Woodfjorden, Spitsbergen, Norway; 79º43’N, 13º 51’E
Polar bears and more polar bears! Some of us have been running up and down the whole night because of the polar bear alarms from the bridge. We saw 8 bears this morning, and to sum up the whole trip we have the following scenarios: polar bear at a fresh seal kill; swimming polar bears – one of them 34 nautical miles from land; a fat polar bear; a skinny polar bear beside a reindeer kill; a polar bear resting between 68 walruses on the tiny island of Moffen; a mom with one cub; a mom with two cubs. Yes, we have seen polar bears! This expedition actually holds the record of polar bear sightings of all the season’s first trips to Svalbard, 15 in total.
After weeks looking through binoculars and scanning the horizon, it was time to bend our knees, look through a magnifier and observe the Svalbard forest where the flowers are the highest plants. Following the slopes up, we moved from one habitat to another with different species. We saw plants such as Polar Stoloniferous saxifrage and Svalbard’s “National” plant, the Svalbard Poppy.
The afternoon was spent traveling to Longyearbyen, where we will disembark. It is sad to say goodbye to good friends we have met during this journey, but we have all good memories to take home.
Polar bears and more polar bears! Some of us have been running up and down the whole night because of the polar bear alarms from the bridge. We saw 8 bears this morning, and to sum up the whole trip we have the following scenarios: polar bear at a fresh seal kill; swimming polar bears – one of them 34 nautical miles from land; a fat polar bear; a skinny polar bear beside a reindeer kill; a polar bear resting between 68 walruses on the tiny island of Moffen; a mom with one cub; a mom with two cubs. Yes, we have seen polar bears! This expedition actually holds the record of polar bear sightings of all the season’s first trips to Svalbard, 15 in total.
After weeks looking through binoculars and scanning the horizon, it was time to bend our knees, look through a magnifier and observe the Svalbard forest where the flowers are the highest plants. Following the slopes up, we moved from one habitat to another with different species. We saw plants such as Polar Stoloniferous saxifrage and Svalbard’s “National” plant, the Svalbard Poppy.
The afternoon was spent traveling to Longyearbyen, where we will disembark. It is sad to say goodbye to good friends we have met during this journey, but we have all good memories to take home.
