June 02 - Svalbard

 Jun 02 - Svalbard 

OMG what a start to the day, clear blue, the sun’s out, no wind, and the sea is like a millpond, it’s just beautiful! The weather can only go in one direction from here 😄


This morning was spent doing ‘domestic’ type duties, lifeboat practice, safety drills, zodiac procedures, fitting checks of clothing etc and then just generally exploring our way around the ship. 


After lunch (I’d forgotten how much food they provide on these trips!), was our first exploration of the trip. Overnight we’d sailed to Fjortende Julibukta (14th July Bay, named after the French Independence Day!) and we were now off to check it out.  


These zodiac excursions from the ship generally have a number of formats:


Sea based - only going out on the zodiacs

Ground based roaming - we’re left to wander but within certain limits

Ground based hiking - small groups that are guide led, and

Hybrid - any mixture of the above


Our afternoon started with a birdwatching tour by zodiac. Generally following the coastline, but also manoeuvring between large blocks of ice, there were quite a lot of Puffins, Guillemots, Little Auks and Kittiwakes - it was beautiful.  The zodiac ‘drivers’ are generally experts in some other kind of natural science and so it’s great having them pass on their expertise while we’re out on the water. 

For part two of our excursion we were dropped off on shore for some free roaming.  Again, the guides are out and about and always ready to answer questions on what’s around. At one point we stopped to talk to one of the ornithologists who, with his scope, showed us some nesting geese. As a bonus though he also pointed out a reindeer.  We were both a little surprised as this was white, and not brown (plus Santa was nowhere to be seen! 😅), but Tom the guide explained that this was his white winter coat which he would now start to lose. 

This evening, and before taking off to tomorrow’s destination, the captain took us on a bit of a cruise along the front of a glacier.  With the late evening sun the views were magnificent. 





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