After several exciting days in the Svalbard Archipelago we now head towards Greenland on this, our first sea day on a magnificent Arctic voyage. To put our recent adventures into perspective, our young nine-year-old explorer reporter, Charlotte Fisher, shares her own reflections and those of other guests she has interviewed today.
A relaxing day at sea was pleasantly interrupted after lunch by the appearance of a great blue whale in the middle of nowhere in the Arctic seas. This enormous animal proved to be one of the small minority of blue whales that lift their tail up when sounding and we were treated to several surface intervals and fluke-up dives by the feeding giant in gentle seas.
Here’s Charlotte’s journal:
Sunday
My mother, grandmother and I just arrived at the National Geographic Explorer ship. We will be going through Svalbard and Greenland for fourteen nights. I am so excited!! We flew to a tiny town, the northernmost settlement in the world called Longyearbyen, and climbed up the stairs to the ship and unpacked. I looked out the window and I knew that it would be a good trip. They call this place the land of the midnight sun for a reason. It is ten o’clock at night and it looks like noon. It is pretty amazing!! We saw a blue whale tonight and it was huge! The whale is actually the biggest animal on the planet so that makes everything awesome. You can tell that the people really care about nature here. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
Monday
Today we got to go kayaking!! I saw puffins in huge groups sitting close up on rocks, along with black guillemots. There were also many beautiful flowers. The island was covered in grass because bird poop (ew!) is a great fertilizer. I am having a lot of fun and I am glad I came on this trip.
Tuesday
Today we saw our first polar bear!! Its blond fur helped him blend in with the snow. The polar bear was large and muscular. There was a bearded seal lying on the ice that the polar bear almost ate, but the seal rolled into the water at the last minute. It was amazing!!
Wednesday
Today my mom woke me up early because there were walruses on the ice. Soon after we saw a polar bear, and after that we saw another one that was skinny and therefore hungry and dangerous. It was also covered in dirt so it blended in with the ground. We also got to hear talks about polar bears and sea ice. They were both good but made me worry about global warming. The walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) were amazing!! They were huge, in fact, the largest pinniped in the Arctic.
Thursday
Today I interviewed some people on the ship and asked them, “What have you enjoyed most on this trip?” Here is what they said: “Blubbertown (Smeerenburg) and the Polar Plunge”; “Seeing a polar bear go after a seal”; “Seeing the walruses”; “The amazing calving”; “Walking in the snow brought back fond memories”; “It was so exciting to see red phalaropes in the pond in Ny Ålesund.”
We celebrated the Fourth of July on board today with a visit from a blue whale and time to reflect on our experiences in Svalbard the past days. Onward to Greenland!
