July 15, 2009
Alas, our final day. During breakfast, our luggage is whisked away to the airport, or hotels for those staying on in Longyearbyen, and we take our final Zodiac ride to the pier.
There are sad farewells to our Expedition Team and fellow travelers, now good friends, with promises to stay in touch and exchange photos. We head off in different directions, somewhat tired but still elated, ready for our next adventure.
Kristina Smith
July 14, 2009
We’re up early for a special landing at Poolepynten, on Prins Karls Forlund, an island named after Charles I, King of Britain and Ireland back in 1625. Our timing is spot on as there is a herd of walrus hauled out here, lying on and around each other. They are graceful in water but clumsy on land – no wonder, as these massive mammals can weigh up to 3,330 pounds!
To protect these sensitive animals, we go ashore no more than thirty at a time. We approach quietly to avoid disturbing them, yet some curious walrus wander over for a closer look at us, surely wondering at our bright yellow parkas!
We form groups again later for a ship tour, offering insider views of the bridge up on top, 
and engine room far below deck. When not in use for travelers like us, Vavilov is a science vessel, helping to make important discoveries in the polar regions.
After lunch, we sail through Isfjorn, the fjord where our expedition began. Our landing at Alkhornet may be the loveliest yet, with beautiful sea vistas and tall cliffs, home to a city of nesting birds, their chatter echoing overhead.
We’ve seen reindeer before, but never so many, including some mothers with their adorable calves. Off shore, seals pop up and then disappear, and we take time to sit down and soak in the scenery, contemplating all that we’ve seen and experienced on this expedition.
Tonight, in the lounge, Woody gives a Voyage Recap, taking us through each day with map and photos. Kyle presents a slideshow with music, featuring photos from many of us. Some are breathtaking; some are funny; all make us nostalgic for the days we’ve had here. There is a photo competition using the highly scientific ‘clap-meter,’ and Louis walks away with a bottle us champagne for his work.
The Captain’s Dinner is held in the dining room, where we thank the crew and staff for their dedication and hard work. We top off our last evening together with a ship cruise, en route to our final stop at Longyearbyen.
Kristina Smith
July 13, 2009
We awake in the southern part of Bellsund to the call of “humpback whales at 12 o’clock!” Outside, it’s sunny and 7 degrees C, and the plan is to do an extended walk at Research Fjord, named for the French scientific expedition ship La Recherche, which charted much of this area in 1838.
Our Expedition Team is ashore with the first group of passengers when the kayakers spot a polar bear, no more than 50 yards from where Woody and Snowy stand, hidden by a ridge. Those ashore are swiftly loaded back into Zodiacs, and we wait anxiously while the danger is assessed.
But the bear moves off into the other direction, perhaps spooked by the sound of the engines, and we continue our landing with revised plans for shorter walks, keeping a close eye on that bear!
The site is historically significant, once used for commercial ventures including whaling, mining, and trapping. A large, leaning hut, built in 1904 to appeal to hunting tourists, lies abandoned, along with many mining carts, testimony to those seeking their fortune (unsuccessfully) in this challenging wilderness.
We form groups by challenge level and walk the lush tundra and steep, copper ore-embedded rock, careful not to step on the lovely pink moss campion – or goose poop! There are many egg-filled nests throughout the area, and one sandpiper runs around acting injured, trying to direct our attention away from her own.
After an active morning, lunchtime brings a welcome treat, and there is literally a stampede to the ice cream buffet! We sail on to Bourbonhamna (Bourbon Bay), named for its royal visitor, the Prince of Bourbon, who helped chart the area in 1891.
At the landing site, we trek carefully around the well-maintained hut, Bamsebu (home of the bear) – still used, but no longer for hunting. Boats are scattered along the beach, being claimed back by nature and time.
The peacefulness of the setting contrasts harshly with the remains of 500 beluga whales, their bones and skulls piled along the beach. Sadly, these are just some of those hunted here in the 1930’s.
Back on board, the crew tackles some tricky navigation, guiding us into a lovely bay for a ship cruise, where several polar bear are spotted. After dinner, we gather in the lounge for tonight’s bar talk, “Size Doesn’t Matter.” Mariano recounts some wayward photographic attempts, including one hilarious homemade video of a ‘Penguin Hitman.’
Kristina Smith
July 12, 2009
Wet, Wild & Windy!
The sky is ominous as we enter Hornsund, the most southerly fjord in Svalbard. Named by an English whaler, it’s home to spectacular scenery, with the calving fronts of eight glaciers entering its waters.
Our plan is to land at Isbjornhanna, but it’s very windy, and the sea is rough. It’s a slippery business getting into the Zodiacs, which bang against the gangway on the swells. More than once, it looks like we’ll call the whole thing off. But our team is experienced, and eventually we are all ashore safely, albeit soaking wet from the spray.
