Arctic: Redux

Wednesday, 29 June

I’ve been telling an untruth for nearly a year now and it’s time to fess up.

When asked about our upcoming trip, I’ve been saying to people that I’m looking forward to my first visit to the Arctic. I don’t know why I’ve been thinking that, but a few weeks ago, the light bulb went off — this isn’t going to be our first time to the Arctic; it’s going to be our second. (I don’t count our trip to Churchill, Canada in the same category since we were below the Arctic Circle then. You can read about that adventure here.)

Our first Arctic adventure was in 2001 and it took place in Alaska. After spending several days in the vicinity of Anchorage on our own, we joined a Princess CruiseTour that took us to Denali and Fairbanks by train, and up the Haul Road (Dalton Highway) by bus. Along the way, we crossed the Arctic Circle — that imaginary milestone circle at latitude 66°33’44” N; overnighted at a truck stop motel in Coldfoot; and finally reached Deadhorse where the Prudhoe Bay oilfields are located. Our explorations took us to the edge of the Arctic Ocean where we spared our tootsies and just dipped our fingers into the frigid waters. Our northernmost point on that trip was 70°15’19” N.

It's taken us 10 years, but we're finally returning to the Arctic.
(map from the public domain)

Ten years later, we’re returning to the Arctic for another adventure. This time an expedition cruise to the Norwegian Arctic. Our itinerary has us flying from Washington DC to Tromsø, Norway by way of Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, Norway. It’s going to be a loooong trip just getting to our embarkation city — especially since I’ve not mastered the art of sleeping upright on an airplane (Mui doesn’t have that problem). We depart DC around 5:00p tomorrow, June 30, and arrive in Tromsø around 6:00p on July 1. Discounting the 6 hour time difference, that’s a 17 hour trip (including the airport layovers).

Annotated Google Maps image showing our itinerary for this trip.

We’ll be in Tromsø for two nights before we join the ship that will be taking us to points north — specifically to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. This group of islands is located between 74° N and 81° N, about midway between Norway and the North Pole. How far north we get is TBD and will depend on the extent of the Arctic ice pack. The same holds true for the actual places where we’ll be making landings. Our itinerary spells out the names of a few possible locations, but weather and ice conditions will be the determining factor for where we eventually end up going.

The only place we know we’ll be going for sure is Longyearbyen, the debarkation port for our expedition cruise. As for the rest — Mother Nature has the last say in our itinerary.

The quote to the left is from the material we received before we embarked upon our Antarctic expedition voyage in 2007 — that’s a story for another time. The words, however, hold equally true for the adventure we’re about to begin in a few short days. We’re flexible; we’re ready.

I’ll be taking my laptop with me on this trip, but I won’t be blogging along the way — sorry. For one thing, I’m not sure what, if any, internet connection we might have at sea. And, frankly, I’d rather be out exploring new horizons instead of being cooped up in my stateroom writing a blog post. I can do that when I get home.

That said, if the opportunity presents itself during our post-voyage stay in Oslo, I’ll try to post a few teaser photos to whet your appetite for what’s to come.

The day we dipped our fingers in the Arctic Ocean in Deadhorse, we had sunshine, blue skies, and temps in the 60F (15.5C) range. The temperature was an unexpected bonus, which I can’t imagine repeating during this voyage. Frankly, I’d be worried if we see those kinds of temperatures in Svalbard. But I do hope we have plenty of sunshine, clear blue skies, and smooth waters.

See you all on the blog when we get back.