OTL10-22, trip log, Around Spitsbergen, In the realm of Polar Bear & Ice

Today was the day! Our long-awaited Arctic adventure was about to begin (a few years wait for some of us!) our story begins in Longyearbyen, the largest settlement in the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard, where it was time to board M/V Ortelius, the ship that would be our home for the next nine days. What would we see on our travels? We could only guess at this stage, but the smiles on the faces of guests as they arrived showed the excitement everyone was feeling. It was a bright, sunny day alongside the coal pier in Longyearbyen and at 16:00pm guests arrived ready to board for our epic trip. The expedition staff waited on the pier to welcome us aboard and assist with our luggage before guiding us to reception to check in. We had a little time to settle in and get our bearings on board the vessel whilst the bridge team made preparations for the ship to depart from the pier. With everyone aboard, we were called to the lecture room to attend the first of our mandatory briefings; a ship safety briefing from the chief officer and house rules from the assistant hotel manager. The chief officer instructed everyone on what to do in an emergency and how the recognise the various alarms. This included the instructions on what to do in the case of an abandon ship alarm including how to put on our emergency life jackets. On completion of the briefings, we took part in an abandon ship drill and gathered at our assigned muster stations on the sounding of the alarm. Then it was time for the Captain’s welcome and our second briefing of the evening. We all enjoyed raising a glass of our chosen beverage in celebration of starting the voyage whilst Captain Mika Appel introduced himself and welcomed everybody. This was followed by the mandatory AECO (Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators) briefing to inform visitors of responsible behaviour towards the environment, people and wildlife of the Arctic during their visit to this region. It was then time for dinner so we made our way down to the restaurant on deck four for the first time. A delicious dinner buffet awaited us with a variety of dishes prepared by head chef Heinz and his galley team, served by our friendly dining room staff. After dinner we were called to one final meeting in the lecture room to collect our muck boots, essential for our zodiac cruises and shore landings. Once everyone had a pair of boots the formal itinerary for the day was over allowing the us some free time wandering the decks or head to our cabins to get a good night of rest before our first full day of the trip tomorrow.

Our day started with a 7:30 wake-up call from Expedition Leader (EL) Claudio inviting us to the dining room for a wonderful breakfast to prepare us for the long day ahead. An hour later we headed down to the lecture room to finish up the various mandatory briefings required for us to take part in the activities. These covered everything from how to properly dress in the Arctic to how to safely enter the zodiacs. Then it was finally time for our very first expedition activity: a zodiac cruise around the stunning Fjortende Julibukta! We watched with excitement as the crew and guides prepared and launched ten zodiacs. The weather was beautiful and sunny without a breath of wind. Then it was time for us to load into our zodiacs and head off into the bay. There was a variety of things to see including some beautiful bird cliffs where we saw our first Atlantic Puffins! Alongside these colourful birds we also saw Brunnich’s Guillemots, Black Guillemots, Little Auks, Glaucous Gulls and Black Legged Kittiwakes. We heard the Kittiwakes before we saw them; they were the loudest on the cliff face and even more of them soared above in the higher levels of the mountain. Some of us were lucky enough to see an Arctic Fox running under the kittiwake colonies on the upper levels of the cliffs. We then started pushing our way through the ice to the glacier front. As we got closer the brash ice and smaller pieces of ice became denser. Some of the small icebergs we saw were beautiful in shape and colour, with the striking blue pieces being a firm favourite. The ice front loomed ahead of us and spread across the edge of the bay at an impressive two kilometres wide. We learned about the receding glaciers due to higher temperatures and about how this glacier was receding at approximately 600 metres per year. After some time cruising the front of the glacier it was time to return to the ship for lunch. We enjoyed a wonderful buffet in the restaurant while the ship was repositioned for our next adventure. We arrived at Signehamna in the mid afternoon and our guides headed to scout the shore for bears to make sure it was safe to land. They quickly came back after sighting a Polar Bear and her cub on the hill side! For this reason, there was a change of plan and our scheduled landing was converted to a zodiac cruise. We all loaded into the zodiacs again and headed straight for where the bears were sighted. There nestled on top of the hill was a little polar bear cub and its mum sleeping peacefully. We stayed and watched them for some time then we started cruising the rest of the bay. They were quite some distance so binoculars were a must for today. A Walrus and a Bearded Seal were spotted amongst the ice but at quite some distance. We continued our cruise of the ice around the bay and then it started to rain so it was time to return to the ship. The ship moved slightly closer to the location of the bear so we could still observe them resting on the hillside. Then it was time for our 18:30pm recap where Claudio gave us the plan for tomorrow. This was then followed by an introduction to the birds of Svalbard presentation by Miriam which included many birds that we had seen today. After this it was time for dinner, which was a wonderful plated menu designed to delight. Finally, the program was finished for the day and we could spend some time in the bar chatting with friends and making new ones or turn in for an early night ready for tomorrow.