The walk to the Hansbreen glacier is steep and somewhat slow going, with a carpet of unstable rock underfoot, but the views are well worth the effort. We hoped to find a breeding colony of tens of 
thousands of little auks nearby, but are surprised to find most already gone, so we study the Arctic fauna blanketing the area before heading back to our landing site.
The ride back to the ship is a rough go, and we’re soaked once again with cold, salty spray. Luckily, the kitchen staff has prepared a hearty vodka soup to warm us up!
We sail on to Burgerbukta, where we are thrilled to have calm seas and sunshine. The kayakers paddle out in their group, while the rest of us board Zodiacs for a cruise of the glaciers, each 2km wide on the east and west ends of the bay.
Small icebergs snap, crackle and pop in the water, flipping over occasionally (which is why we never get too close). Polar bear and ringed seals are photographed with a stunning backdrop of steep-sided mountains, home to nesting seabirds.
This evening, we are invited to an Arctic barbecue on the stern deck. Donning silly hats and wigs, we enjoy music and fabulous food. Though it’s a wee bit chilly, the event is fantastic none the less, and we end the bright night with a slow sail through Hornsund, searching for mobile marine mammals.
Kristina Smith
July 11, 2009
It’s a perfect day – sunny and a balmy 4 degrees C. We sail towards new landscapes on the southwest coast of Spitsbergen. Our first stop is the 14th of July Glacier, named for the French National Day. Steep mountains tower above as we approach the impressive glacial front from the bay.
We board the Zodiacs with a mission to find puffin. Spotting the birds is easy, with their bright orange beaks and china-doll faces, but this is not typically their hang out, so we are fortunate to find quite a number of them, perhaps on vacation here in Svalbard. Above us, kittiwakes and guillemots nest on the cliff faces, while glaucous gulls perch hungrily nearby.
High up on shore, a couple of hunter’s huts can be seen, which are used by fox trappers to this day. We head to the beach for our first ‘wet’ landing, which involves a lot of water and a lot of rubber boots! Our rock expert, James, leads a walk to the edge of the retreating glacier, picking the way through the rocky moraines while he explains how things have changed over millions of years, while Annie gets us up close and personal with the flowers and lichen that dot the terrain.
Several times, there is a thunderous crack from the glacier, but we aren’t witness to any calving icebergs today. Just in case, we stay away from the water’s edge – calving ice has been known to cause tidal waves!
The ship sails south, and we soon reach our afternoon stop at Blomstrand Island in Kongfjord, just across from Ny Alesund (our first landing, which feels like ages ago now). There is a rich history at Ny London (ambitiously, ‘New London’), where a marble quarry was established by Ernest Mansfield of the Northern Exploration Company.
They brought in a bunch of equipment, most of which remains, but it soon became clear that the poor quality and cracking of the marble made it unsuitable, and the site was abandoned. Rather quickly, perhaps, as a steel dog food bowl still sits outside the front door of one building, now a pile of rusted metal and wood.
The area is quiet and peaceful, and it’s an opportunity to wander around and explore, keeping within the perimeter of our Expedition Team. It’s easy to forget that the threat of polar bear is still very real indeed, and the tundra is misleading – what looks like a flat expanse of land is actually a series of ridges, perfect for suddenly happening upon a hungry polar bear!
There are reindeer grazing lazily nearby, and we’re careful not to trample the many varieties of saxifrage that carpet the area. Our time here is short, though, as Woody explains we need to get the ship to our next spot by morning, and we’ve many nautical miles to go.
Tonight in the bar we venture south across the world to Antarctica, with a wonderful story from Snowy on the adventures of a dog called Stay.
Kristina Smith
July 10, 2009
Ice, Ice Baby
At breakfast, Woody has news. We reached the entrance to Freemansundet at 4am, but it was blocked by heavy ice and therefore impenetrable, and Vavilov was forced to turn around. In true expedition style, our ‘schedule’ is once again dictated by ice and conditions. Our circumnavigation won’t happen, but we look at the bright side – perhaps we’ll get the chance to see the places we missed before!
While we sail back to 80 degrees North, Graeme presents a talk on our favorite mammal, the polar bear, while James lectures on climate change and global warming, a subject that feels very real now that we’re actually here in this fragile environment.
Lunch is delicious as usual, but having not been ashore to walk around for awhile it feels heavy – luckily, the ship’s numerous stairs give us a bit of a workout! Kyle’s workshop on photo taking is interrupted by the unmistakable sound of ice grinding against the hull, and we clammer outside to watch the show.
The sun is shining, and the site is truly breathtaking. Miles of ice lie ahead of us, breaking on either side of the ship’s bow as our Russian captain and his officers carefully navigate us through. The ship is not an icebreaker (only ‘ice-strengthened’), but it sure feels that way right now!
