National Geographic Explorer continued south into Krossfjorden to begin our last full day exploring the Svalbard Archipelago. The weather could not have been more ideal: blue skies, calm waters, and the stillness of brisk Arctic air. Krossfjorden had more snow than was expected but still made for a nice morning hike. We trekked through thick, white snow alongside prints left by an arctic fox. The view from the rocky summit was mesmerizing.
Pairs of explorers ventured out in tandem kayaks for a paddle through the crystal waters, shallow enough to view the kelp on the seafloor. An arctic fox scampered along the rocky hillside with a barnacle goose’s egg in his mouth while flocks of black-legged kittiwakes warned each other of his presence.
In the early afternoon, we arrived in Stefan’s Garden to take our final Zodiac cruise for this expedition. A bearded seal napped on a nearby ice floe. Our evening concluded with a fantastic captain’s dinner celebration that was punctuated by a blue whale sighting! What a beautiful day in the Arctic!