This morning we arrived at Monacobreen, named after Albert 1st duke of Monaco, who was responsible for formulating and financing expeditions to create navigational charts for this glacier and the surrounding area for the first time in 1906. We experienced lovely calm sea conditions for our zodiac cruise along this spectacular glacier front and enjoyed being driven through the brash ice. The overcast skies gave perfect conditions for photographing the ice with the grey clouds emphasizing the blue hues of the icebergs. The glacier was very active and we witnessed numerous calving events (from a safe distance) with huge segments of ice crashing down into the water. We heard the rumbling of ice deep within the glacier, an atmospheric and awe-inspiring sound described as ‘white thunder’. We marveled at the power and beauty of this gigantic frozen river of ice making its way to the sea from 14km away up in the mountains, where it began as snowflakes hundreds of years ago, falling one on top of the other. For the wildlife lovers, this morning gave good birding including Arctic Terns, Black-Legged Kittiwakes, Northern Fulmar, Glaucous Gull, Black Guillemot and Little Auk. The star of the morning for our feathered friends though were numerous Ivory Gulls, a much sought-after species for many guests who visit this region. These beautiful birds have pure white plumage with a blue tinged beak with a yellow tip. They could be seen flying to and fro along the glacier front. In terms of mammals, some Bearded Seals were observed swimming. One was very curious and delighted guests when it swam up to our zodiacs to investigate us. We had great views of its wonderful curly whiskers! We then returned back on board and Ortelius relocated to Texas Bar. On arrival, once the expedition team had established there were no polar bears around, guests were taken ashore via zodiacs. Once on land, people took part in a longer hike, medium/shorter walks or simply enjoyed the shoreline and Texas Bar cabin. We admired the vegetation and plant life, especially the Moss Campion, Mountain Avens and beautiful Polar Campion. We avoided a territorial pair of Arctic Skua as best we could; they evidently had chicks in the area and were understandably defending their brood from us as a perceived threat. Alongside the flora and fauna, we enjoyed a lovely waterfall and spectacular views across the bay looking back towards Monacobreen. To finish off the day we sailed above 80° North! We celebrated with a happy hour in the bar and were excited to pass nearby to the island of Moffen. This island is a protected Walrus haul out and whilst maintain the mandatory distance of 500m we were thrilled to observe at least forty of these gigantic beasts doing what they do best; laying around together in a big pile of blubber and tusks! They are surely one of the most iconic, entertaining and captivating animals of the Arctic and we hoped we would see them again in the coming days.

Overnight we sailed to the northernmost islands of Svalbard – the Seven Islands! Very few people reach this remote and harsh destination. The land is truly barren with hardly any vegetation; its richness is not necessarily in the plant life, but in its fauna. The impression of hostile environment was magnified by foggy and humid weather, with dense clouds forming over the surrounding peaks. Our Expedition Leader Claudio woke us up via the PA with an exciting announcement: a Polar Bear had been spotted from the bridge! The team immediately changed the original day schedule and, instead of a landing on Parryøya, at 9:00am we were ready to take a zodiac cruise along the shore of Phippsøya, a small island named after a British explorer Constantine John Phipps, who visited it in 1773. The bear was laying behind a small trapper cabin in Isflakbukta (The Ice Floe Bay) just some hundreds of metres from us and its every smallest move was documented on thousands of our photographs. Some of us doubted before the trip began that we would see the king of the Arctic at all and now our bear count for the trip was already at three! Groups of Walrus also passed by us, extending their heads and tusks high above the water as they eyed us with curiosity. After yesterday’s long-distance sighting at Moffen it was amazing to see walruses at closer range (but not too close, inflatable zodiacs and walrus tusks don’t mix…!) We were starting to feel a bit chilly due to the wind and this, combined with it being lunch time, meant we had to say goodbye to these wonderful animals and head back to Ortelius at 11:00am. After the lunch our ship moved towards another island of the group, Parryøya, where we planned to land to see a true Arctic desert tundra in the area of Sundvika bay. The cold winds were now reaching nearly 20 knots creating a fair bit of swell. This made embarkation to the zodiacs and the cruise journey to the bay’s sandy beach a little wet and wild! At around 15:00pm we went ashore and, with the Expedition Team having formed a perimeter around the landing site, we were given the freedom to roam around. The landscape was composed of steep, sharply pointed summits with patches of ice plastered gently along their slopes, a short, crescent shaped sandy beach and a small lake. Arctic Skuas and Black-Legged Kittiwakes provided avian interest. At 16:30pm it started raining so we quickly made our way back to zodiacs. This time the cruise was even more wet and windy and each passenger received at least a splash of cold Arctic water, despite the zodiac drivers doing their very best! Before dinner our expedition leader announced exciting plans for tomorrow: to cruise far north into the Arctic Ocean and into the pack ice! Subsequently, as part of the evening’s recap, our expedition guide Hazel gave a great short lecture about Arctic pinnipeds, including walruses, giving us tips on how to identify the species we hoped to encounter during our day in the ice. At 19:00pm we enjoyed another delicious dinner, after which some of use stayed late in the bar discussing the wonderful wildlife sightings we had experienced today.

