Hornsund
In the early morning we found ourselves back on the west coast of Spitsbergen and entered the large fjord system of Hornsund. The wind was funneling down the fjord but a relatively sheltered landing site was found on the southern shore and from here we set out on hikes to explore the tundra.
Everyone had the opportunity to see the remains of expeditions that have used this site as a base – whether for whaling and hunting or the Swedish Arc of the Meridian expedition that was based here a little over a hundred years ago. Several groups were able to scramble up onto the terminal moraine of a large glacier. Most people had the chance to see a Svalbard reindeer and a few people had a closer encounter with an Arctic tern than they might have liked. These birds will vigorously defend their very well camouflaged nest sites by dive-bombing any invaders – whether people or reindeer.
The afternoon was spent at sea, cruising to reach areas on the north coast of Spitsbergen where we will continue our search for wildlife tomorrow. But the search was not over for today. A distant whale blow proved to be that of a fin whale – the second largest animal on the planet (after the blue whale). On this occasion our efforts to obtain closer looks at this animal were not rewarded, but the sight of the blows of this animal reminded us both of the richness of the marine environment and the chance encounters with wildlife that are very much a part of this expedition.
