In the morning, while the ship sailed northwest, two presentations were offered to guests. Serguei Ponomarenko spoke on, “Norwegian and World Boreal Forests”, and was followed by Lisa Lapointe’s, “Birds of Svalbard and coastal Norway”. During lunch, the ship entered Nordfjorden, a deep fjord within Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park (translated as Black Ice Glacier). Several activities awaited our guests. The weather was right for kayaking operations, and our yellow “banana” kayaks were lowered into the water. There was also an option to combine kayaking with a bushwhacking moderate or strenuous hike to an overlook, from which we could see impressive fjords, our ship, and the tiny kayaks well below.
After dinner, National Geographic Endurance stopped in Traena, a small, picturesque town located in the Arctic Circle. The guests had free time in town to visit a local museum, art gallery, two chapels, and a famous Havfolkets Hus pub.
