Bellsund, Van Keulenfjorden & Van Mijenfjorden
As the day winds to a close in the High Arctic, we are bathed in bright sunshine, with amazing snow-covered peaks to starboard. Tonight we will experience the most beautiful light in the land of the midnight sun as we continue our journey northward. But this has been a glorious day, filled with great wildlife encounters, so we should start at the beginning.
Cruising north on the west side of Spitsbergen, this morning’s exploration drew us into Bellsund with the intention of finding fast ice and perhaps our number one fascination, polar bears. After breakfast, we had our first landing in the High Arctic at the western tip of Nathorst Land, the area between the two majestic fjords that branch off from Bellsund. It was a beautiful spot for walks with vast snowy scenic views contrasting with macro views of tiny magenta saxifrage flowers blooming on the exposed tundra. Zodiac cruisers were thrilled by close sightings of walrus, and then by an arctic fox with its prey.
We continued on into Van Keulenfjorden, with expert eyes constantly scanning the ice and the shore. As lunch was drawing to a close our Expedition Leader, Bud, made the announcement we’d all been hoping for – a polar bear had been spotted ahead of the ship in the broken fast ice. It’s a very predictable way to clear the dining areas, as everyone quickly made their way to one of the forward deck areas. At first it was hard to spot the bear ahead, even more so to imagine the experienced eyes that found it 15 minutes earlier amid the distant jumble of ice. The Captain very slowly navigated the ship closer and closer for great views of what was not only the first polar bear of the National Geographic Explorer’s Arctic season, but also, a bear on a kill! We continued to approach as gently as possible, and watched with hushed whispers of exclamation and excitement. The bear kept an eye on us as it continued to eat the last chunks of what was likely to have been a ringed seal earlier in the day. We pulled away just as the polar bear silently slipped into the water and swam off into the ice.
As we sailed away, we suddenly found ourselves very close to a bearded seal on an ice floe, somewhat unperturbed by our presence. Its face was perfectly mirrored in the flat calm sea. Shutters whirled away at yet another great photo opportunity.
As we furthered our exploration into the northern arm of the sound, Van Mijenfjorden, we quickly discovered two things. First, the fast ice was still very thick up into the fjord, and second, there was another polar bear out in this expansive plain of ice. Though the views were distant, we saw the bear walking towards the center of the fjord, only to return towards the north side and to the seal kill it had been feeding on. Captain Kruess pushed the ship forward into the pack ice, until the ice was too thick, with the distance in thick ice too far to reach without disturbing the animal. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to find yet another of these top predators out in its favorite environment.
As the ship was turning away from the thick fast ice, a walrus was seen off in the pack ice. The Captain proceeded to edge the ship slowly, but steadily forward until we had good views of a younger male walrus out on the ice. To our stern, the view was stunning with gorgeous colors reflected in the water amid the broken ice, and dramatic snow covered mountains in the background. And now, we are sailing north in the brilliant sunshine towards tomorrow’s adventure.
Ahhhhh, what an amazing day to be in Svalbard.
