any other way to describe it). Sleeping was impossible, even trying to rest was extremely fitful at best. As I write, we are approaching the coast and the conditions have eased a bit, but there is still a way to go. The strongest wi...

After leaving Jan Mayen island the weather quickly deteriorated. The sea became rather rough and the wind increased dramatically and the captain has announced that if anything conditions will deteriorate a little further right up until the time we reach Svalbard and thereafter. Thus we will not know until much later this evening, or even tomorrow morning, what the plans will be when we make landfall around lunchtime tomorrow. Watch this space! In the meantime today is a sea day and the usual presentations and activities continue throughout the day. We’ve done a “Lost at sea” survival exercise ( it’s ok, we knew enough to get rescued even though we might have been hungry and dehydrated), and attended a Q&A session with the senior officers. There is a talk about fulmars later….these white gulls have been following us, swooping and diving, ever since we left Fairlie a week ago.  The guests on board are a diverse bunch. We’ve chatted to people from Germany, Madrid, Pennsylvania, Wa...

First things first….last evenings quiz results. Our team had 17 out of 30 and the winners had 18, so we ended as joint runners up. Despite the worries about the weather forecast, the wind and choppy seas did not materialise and we made it to Jan Mayen Island. We were extremely lucky, as only 4 out of 10 ships that call are able to allow guests to go ashore if the weather conditions are good enough. We spoke with Charlotte of the expedition team…this visit was third time lucky for her. Jan Mayen is a very remote and desolate island with only a small Norwegian team manning a bird research/lookout station as semi-permanent residents. We were told not to take photos of any aerials or antennas presumably because they were being used for “scientific research” purposes too. MS Spitsbergen was anchored in Walrus Bay (don’t worry, there were no walruses, they were all killed off in the 19th century). Now, everyone on board is placed in a group and given an animal name for landing purposes, basi...

During dinner yesterday evening, at 7.26pm to be exact, the captain announced that we had now crossed the arctic circle and we were now officially in polar waters. Cue a big round of applause, and official certificates awaiting us outside our cabin doors later. Today is a sea day and as I have alluded to earlier, there is a full program of events and lectures available on whatever particular expedition subject floats your boat. The expedition team itself consists of a dozen or so members. I can’t remember them all, but I know we do have a geologist, two marine scientists, two ornithologists, an historian, two photographers, an English to German translator, plus the expedition leader who stitches everything together. They are an international bunch, hailing from the UK, Germany, Mexico, France and Argentina…some are not too long out of university whilst others are somewhat more, shall we say, mature. We have been extremely impressed with the team, their knowledge is unlimited, their lec...

We arrived into port on time at 8am. Seas had been calm overnight and there was a fair amount of fog as we docked but the signs were promising that it would lift.  We had an early excursion booked to see the Dynjandi waterfall so were soon on the road.  The drive over was interesting in itself as we drove through a 9km tunnel through the mountains and then a shorter 6km one a little later. The fjord scenery was spectacular as were the snow capped mountains, lush green fields, sheep and lambs in nearly every field, bird life aplenty along the shoreline and not to forget a few lazy seals sunning themselves on the rocks. By the time we reached the waterfall the sky had just about cleared. For the second day in a row it was t shirt weather. The falls themselves drape over the mountains and then cascade over 300ft down to the fjord below. We climbed up to the highest viewpoint where there was plenty of spray in the air for the best photo opportunities, not forgetting to check behin...

It would have been difficult to have a better day than today in Grundarfjordur. When we left Heimeay last evening the captain obviously forgot to switch on the wave machine and the overnight sail was perfectly smooth. We then had an 8am call to say that orcas had been spotted so it was a quick rush up to the outdoor deck, cameras and binoculars in hand in order to observe. The sea was glassy smooth and so they were easy to spot…just two or three of them swimming lazily past.  The calm seas, clearing skies and fabulous scenery meant that everyone was back outside after breakfast on nature watch. There were many bird species on view ranging from gannets to arctic terns and not long before we arrived into the port, we saw a small pod of white beaked dolphins…they even obligingly leapt out of the water so that they could not be missed. Before venturing ashore we were treated to a performance by a local musician, Andri Ivars. Is he on YouTube I hear you ask? The answer is yes. Now, the ...