When we awoke this morning there was no ice to be seen; it was so far north that we needed to travel a little more time than expected to find it. As we travelled we first started to see small pieces and then more and more large pieces until eventually we arrived among the pack ice! It felt like we had been transported to another world. We also began spotting numerous seals; these were Ringed Seals and Harp Seals, swimming in the water among the segments of ice. But what about the ruler of the Arctic? Where was the polar bear? We found one of those too! We were so lucky to find it out in this frozen seascape. Initially it was quite far away but with binoculars people were able to see this beautiful, well-fed Polar Bear. Our luck continued though because, believe it or not, the bear walked towards our ship! When it arrived nearby Ortelius at the edge of the ice it was so curious that it took to the water started swimming to inspect us closer. We stayed at our position with the ship and marvelled as this impressive animal swam powerfully through the ice despite some large swell. After checking us out for a short time it swam away from us back towards the ice and we went to enjoy our delicious lunch. During lunchtime the bear climbed out of the water and back onto the ice. As he or she (we could not be entirely sure of the gender) walked away it was time for a last glimpse before saying goodbye to this beautiful bear. Our wildlife sightings did not end there though, there were plenty of birds to see too. During the morning there were Northern Fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes and Little Auks flying around the ship. The avian stars of the day though were the pure white Ivory Gull the strikingly plumaged Sabine’s Gull. While cruising alongside the ice edge we saw yet more Harp Seals with their blackish faces and back marking which is said to resemble a harp (hence their name). At around three o’clock it was time for a hot chocolate with rum and whipped cream at the bow of the ship. Yum! Alongside enjoying the incredible views and wildlife outside, the Expedition Team offered a varied programme of lectures. Hazel gave the first talk of the day about polar bears at 10:30am and later in the afternoon, when the wind picked up and the fog came in at 16:00pm, Szymon gave a lecture about sea ice. The two lectures were very well picked, because we saw a polar bear on the sea ice! At the end of the afternoon the fog became thicker and the bridge team skilfully navigated Ortelius back into open water, heading Southwards. After such a fantastic day we wondered what excitement and new experiences would await us tomorrow!

