A journey to Svalbard or Spitsbergen 1

This is a story about a journey to Spitsbergen. The reason for writing about this journey is to inform other people about this unique journey and inform people about the beauty of the nature on the Arctic. The amazing experience of 24 hours of daylight, the quietness, being impressed by Nature and how fast you can detach from tv, phone and the news! All the photographs are made by myself. The journey started in Longyearbyen on an expedition ship named the Alexksey Maryshev. A former research vessel used by the Russian Academy of Sience. The Maryshev is 210 feet long and a cappacity of 48, in addition there is a Russian crew of 19, international hotel and catering staff of 3, three guides and one emergency doctor.

Longyearbyen was the start of my Arctic adventure on board of the Alexey Maryshev. We embarked in the afternoon and set out at 18.00. As we sailed out of Adventfjorden and into the huge Isfjorden (Ice Fjord) I had an introduction to the ship and it's crew. The expedition leader and the "hotel"manager gave a presentation about the routines on the ship and introduced the rest of the staff including the hard working Russian crew. A lifeboat drill is also included!

After sightseeing along the glacier the boat travelled on to Skansbutka where we arrived after midnight. During travelling we came acrossIcory Gulls, Kittiwake, Little Auk, Puffin, Northen Fulmar, Bearded Seas on ice floes and a few Ringed Seals on ice and water. It was just the beginning of spotting many different kinds of animals and amazing views.

On this first day I was still in my daily routine atmosphere and I was working towards a state of being at ease without phone, tv or news.

After a good meal and spending a lot of hours on deck in the cold wind and some time in the help yourself bar but please write down what you drink (which I did) I went to sleep, my first night in my ship bunk. The movement of the ship was very relaxing and I had no troubles getting used to it.

On the 2nd day the weather had improved, Sunny with a few clouds and a breeze. We arrived at Skansbukta. It was time to get of the ship by zodiac!

Getting of the ship the first time was very interesting.

Soon I will write about the 2nd day of this amazing trip!

Thanks for reading!

Check out day 2!