Mariano’s afternoon presentation covers a history of whaling, from the early 17th century until today, where it seems we have learned nothing from our past and continue to exploit our earth’s resources. It is sobering, considering we have traveled here to see these fascinating creatures…not harpoon them.
Alas, the ice almost behind us, we head into the dining room high on hope. At this point, name-tags have been abandoned, and we chat easily with new friends, with whom we have already shared so much. We are a diverse group, with travelers from Portugal, the USA, Belgium, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, Hong Kong, the UK, and Japan, but we speak one language now – Arctic!
Tonight’s bar talk is from Ken, our kayak guide. An animated storyteller, he shares a hilarious experience from his days as an Alaskan wilderness guide. Two walrus appear on an ice floe near the ship, slipping into the water then resurfacing, piggy-back style, alongside side us. The bar is full and our spirits are high, surrounded by sunshine, mountains, and shimmering sea here in Svalbard.
Kristina Smith
July 9, 2009
Vavilov made her way through ice at the entrance to Hinlopen Strait during the wee hours this morning. Quite a feat we’re told, since strong tidal currents and drift ice, combined with poorly charted sections, makes navigation challenging.
Safely though, we sail into Kapp Fanshawe. This is a happy day for birders, as we board the Zodiacs bound for Alkefjellet – otherwise known as Mount Guillemot. Fitting, since 60,000 breeding pairs of Brunnich’s guillemots nest here. That’s 120,000 birds, plus the chicks and non-breeders, which Tony estimates to be around 160,000 birds in total!
The birds nest on narrow ledges of imposing cliff-faces, and the basaltic columns, towering up to 100m high, combined with the sights, sounds, and smells of thousands of birds above, is truly an assault on the senses – let’s just say we’re happy to have hoods on our parkas as we pass by below!
The rock formations are stunning, and the kayakers get some close views of Pyntbreen Glacier. An opportunistic Arctic fox lurks near shore, knowing full well that chicks and eggs often fall from the narrow nesting ledges.
We eventually head back to the ship and continue through the strait at a leisurely 6 knots, while spotters on the Bridge search for walrus, and Mariano educates us on the history of Svalbard.
Late afternoon, the call comes out – a herd of walrus are hauled out on Torellneset. We drop anchor and the Expedition Team goes out to scout conditions, but the wind is strong at 35 knots and the sea is choppy. They return and we’re told and it’s too unsafe to load Zodiacs from the gangway.
We stand by, monitoring conditions, but the wind doesn’t subside, so we pull anchor and sail by the herd instead. Maybe this is lucky, as a mother polar bear and cub soon after, spotted just off the port side of the ship, and then another pair! We can see them quite well from deck sans binoculars, and the now light breeze and sunshine are wonderful.
A buzz fills the dining room tonight, after a day of exciting wildlife encounters. Back in the bar, Kyle shares a story on his photographic experiences, aptly entitled “Over Exposed,” while we sail on through the strait, surrounded by ice.
The sun – brilliant at midnight – keeps some of us awake and watching. The plan is to go through the ice the charts are showing up ahead and continue south to Olgasundet – but only time will tell what this adventure has in store for us!
Kristina Smith
July 8, 2009
The temperature is dropping as we near 80 degrees North, hovering just below 1 degree Celsius. We’ve entered Woodfjord, and the excitement begins early when two polar bears s are spotted. Breakfast is set out quickly, and we hurry into Zodiacs to view the mother and cub.
While we’re busy with our binoculars, Woody notices that the ice around us has shifted, and the Zodiacs are in danger of being blocked in. Some expert maneuvering by our Expedition Team moves the ice out of the way to open an exit for our quick escape.
We continue on, cruising past icebergs of all shapes and sizes, floating like ice cubes in a glass. Stunning shades of aquamarine blue glow from beneath the surface, where seven-eights of the iceberg lie. Skuas and terns swoop overhead, while bearded seals, wet whiskers gleaming, swim by.
Back on board, the sun peeks out as we resume our watch of mother polar bear and her playful cub. Despite the size of our ship, the captain brings her in so quietly the bears hardly seem to notice us up above, following them in fascination.
Another delicious lunch awaits as we sail in Liefdefjord, meaning Love Fjord, and for good reason, because it is absolutely gorgeous! At the far end of the fjord is Monacobreen (Monaco Glacier), named after Prince Albert I of Monaco, who led expeditions to map the glacier back in 1906.
We enjoy the sunshine while the public address system buzzes with calls of minke whales feeding and bearded seals lounging on ice floes. More polar bear are also spotted, lumbering in the distance. Once the captain finds a good spot to drop anchor, the Zodiacs are quickly put in the water while we line up, life vest to life vest, at the top of the gangway. It’s quite a site!
