Nordauslandet, East Svalbard
The day began with another fortunate observation of polar bears, more numerous but more distant than before. We stayed on the ship in the morning, cruising towards Svalbard's north eastern island of Nordauslandet, 'the cold corner', bound for Torellneset, in the island's south west. At a distance there was more of the fog that has been present during the past few days, though it was not an impediment to our ability to see wildlife. The day never completely cleared, but it did lighten to the west in the afternoon, diffused by the layer of fog, and breaking through above the horizon, revealing an Arctic sky of pastel blue - Arctic light.
Mid morning found our group again gathered in the lounge for the morning's panel presentation and discussion, which was to focus on innovative leadership, asking if leaders are 'made' in times of crisis, and how some achieve remarkable breakthroughs.
If conditions had allowed during the afternoon, we might have gone as far north in the Hinlopen Stretet (strait) as Kapp Fanshawe, but the quantity of ice in the area prevented us from doing so. Instead, on entering Hinlopen Stretet we turned to the north east and dropped anchor at Torellneset, on the extreme south west of Nordauslandet. Shortly before reaching our anchorage, we passed a large haulout of some 40 walrus. With all guests ashore, the various groups departed for long, medium and short hikes. The long distance hikers headed up above the beach and over the wind-formed gravel levels above it towards a mist-shrouded peak to the west, while those on the shorter hikes set off over the levels to spend more time looking at plants and stopping for photographs while making their way to where they could have a longer look at the walruses we had seen from the ship.
Back at the landing site, after a fortified hot chocolate, everyone returned to the ship for the afternoon panel presentation, which was an exchange of ideas about perceptions of climate change prior to this journey, and how much they had altered by this stage of it.
Convening before dinner, we were again treated to the beautiful piano and violin playing of Eugenia Choi and Carol Wong, the guest musicians who have added so much to our journey. This time, they played us some gentle and uplifting Massenet and a seemingly amazingly technical piece by Ravel. As was the case last time they played, we were spellbound by the brief performance, snapping back to reality as it ended, and rising to a standing ovation.
Dinner followed, and, later, the National Geographic Endeavour seemed to glide through an ethereal world where birds and ice floes drifted by suspended somewhere in an indistinguishable place between the gray of the water and the white-gray of the fog that had again shrouded us. The bar was busy until late, and full of the hum of talk of our voyage, of the next steps for the important work being done here, of business, and, simply, with new-found friends.
Later, we ventured down the west coast of Barentsoya, named for Dutch explorer Wilhelm Barents, and into Freemansundet, between it and the larger island of Edgeoya, to its south. The name Edgoya having come from the combination of the name of a British Explorer called Edge, with the Norwegian word oya, meaning island.
By coincidence, I stumbled on a piece of poetry today that seemed curiously appropriate at this latter stage of our voyage, and considering its intent and the hard work put in by so many to make it achieve as much as possible:
Then fancies flee away,
I'll care not what men say,
I'll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.
– John Bunyan
The day began with another fortunate observation of polar bears, more numerous but more distant than before. We stayed on the ship in the morning, cruising towards Svalbard's north eastern island of Nordauslandet, 'the cold corner', bound for Torellneset, in the island's south west. At a distance there was more of the fog that has been present during the past few days, though it was not an impediment to our ability to see wildlife. The day never completely cleared, but it did lighten to the west in the afternoon, diffused by the layer of fog, and breaking through above the horizon, revealing an Arctic sky of pastel blue - Arctic light.
Mid morning found our group again gathered in the lounge for the morning's panel presentation and discussion, which was to focus on innovative leadership, asking if leaders are 'made' in times of crisis, and how some achieve remarkable breakthroughs.
If conditions had allowed during the afternoon, we might have gone as far north in the Hinlopen Stretet (strait) as Kapp Fanshawe, but the quantity of ice in the area prevented us from doing so. Instead, on entering Hinlopen Stretet we turned to the north east and dropped anchor at Torellneset, on the extreme south west of Nordauslandet. Shortly before reaching our anchorage, we passed a large haulout of some 40 walrus. With all guests ashore, the various groups departed for long, medium and short hikes. The long distance hikers headed up above the beach and over the wind-formed gravel levels above it towards a mist-shrouded peak to the west, while those on the shorter hikes set off over the levels to spend more time looking at plants and stopping for photographs while making their way to where they could have a longer look at the walruses we had seen from the ship.
Back at the landing site, after a fortified hot chocolate, everyone returned to the ship for the afternoon panel presentation, which was an exchange of ideas about perceptions of climate change prior to this journey, and how much they had altered by this stage of it.
Convening before dinner, we were again treated to the beautiful piano and violin playing of Eugenia Choi and Carol Wong, the guest musicians who have added so much to our journey. This time, they played us some gentle and uplifting Massenet and a seemingly amazingly technical piece by Ravel. As was the case last time they played, we were spellbound by the brief performance, snapping back to reality as it ended, and rising to a standing ovation.
Dinner followed, and, later, the National Geographic Endeavour seemed to glide through an ethereal world where birds and ice floes drifted by suspended somewhere in an indistinguishable place between the gray of the water and the white-gray of the fog that had again shrouded us. The bar was busy until late, and full of the hum of talk of our voyage, of the next steps for the important work being done here, of business, and, simply, with new-found friends.
Later, we ventured down the west coast of Barentsoya, named for Dutch explorer Wilhelm Barents, and into Freemansundet, between it and the larger island of Edgeoya, to its south. The name Edgoya having come from the combination of the name of a British Explorer called Edge, with the Norwegian word oya, meaning island.
By coincidence, I stumbled on a piece of poetry today that seemed curiously appropriate at this latter stage of our voyage, and considering its intent and the hard work put in by so many to make it achieve as much as possible:
Then fancies flee away,
I'll care not what men say,
I'll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.
– John Bunyan
