M/S Stockholm has anchored in Lady Franklinfjorden. Or rather in a small branch of it. It’s a place rarely visited because of the mostly uncharted waters in the fjord and its closest surroundings. Our experienced captain navigates us through the unknown territory safely, however.
We are completely alone, the morning is dead calm and there is no wind and not a ripple on the water. Our goal is to make a Zodiac cruise close to the Franklin glacier and to an ice floe of pack ice drifting on the western side of the fjord.
After breakfast, we head towards the ice flow with the Zodiacs and discover a lot of seals lying on the ice. It's ringed seals and bearded seals. Some lying close to the edge and some much further in where they must have dug out a breathing hole for themselves.
Bergy bits and larger icebergs from the glacier are drifting close to us. The weather is so calm that the icebergs reflection in the water is like a mirror of itself but up-side down. Blue ice in the dark water. It’s like a painting. We steer closer to the glacier and find more seals but now they are swimming in the water. They seem to be curious of the boats and pop up their heads close to us to have a look.
The glacier is alive and now and then we can hear thunderous sounds when it breaks and large bits of ice falls in to the water. In one corner there is a lot of ice debris and suddenly a large piece of the glacier breaks off and falls into the water. A hugs splash sends waves all over the fjord and the zodiacs rocks gently in the aftermath.
On the way out of the bay a group of pink footed geese swims by. M/S Stockholm awaits us and soon we all sit in the saloon having a great lunch talking about our last polar experience.
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.
