A journey to Svalbard or Spitsbergen Day 2
Day 2. Skansbutka & Alkhornet Isfjorden, a sunny day with a few clouds, 9 degrees celsius.
After waking up the weather had improved and after getting out on the deck for some fresh cold arctic air I could see mountains of Skansbutka. The sediments date back hundreds of millions of years and reach a thickness of 2.5 km of which ca. 1.5 km is below sea level. The upper layers are the youngest, but around sea level are layers of gypsum (calcium sulphate), which originate from when Svalbard was - due to the continental drift - much further south than today, some 300 million years ago.
And then the sun came out.
Now, after having a good breakfast it is time for the forst landing using the zodiac. But not before I was briefed about safety in Polar Bear country, the Arctic Expedition Cruise Operator rules and the zodiac. The zodiac is a great feature of expedtion cruising, they are quick and versatile boats which can easily land a reasonable sized group of peaople on any beach.
After landing we did our first walk on Svalbard. There was an old gypsum mine from ca. 1920, most of it covered in snow. We also climbed up the hill and enjoyed the view of Skansbukta and the enourmous valley. The valley was created by glaciers during the last Ice age. We came across a bird that is 100% resident of Svalbard, the Ptarmigan. The bird was keeping us away from it's nest. An important rule on Svalbard is leaving the animals in peace, so we backed off as quickly as we could.
In the afternoon we had our 2nd landing. We went on shore on a small beach on Alkhonet, where we had a climb up a steep slippery and snowy hill. We set of across the tundra while looking at the Svalbard Reindeer on this sunny afternoon. Over ten Reindeer were grazing here on the dense vegetation. We were able to approach them (or them us) quite close. We also got to see an Arctic Fox, a couple of Purple Sandpiper and some Polar Bear dung!
Evening fell, hardly noticable because of the sunlight, and another day had almost passed by. After a great dinner and some drinks at the ships bar I hit the ships bunk again.
Check out day 3!
Check out previous posts:
Day 1: https://steemit.com/travel/@icgoodthings/a-journey-to-svalbard-or-spitsbergen
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Wow it looks amazing, always wanted to go to Spitsbergen/Svalbard maybe it's about time I get it done!
If you get the chance you should do it, for it was a life changing event! It's pure nature only! The trip is somewhat expensive but it was worth every euro I spend on it.
I've heard of it being quite expensive, hopefully I can score some cheaper flights excursions since I'm a Norwegian citizen, but we will see! Anyways thx for the tip!