Our day started earlier than usual at 6:30am with an announcement from Expedition Leader Claudio that Polar Bears had been spotted on the beach at an area called Hingstsletta which we were passing by! We were asked to get ready straight away so we all excitedly put on our outdoor gear and waterproofs and lined up at the gangway while the zodiacs were prepared. We were in for a great treat this morning: There were not one, not two, but six bears on the beach! A female with two large cubs were at the shore near the remains of a dead animal (most likely a walrus). The mother and one of the cubs were resting next to each other, but the other cub was extremely active. We watched as it dug and stomped around the carcass and ate some of the flesh. Two other bears, likely another female with a cub, rested further back from the shore nearby and the sixth bear was more distant, resting in a patch of snow on the hillside. The zodiacs snaked in and out as a line so we could slowly get closer without disturbing the bears. We cruised the bears for forty-five minutes and then it was time to get back to the ship for breakfast and start the scheduled itinerary for the day. Whilst we enjoyed our breakfast the ship was repositioned to a place called Alkefjellet, well known as one of the most beautiful sites on Svalbard and a firm favourite among guests and guides. Once again, we loaded up into our zodiacs, and approached the huge dolomite pillared cliffs. First, we passed the high waterfalls of meltwater pouring the from the cliffs into the sea beside us. The spray and the sound gave an almost ethereal ambience to the whole experience. We slowly cruised the cliff face spotting the odd small group of Brünnich’s Guillemots dotted around the cliff face. However, this was nothing compared to what we would find around the corner. As we rounded one of the large columns first, we could hear the cacophony of bird calls coming from the cliff face. From a distance the sky looked as if it were filled with insects but as got closer the huge colony of hundreds of thousands of birds caught our eyes. As we passed along the cliff face we could see it was filled with Brünnich’s Guillemots, Black Guillemots and Glaucous Gulls. As we continued our journey, they flew in droves over our head. Some headed down to the water and others just soaring around us. In amongst the dolomite pillars there were several green pastures where we managed to spot some Arctic Foxes scurrying around on the hillside. Two hours passed by rapidly and, before we knew it, it was time to go back to the ship for lunch. Whilst at lunch, the ship was repositioned again for our next and final activity for the day. We were supposed to land at a place called Torrelneset but unfortunately the fog had come down making it impossible for the bear scouts to complete their task. So instead, we enjoyed plan B, which was a zodiac cruise of the area and of the ice calved from nearby glaciers. We spotted some Walrus on the beach and in the water, where they popped up to look at us! There were also some Svalbard Reindeer on the snow on the hillside. The top birding spot of the afternoon was two Sabine’s Gulls on the water in amongst the icebergs. We weaved our way in amongst the ice before turning back to get back to the ship just in time for recap. Claudio gave us the plan for the next day and then we headed down for dinner full of stories of the day.

Our Expedition leader Claudio woke us up at 7:15am announcing weather conditions, our location and the plans for this morning. Taking a look outside we could experience what Claudio had said: dense fog was reducing the expedition team’s ability to spot polar bears on our way through Freemansundet to Kapp Lee (our morning destination). Luckily, just before our scheduled arrival time the fog cleared and we could see our landing site. This was not only vital in terms of scouting for bears but also meant we could see that Walrus were present at the site, which is a regular haul out. Whilst we ate breakfast the expedition team launched zodiacs, leaving Ortelius to prepare the landing site for us to see the walruses at closer range and to scout on foot for bears to ensure our safety on land. We were desperately hoping to go ashore but the expedition team had to evacuate after spotting a Polar Bear inland during their scouting. When all of the team were safely back at the shore Expedition Leader Claudio made an announcement for guests to inform them that we would be doing a zodiac cruise instead of the landing. Everyone was excited to hear that another polar bear had been spotted and were also looking forward to seeing the Walruses. We had a wonderful morning observing the magnificent wildlife of this high arctic region. It was as if the walrus were keen to make up for the fact we could not go to see them ashore; they were very curious and active, swimming just few meters away around our zodiacs. We had to actively back away from them to ensure we were not too close. After seeing those impressive tusked beasts we went to observe, at safe distance from water, the beautiful polar bear which was resting nearby. After the cruise we came back on Ortelius just in time for lunch, as always galley team prepared for us amazing food and after just few hours we reached our next destination Russebukta. Our plans to go ashore were scuppered when the Expedition Team, during scouting, spotted the 12th Polar Bear of this trip! With excitement we boarded zodiacs for another cruise and all together we could see amazing landscape of dolerite islands with bear on one of them and another walrus haul out near the shore and small groups swimming around our zodiacs. We took wonderful pictures and kept amazing memories from today day. Unfortunately, we had to finish our cruise and return to the ship for dinner and daily recap, After our wonderful walrus filled day we had plenty to talk about as we enjoyed cauliflower and chickpea curry, fish with coconut risotto or chimichurri beef (the only problem was choosing what to have out of these delicious meal choices!)

