Today we experienced Svalbard at its absolute finest. The day started with National Geographic Endurance positioned just off the magnificent seabird nesting cliffs named Alkefjellet, or Auk Mountain. These stunning cliffs, composed mostly of dolerite, serve as home to over 100,000 breeding pairs of Brünich’s guillemots, tens of thousands of kittiwakes, and several other nesting seabird species. Brünich’s guillemots, a slightly less charismatic relative of the puffin, lined nearly every available narrow ledge. This is where they will lay their single precious egg and raise their chick. The activity around the cliffs and in the waters nearby paints a slightly overwhelming and chaotic scene. We were graced with perfect weather, which afforded us the rare opportunity to get a close glimpse of this magnificent scene from our Zodiacs.
With favorable weather and a promising sea ice forecast, our expedition leader and captain planned for us to press north so that we will ultimately be the first vessel of the season to successfully transit the entire coast of Eastern Spitsbergen, rounding the top of the island to the west, and back into the ice-free waters of Western Spitsbergen. The time spent accomplishing this will not be idle by any stretch. We spend a significant amount of time scanning the waters of Svalbard for wildlife. In particular, we are looking for the Great White Wanderer, Isbjorn, Nanuk…the polar bear. The efforts of our quest paid off shortly before dinner. Just as evening recap was underway, a call from the bridge alerted us to the presence of three bears–a female and her two yearling cubs–traveling over the dense sea ice. We watched them make their way from floe to floe. With her well-fed cubs in tow, the mother chose the route, smelled the air, and marched on with purpose.
The day wasn’t nearly over yet. During a performance of The Endurance Crew Show after dinner, yet another hail from the bridge came over the radio. This time, another female bear was spotted with her single cub. These two were in the middle of their dinner, a walrus the mother had recently dispatched. This is no small feat, even for much larger male bears. We observed the mother and cub from a reasonable distance so as not to disturb them. After getting a primal glimpse into the lives of these very special animals, we left them to their meal. The evening proceeded as planned with a wonderful, lively crew show as our incredibly capable vessel plowed her way through dense bands of sea ice. All in all, the day was pure magic and pure Svalbard.
