Monacobreen, Spitsbergen Island
Our first day started off quite well as the eagle eye spotters on the bridge found our first polar bear of the trip right around breakfast time. The views were distant but the search continued as we made our way along Woodfjord, which indents into the north coast of Spitsbergen Island. Not too long later a second much larger bear was sighted, and not just larger because we were able to get closer – this was a large male bear. He took a few looks at us before continuing to rest on the Devonian Old Red Sandstone that contrasted so much with his creamy colored fur.
Later in the morning, a briefing was held regarding Svalbard and why protecting this amazing place is our responsibility. Late in the morning, the Captain moved the ship past Monacobreen, a wide low glacier named for the Prince of Monaco who travelled here in 1899 to do some hunting and survey the area.
We moved only a short distance during lunch and then setup the ship for an afternoon out in our Zodiacs and kayaks. We were out on the water, up close and personal with the ice and rocks of the fjord. Kayakers enjoyed a calm and quiet paddle towards the ice, viewing some spectacular calving, or breaking of the face of this tidewater glacier. Those in the Zodiacs were able to get closer to the ice face and see many seabirds searching for melt water streams along the face of the ice. On their way back, they discovered one of these upwelling streams that afforded great views of the blacklegged kittiwake, a medium-sized gull feeding on the invertebrate creatures stirred up by the mixing of the waters.
This evening we enjoyed the hospitality of Captain Skog and his officers before sailing during dinner for 80 degrees north and a possible chance to see walrus.
