This morning, everyone still had vivid memories of last night’s sunny bear encounter. However, a new day started, and it promised new adventures. Before breakfast, our ship was positioned near Kapp Lee, where we planned a landing to stretch our legs for the first time on Svalbard soil. A scouting party went out and came back with a negative result. There was too much ice and deep snow on the landing. In expedition style, our plan quickly changed. The ship entered the spectacular channel of Freemansundet, located between Edgeoya and Barentsoya Islands. Soon after breakfast, naturalist Jackie Weston gave a presentation entitled “Introduction to Polar Bear Biology,” which helped us understand more about our observations last night.
The day was beautiful, and the sun was shining. It was so calm that reflections of the mountains on the sea were exact replicas of the originals. A better day for kayaking would be hard to imagine. We stopped in the middle of the ocean, far away from the still visible but distant shoreline. Two activities were offered to guests–more kayaking or Zodiac cruising. Lots of small icebergs and brash ice were scattered around, requiring a lot of maneuvering for these small vessels. The water was so transparent that we could easily see the deep underwater bases of the icebergs.
After evening recap and dinner, guests had the opportunity to observe walruses, individuals and groups, as the ship made its way north in the floating ice fields.