Overnight we cruised from eastern to southern Svalbard, specifically to the Hornsund fjord in south Spitsbergen. From the early morning the sun was shining from behind clouds and stripes of fog obscuring lower elevations of nearby dramatic mountains. During breakfast, at around 8:00am, we entered the fjord and around 10:30am we were ready to embark zodiacs to explore Gåshamna (meaning ‘the Goose Bay’) with interesting cultural heritage remains from the whaling era and from the late 19th century Arc of Meridian expedition. A small wooden cabin (called Konstantinovka) built near the shore by the Russian scientists played a key role in understanding the shape of our planet! As much as we loved Polar Bears we were glad that none had been spotted by the Expedition Team this morning so that we could go ashore and stretch out legs! Some of us chose to go on a guided hike around the area while others decided to stay near the beach to photograph the ruins of old cabins, a blubber oven and a whale graveyard. Bones from ocean giants killed hundreds of years ago could be seen around the beach on an outwash plain of the Gåsbreen glacier, sitting deeper in the valley. Before 13:00pm, when we all gathered on the beach, the bravest of us jumped into the water in the “polar plunge”! Shortly afterwards we returned to the ship and Ortelius lifted anchor to cruise to the next destination. After lunch, at around 15:15pm, the zodiacs were back on the sea to take us to one of the many stunning areas within Hornsund; a marine-terminating glacier called Paierlbreen within Burgerbukta. This fast-retreating glacier is a true climate warming victim; it has shortened by ~7 kilometres over the past 85 years. This beautiful bay also has some high vertical rockwalls with incredible meltwater waterfalls, many small cirque glaciers on both sides and amazing geology. Some guest were lucky enough to spot Ivory Gull and Icelandic Gull, true highlights for the birders! The bay was filled with thousands of picturesque ice fragments and bergy bits: we wanted to photograph them all! We were all back onboard Ortelius at around 18:00pm and then it was time for EL Claudio to announce plans for tomorrow. Additionally, Miriam and Jakub, two of our guides, elaborated on flowers and glaciers of Svalbard. In the end of the recap session Claudio invited us to join the surprise prepared by our dinning team – an outdoor barbeque! Food, music, beer and wine gathered us together on the ship’s helipad surrounded by amazing scenery with views opening towards nearby mountains and many of the area’s glaciers. The event was a great conclusion of a true expedition day.

We had reached the last day of our expedition, but the fun was far from over as we still had two wonderful landings to enjoy! While we enjoyed a delicious breakfast Ortelius arrived at the location for our morning activity; the beautiful bay of Ymerbukta with the Esmarkbreen glacier. Our expedition guides went ashore first as usual to scout the site for polar bears by zodiac and on land. Polar bear footprints were seen in the muddy sediment near the shore, but after careful scouting no bears were sighted so we began boarding the zodiacs and heading ashore. This was a split landing meaning that whilst half of the guests went ashore the other half went for a zodiac cruise. Once ashore we were able to walk right up to the face of the lateral moraine of the glacier and event touch the glacier which was an incredible experience. We felt humbled to think that this ice had fallen hundreds of years ago at the top of the mountains as individual snowflakes and was now meeting the seawater as a huge, powerful river of ice flowing downwards under its own mighty weight. After taking part in both activities, ashore and by zodiac, it was time to return to Ortelius for lunch, during which the bridge team repositioned the ship for the afternoon’s activity: going ashore at Colesbukta. We enjoyed a hike to see the remains of the derelict buildings which were once the homes and workplaces of the miners and their families who inhabited this historic mining settlement. Alongside the historical interest, we also enjoyed the flora of this botanically diverse site and the wildlife, such as Ringed Plover and Brent Geese and Svalbard Reindeer. After a couple of hours ashore it was time to return to Ortelius for our final evening meal together, but before that it was time for the last recap! Captain Mika joined guests and the Expedition Team in the bar for a final celebratory drink as we raised a glass together to toast the end of a brilliant trip. We looked forward to sharing tales of our expedition with family and friends back home and the slideshow, created by Expedition Team photographer Werner was the perfect end to the final recap. We reflected upon our experiences and remembered all of the special moments we had shared throughout our trip. Having visited Svalbard, we have seen first-hand that this Arctic archipelago is an incredible, beautiful, wilderness and a unique, precious part of our planet.

Our fantastic expedition trip came to an end today. For some, disembarkation took place in the small hours of the morning as they had a very early flight to catch. Others were able to stay on board to enjoy a final breakfast with us before departing. The expedition team and helpful crew had taken care of luggage, so all that remained was to say our goodbyes: to our newly made friends, fellow travellers and everyone on board Ortelius whom we had come to know over the past nine days. Some of us had time left to enjoy exploring Svalbard after leaving the ship whilst others had to travel home. Regardless, we all left with many great memories, treasured of photographs of our wonderful experiences and perhaps new friends made too, for future travel adventures! Thank you all for joining us on this remarkable adventure; for your great company, good humour, interest and enthusiasm. We hope to see you again in the future, wherever that might be! Total distance sailed on our voyage: 950 nautical miles Furthest North: 81°45.9’ N, 11°45.1’ E On behalf of Oceanwide Expeditions, Captain Mika Appel, Expedition Leader Claudio Ghiglione, Hotel Manager Volodymyr Cherednychenko and all the crew and staff, it has been a pleasure travelling with you!