Storfjord, Freemansundet, Heleysundt
Some of the most memorable experiences in expedition travel are the experiences that are unplanned, unscheduled, not expected….they just happen! You won’t find these experiences listed in the details of your pre-trip package. When you travel, you place yourself in a position that allows serendipity to participate in your exploration. Today’s explorations produced this type of memorable experience, and the Arctic is the perfect place for it all to come together. The experience is exhibited in photos and descriptions by our fellow explorers. This embodies the “thing” of the Arctic experience.
Excerpts from guest Robert Gould’s daily report:
“We awoke this morning to find ourselves in northern Storfjord. The morning was sunny and beautiful. During breakfast our expedition leader, Bud, announced that our landing would need to be cancelled and the destination for our morning hikes relocated due to a polar bear spotted on shore. The National Geographic Explorer then sailed north and east into Freemansundet …..as we hiked, Svalbard reindeer were grazing and fording a small stream…..many small blooming flowers were discovered during our hikes, Svalbard poppies, yellow buttercups, and purple saxifrage…..in the later afternoon the vessel passed through Heleysundt. The waterway is very narrow and separates Barentsoya from Spitsbergen. Everyone was on deck as we crunched through single year ice floes. We were surrounded by glacier covered mountains on all sides.”
The hikes included an opportunity for those interested in photography to practice their skills along with the National Geographic Explorer’s professional photographers. The backdrop as described by Robert, “high clouds and a very light breeze provided a warm atmosphere for our activities on the gentle plain of Talaveraflya on the south shore of Borentsoya.”
As we completed our dinner we were greeted by yet another announcement of Arctic wildlife, “We have just sighted a mother polar bear and cub on the ice flow directly ahead, please join us on the bow.”
In the land of the midnight sun, our exploration “day” is 24 hours long…and as we have heard many times on this voyage, “you can sleep when you get home.”
Expedition travel…the thing is in the doing!
