Svalbard: Forlandsundet, 6/8/2019, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Arctic
The Midnight Sun. What an remarkable phenomenon, and one allowing us to experience a week’s worth of wildlife, all in 24 uninterrupted hours of crisp Norwegian daylight. And today the explorers took full advantage of it. Today, we woke to the beckoning of a blue whale off our bow as we cruised north through Forlandsundet, which set the tone, as it just one of many of the amazing wildlife sightings of the day—including Svalbard reindeer, walruses, and the endemic beluga whale!
Paolo grew up just five miles from the ocean and for as long as he can remember, he’s always spent his free time in and around the water. As a high school student, he volunteered during the summer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and he was an active Jun...
This morning, National Geographic Resolution explored the northeast coast of Spitsbergen Island. On approach to our landing, the ever-watchful spotters on the Bridge found a mother and cub polar bear on fast ice at a comfortable distance from our landing site. On shore, we divided into casual, moderate, and long walkers and set off into the high arctic tundra to explore the barren beauty of this high latitude. The long walkers made it to a high point with an amazing view of the ship and fjord, while the casual and moderate walkers explored the fjord-indented coastline. After lunch, we hopped into Zodiacs for an amazing cruise along the bird cliffs at Alkefjellet. The highlight was the thousands of Brunich’s guillemots nesting on dolerite ledges and covering every available space. Birds, birds everywhere! It was truly a sight to see and hear. We found an arctic fox cruising along the rocky shoreline and incredibly steep terrain, looking for anything (eggs, chicks) falling from the sky. Most of these bird cliffs have a resident fox den beneath them, as the abundance of birds helps sustain them. It was another incredible day at Latitude 79 North!
We made a morning landing at Kapp Lee with reindeers grazing around us, walruses on the beach, and numerous species of birds. We spent the afternoon going through Freemansundet with gorgeous ice and the beautiful National Geographic Resolution gently taking us to the east side of Svalbard. We observed bearded seals and walruses resting on ice. The ship kept constant company with kittiwakes and the Brunnich’s guillemots soaring around us. Two polar bears, a mother and an older cub, shared a meal on the ice. And if all that was not enough, we spent an evening at Austfonna and Brasvellsbreen, watching the longest glacial front in the Northern Hemisphere, with another polar bear walking by. This was a true Svalbard day.
The last full day of the voyage, and we hit a grand slam! We spent the morning with walruses, the afternoon with the largest of all animals, the blue whale, and later we encountered one of the smallest whales, the beluga, the so-called canary of the sea.
