"Norwegian Fjords to Spitsbergen"...

photo-journal that documents my travels with Zegrahm Expeditions above the Arctic Circle this last summer is now on-line (the link takes you to a 2.54 MB .pdf file). About a third of the images featured in this book that was provided to passengers on the voyage were taken by your humble correspondent.

Take a look, people who like to take looks.

There are real trees...

outside the hotel in Oslo where I am spending the night. Real. Tall. Trees. Something I haven't seen in well over a week!

It's amazing to think that the nature of world travel these days provides that I'll be sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night - half a world away in Cheney, America. Amazing. The hardy Norwegian polar explorers Amundsen and Nansen would role over in their graves if they only knew.

Finally, to use an Arctic analogy, this blog has presented only the tip of the iceberg of this wonderful and adventurous travel experience. Thanks to all the readers who followed along. Blogging will be light tomorrow and the next as I reenter civilization, decompress, and make up some sorely needed sleep.

Last glance at the polar north...

as we board our charter flight from Longyearbyen to Oslo. I snapped this pic of the Borebreen glacier shortly after take off:

Longyearbyen's industrial origin...

as a coal mining town is still evident, especially from the bay, where coal still fires a power plant that provides heat and energy to the remote community of about 1,600. However, typical Norwegian charm dresses up the somewhat dingy landscape as the following picture shows:

I wonder if there's a law in Norway requiring that no two neighboring houses are allowed to share the same paint color? Furthermore, arctic cotton springs forth in the tundra where snowmobiles are parked during the off season bringing even more contrast to the gray scene:

The farthest point north...

attained during this journey was reached Tuesday evening when the ship toured St. Jonsfjorden for one more glance at this deeply glaciated and desolate landscape. There is little else between here and the North Pole.

Arrived in Longyearbyen...

a short while ago to meet a charter flight south to Oslo. I'll post more updates at the hotel upon arrival.

The walrus haul-out...

at Poolepynten on Prins Karls Forland was nothing short of spectacular this afternoon. Countless walrus were enjoying the sunny afternoon on a sunny gravel beach while others were bathing in the shallow offshore waters. Our group was able to approach within 10 m without disturbing the giant marine mammals.

These two curious walrus swam right up to the beach and entertained us for 20 minutes or so before swimming on their merry way. I'd say we watched and photographed about 60 in total.

Mini-pan of the calving ice front...

from the day before in Bellsund. Six images are stitched together in order to assemble this amazing scene.

Grazing reindeer...

greeted us at our landing in Belsund Fjord early this morning, absolutely fearless of our presence. A very good start to the day.

What. A. Day!

Where to begin? This trip has certainly built to a crescendo at this point and we have one more expedition day at sea. But this day will be difficult to top. To whit:

We cruised into the most distant portion of Hornsund Fjord to the calving face of the Samavinvagen glacier were the captain of the Clipper Adventurer nestled the craft within about 200 m of the glacier.

After lunch we put the Zodiacs in the water and engaged in some touring, and I captured the following iconic image of the Arctic Ocean: the turquoise blue glacial ice berg:

In addition, let's not forget the surrounding rocks. Spitsbergen is sliced by a series of north-south trending thrust faults, and here's a snap of older limestones that have been pushed atop younger shales:

And believe it or not, an arctic fox was nipping at the heals of a polar bear that was rooting around close to its burrow:

The trip's not over... stay tuned!

Hansbreen glacier...

is seen here off the port side of the ship as we make our way into Hornsund Fjord. The calving front of the tidewater glacier is estimated to be about 40 m high.

Calving tidewater glaciers...

in Hornsund Fjord on the southwestern side of Spitsbergen are the primary goal of tomorrow's explorations near the top of the world. More marine mammals are also anticipated.

Long day. Turning in early.

Two bachelor walrus...

were found slumbering in the sun on a sandy beach after about a one mile hike from our landing site on Edgeoya Island south of Kapp Lee this afternoon. We were able to approach slowly, from down wind, to about 50 m distance. While the one on the right took notice of our presence, neither were disturbed at all by our visit.

Here's a close up of the one on the right:

Spectacular. Awesome. Magnificent.

I see sea ice...

all around the ship as we navigate the complex channels and passageways of the Svalbard archipelago. We paused momentarily to look at another polar bear lazily sunning itself on one of the ice floes.

Cruising toward Kapp Lee...

on Edgeoya Island in search of sea ice (pack ice) and seals and walrus. The Clipper Adventurer is an ice rated ship (not a breaker) so this should be, well, adventurous. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: We entered the Freemansundet channel past Kapp Lee earlier this morning and indeed have encountered pack ice. One floe had a bearded seal out sunning itself but unfortunately it did not tolerate our presence. We've since turned about and are heading down the channel back towards Kapp Lee, with the intention of a landing and hike sometime after lunch.

The reward goes to...

passenger SN for spotting not just the first polar bear of the expedition that we visited earlier this morning, but she also announced an additional sighting of a polar bear mother and her cub later in the day on the cliff top above our afternoon landing site.

A glacier walk...

was arranged in the mid-afternoon where passengers had the opportunity to march up the surface of the Kovlekifjellet valley glacier.

Scouting a landing site...

with expedition leader Mike Messick (right) and co-leader Peter Harrison (left) prior to the passengers coming ashore. Our purpose is to assess the safety of the landing area (bears) and the nature of the beach. In addition, specialists like myself have a chance to determine where interesting features may lie so we may direct the passengers in a more efficient manner when they arrive.

Those are Triassic age shales and cross-bedded sandstones in the looming cliffs, many of which are fossiliferous and contain pelecypods (clams,) bits of petrified wood, and trace fossils (worm burrows.)

The first polar bear...

has been sighted! The ship can't approach any closer than about two miles so Zodiacs are being lowered to the water. Gotta go!

UPDATE: Here it is, close in from about 60 m off shore...

And here's a context shot...

Land ho!

I was fortunate to be on the bridge just moments ago, chatting with the chief officer (a Ukrainian fellow who is helping me polish my Russian language skills) when the fog lifted and we caught our first glimpse of Spitsbergen.

I am excited to be here beyond words!