Yesterday we headed out on an all-day boat tour. As we boarded the bus, the tour operator says “It’s such a nice day, so we will be outside.” These are hearty folks!
I hate boats, but I know this was the best way to see Svalbard’s highlights. The boat normally goes to Pyramiden, an abandoned Russian mining outpost. Photos online look really cool (the town was basically abandoned overnight, so it looks like everybody just stepped out for lunch, leaving everything in place), but because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Svalbard has decided not to allow local businesses to patronize the Russian outposts and I can respect that.
We set off out of Longyearbyen toward Tempelfjorden, admiring the stunning views all around us. Svalbard does minimalism in a manner unlike anywhere else. Looking around at the cliffs beside the fjord, it was truly novel to see nothing but snow and ice.
While we crossed Sassenfjorden, our guide told stories about the history of hunting and trapping in Svalbard. I can see living here during midnight sun, but during the 5 month-long polar night, this would not be for me. To do that before hot water, indoor plumbing, and electricity is truly beyond comprehension.
We had lunch (pretty good food!) and then headed in to Billefjorden. At the end of this fjord lies the tongue of the Nordenskiöld glacier. Over 60% of Svalbard’s land is covered in glaciers, but most are snow-covered and hard to see. Nordenskiöld has the classic blue color and the intricate folds that characterize glaciers in my mind. A walrus parked on some floating ice in the fjord and some reindeer on the snowy hill helped to round out the Arctic experience.
We maneuvered to the edge of the sea ice outside Pyramiden to wait for the Polish researchers we were picking up. Again, I’m confident I will never be a self-contained Arctic researcher who coordinates pick-ups by large tourist vessels…I don’t know how one ends up in that position. Our guides were going to take us out onto the ice so we could experience walking on Arctic ice, but then they noticed a fissure in the ice and they called an end to the excursion. If the ice broke off, we would spend all day rescuing passengers who were floating out to sea!
After collecting our new passengers, we headed out of the fjord to make our way home. Luke and I were outside (despite the frigid single-digit temperatures and wind chills much below that), so we noticed a buzz rising from the other passengers. As the boat stopped moving forward, we began to scan the horizon. That’s when we saw it…a polar bear!
This bear was harassing a large walrus (is it necessary to qualify a walrus’ size with “large” – do they come in any other size?). At first we thought it was eating the walrus, but we later learned that polar bears won’t generally hunt walruses since they are so large and hard to kill. This bear was just harassing the walrus, and the walrus seemed entirely unfazed.
When the SECOND polar bear came by and harassed the walrus, the walrus made the (wise) decision that he should take his leave, so he stepped/rolled off the ice edge into the water.
We watched the bears for half an hour, watching them walk along the ice edge, roll in the snow, and sniff the ground. Since polar bears are completely solitary creatures, the guides were speculating that this was a mother and either a very large yearling or a 2-yearling who hadn’t gotten the message that it’s time to leave mom.
Of course, I had a wish that we would see a polar bear, but I knew deep down the chances were small. The see TWO, even from far away, was truly amazing. And to see them in their natural Arctic environment may be something future generations won’t have the opportunity to see. Everybody in Svalbard talks about the profound environmental changes they are seeing, and research clearly shows that Arctic ice will be one of the first things to go. No ice, no polar bear habitat. It breaks my heart, and makes me pretty mad. Humans have the power to fix things – just not the will.
After disembarking from the boat, we walked to town to have dinner at the northernmost pub in the world. Pretty good pizza!
Falling asleep during midnight sun takes discipline. When the sky looks the same from 8pm to 8am, it’s hard to recognize bedtime. but to bed we must, because we have more activities planned and we need to be rested!
Vacation Days 