Out in the boats, we follow a young polar bear along the shoreline for several miles. It’s the closest we’ve been thus far to a bear, and the excitement is palpable. He glances our way occasionally, at one point stopping to sit for his photo, then rises on hind legs and gives us once last look before sauntering off inland.
The day is far from over, and around 9pm we gather in the lounge with James, who shares his experience living with Inuit in Western Greenland. The captain and crew, meanwhile, are busy with the ice, trying to get us to 80 degrees North. A tall order, but Woody seems confident we can do it.
The anticipation builds as we watch the latitude climb steadily on the monitor. Just before midnight, it’s official – we’ve reached 80 degrees North, and celebration is in order. And as though this isn’t enough, a herd of walrus is hauled out before us on Mollen Island, and we run outside to catch our first glimpse.
It’s been quite a day, and we’re jubilant but exhausted. We’ve made it this far – and who knows – we may be just complete a full circumnavigation!
Kristina Smith
July 7, 2009
“Fog-get about it”…landing that is!
We wake once again to our old friend, the fog, early morning in narrow Smeerenburgfjord, in the northwestern corner of Spitsbergen. Today we’re hoping to land at Smeerenburg (“blubber town”), a 17th century Dutch whaling station, and we wait for an announcement from Woody.
Unfortunately, he tells us that the fog is too thick to spot polar bears ashore, so for safety reasons we skip the landing, leaving the remains of the blubber ovens for another day. Instead, we spend time with our Expedition Team – James gives us a talk on rocks and ice; Tony covers Arctic birds. After lunch, we eagerly board the Zodiacs for a true expedition-style cruise through Raudfjord (Red Fjord), named for the old red sandstone rock.
The kayakers get out on the water for the first time, their neon kayaks disappearing into the fog as they paddle away. The rest of us slowly cruise the fjord around chunks of fast ice, as Terns and Guillemots swoop and dive, and Pink-Footed Geese run low along the shoreline, hoping to evade us. Suddenly, a polar bear is spotted by Annie, Assistant Expedition Leader, and a call goes out on the radio. In no time, six Zodiacs are bobbing side by side while 80 adventurers strain to spot the bear about a half mile away. Perhaps mildly amused, the bear lies down on the ice to watch, and wait.
In time, the fog thickens, until we can barely make out the bear at all. We turn and head back to the ship, across stunning blue-black water, smooth as glass and just as still, save for the wakes made by the Zodiacs. The soupy fog makes spotting the ship impossible – thank goodness for GPS! Like a ghost, the ship seems to appear out of nowhere 
when we near her - a welcome site, as we’re all ready for a hot drink.
Back on board, some read, some sleep, some get photo tips from Expedition Team Member Kyle, who is helping pros and novices alike get the best shots from this white wilderness. The RedBay Rocket is the drink of the day, which Josie happily whips us for us in the bar during Happy Hour, and the evening is topped off with a talk from Woody, who shares some entertaining Maritime Superstitions. Who knew bananas were bad luck on ships?!
Kristina Smith
July 6th, 2009
We awake to a heavy fog off the western coast of Spitsbergen, where Woody gives a lovely white arc spanning the port side of the ship the apt – but definitely unscientific – name ‘fogbow.’ After a hearty breakfast, we prepare for our expedition with important briefings on Zodiac safety, landings, conservation, and staying safe in polar bear country.
We luck out during lunch as the fog lifts, giving us a clear view of shore. There are callings of ‘beluga!’ and ‘seal, port side!’ as we sail into Kongsfjorden, a 24 km long fjord. The anchor drops, and we set off in Zodiacs to the harbor at Ny Alesund, our first – and only – dry landing.
Ny Alesund is the northern-most non-military community, originally established as a coal 
mining village, but now home to a thriving international science community. Here we see the most-northerly train in the world (used to transport coal and no longer in operation), and the most-northerly post office (still in operation, and given postcards by many of us!).
We spend a couple of hours exploring Ny Alesund, careful not to leave the boundaries established by our firearms-carrying Expedition Team. Roald Amundsen – polar explorer extraordinaire – launched an airship here on a successful attempt to fly over the North Pole, and the mast from his hanger remains.
An Arctic Fox darts out amongst nesting birds, snatching a white gosling to return to her two cubs, who tumble and play nearby. Svalbard Reindeer munch on purple-mountain and brook saxifrage that dot the tundra, oblivious to 
the many camera lenses pointed at them. And many of us are dive-bombed by squawking Arctic Terns, unhappy that we’ve come close to their nesting sites!
Back on deck, we enjoy afternoon tea and set out for Krissfjorden, a lovely fjord interspersed with stunning glaciers. The fog that has hounded us lifts just after dinner, allowing magnificent views of Moller and Lilliehook glaciers. Bergy bits (small bits of iceberg) float by, soon followed by larger icebergs, gleaming white and aquamarine blue. The perfect end to our second day at sea.
Kristina Smith