Today we went to our very last stop in the Svalbard Archipelago: Bear Island. It was here that over 400 years ago the Dutch explorer William Barents fought the first polar bear of his journey and most likely, became the first man to discover this island.
Around 8:00 a.m., Captain Martin and his crew dropped the anchor in Sørhamna, at the South East corner of Bear Island, pretty much the only protected bay in a 500 mile range. Even still, we were in the middle of the ocean and despite the protection of the cliffs around us, we had very challenging weather with strong winds and swells up to three metres. Three Zodiacs were lowered in the water while most of the other guests opted to observe the cliffs from the Observation Lounge.
As we came back in from our Zodiacs, we were offered warm drinks from our fantastic crew and made ourselves ready for what was going to be an interesting half day of navigation full of lectures. First on the list was Captain Martin with “Navigation Around Ice,” a presentation originally meant for his crew, yet the fascinating content encouraged him to share his knowledge with everybody on board.
After Captain Martin delivered a great lecture, naturalist Jimmy White uplifted our spirits about climate change and the future of our Earth with a presentation about renewable energy and his optimism for how to save “Team Human.”
Next on the agenda, our great naturalist and undersea specialist Caitlyn Webster shared stories and information about the many species and their mesmerizing songs of the many pinnipeds swimming within the Arctic seas.
The day on National Geographic Orion ended with another great recap about snowmobiles on Svalbard, North Pole expeditions, a polar bear guard’s love-story, and the origins of the words Arctic and Antarctic.
