Three Arctic Islands - Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, Aug 2012

Svalbard

We boarded the Akademik Sergei Vavilov in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago.  The Vavilov is a sister ship to the Akademik Ioffee, and very nicely designed.  
August is a good time to visit the Arctic.  Days are still long, the animals are actively feeding up ahead of winter, and vegetation is starting to change to its autumn colours.

We left late in the afternoon and headed north of Spitsbergen.  Lilliehook Glacier was just beautiful to cruise around by zodiac – we saw a small calving, and seals popped their heads up from time to time to check us out.  A very handsome Bearded seal was lying on a iceflow in the sun – he was happy having his photo taken, and although his whiskers were ripe for “tweaking,” I refrained!  

In Holmiabukta, we came across a polar bear on a small island  – our outboard motors scared it into the water, giving us the opportunity to see just how fast these magnificent animals can swim.  We kept our distance and it finally landed, walking up to a high point on another small island, before resting.

Late in the evening of August 10, we reached our northern most 80oN – we’d hope to find ice, but there was none at that point.  

The following day we sailed into Ny Alesund, a small town on the coast of Spitsbergen where signs warn you “Do not walk beyond this sign without a weapon.”  Ny Alesund has significant history.  In 1926, Roald Amundsen & two others, set off in the airship, Norge, to cross the North Pole - they succeeded, landing in Teller Alaska.  Eleven institutions from 10 countries have established research stations here, at least three of which are permanently manned.

At Poolepynten, we saw walrus hauled out, snoozing on the beach.  Our later visit to Alkhornet, involved climbing a small cliff from the beach, a walk on the tundra with reindeer far off in the distance, and coming across polar bear scat filled with hair.

Then it was time to sail west, across the gentle and foggy Greenland Sea to Scoresbysund, East Greenland.