Magdalenefjorden
Our last full day exploring Svalbard began early. The view was of grey ice against a grey background of sky. Besides a few rocks here and there to break up the restricted palette there was little detail or contrast to pick out. Polar bears were sighted, a few walking at some distance and one male plunging down through very thin ice and then remerging to pull himself out and continue on his search for seals. The ship was in Woodfjorden, a very large open bay on the northwest side of Spitsbergen Island. The search continued all morning interspersed with the final presentations of the voyage.
Late in the morning and during lunch the ship repositioned around to the west side of the island and to Magdalenefjorden. Sharp-eyed lookouts on the bridge sighted no bears and the decision was made to launch the kayaks and Zodiacs for a last time. A small group made their way up to a substantial little auk/dovekie colony in the talus rocks. Great views were had by all. Plying the waters of the bay was very peaceful for both the kayakers and the Zodiac cruisers, many small blue pieces of ice called growlers for their sound effects as they buffeted along the hulls of ships of yesteryear were viewed and awed. The face of the glacier was creviced and let go of some nice pieces as the tide ate away at the face of the slow moving river of ice.
Later in the evening we went looking for marine mammals off the west coast of Spitsbergen, our last adventure before packing our belongings and memories from the week.
