What a unbelievable start. Clear skies, sunshine and no wind. As a Svalbard local you know that is something worth celebrating in itself. We started off the entire adventure with a landing at Camp Zöe.
Here we did a rather long walk to the very top of FlakMountain, with a view that is worth every drop of sweat shed - glaciers on glaciers in-between tall rugged peaks. Camp Zöe is an old trappers cabin located in Krossfjorden, an area filled with centuries of history, a lot to both look at and talk about. Almost everyone did the long hike and got to enjoy the view of the vast landscape on the top.
In the evening we were planning to go to Ny-Ålesund, a small research settlement that is now filled with scientists who study everything from small flowers on the tundra, to black holes in our universe.
Halfway there we spotted a female polar bear, the first one of the trip! It did not take us many seconds to make the choice to lower our Zodiacs so we could approach a little closer. After a perfect and calm observation of (the rather very lazy) female, we continued our journey to Ny-Ålesund.
After docking up at the pier, we spent a couple of hours walking around “town”, enjoying the weather, the stories and the bizarre contrast of this small settlement and the surrounding landscape.
Most guests were tired after an hectic and eventful day in the late evening, but oh no - it was not over yet! As we were sailing around Ossían Sars (a bird cliff located in the same fjord as Ny-Ålesund), it popped up a mother with a 2 year old cub!
The guests halfway into bed, sprung back up and headed up to the outer decks, half dressed and some even in bath robes! You must love the enthusiasm onboard!
Please note: Depending on the lens used for a photo or video shot an animal may appear to be closer than it is. We always follow strict wildlife guidelines to ensure that we do not cause any disturbance.
