Nordaustlandet: Bråsvellbreen

Saturday, 9 July (Part II)

Our group was first to go off for the landing at Torellneset this morning (post here), so we had plenty of time to relax aboard the ship while we waited for the rest of the passengers to complete their outings.

We wandered around the decks, enjoying the ever-changing weather that cycled from overcast and drizzly, to blue-skies and sunshine, to foggy and mysterious during the course of the morning (and indeed, through the day). Then, we came into warm up and read in the deserted Panorama Lounge, sipping hot chocolate and snacking on tasty tidbits. Somewhere along the way, we even got a couple loads of wash done in the ship’s self-service laundry.

Once the last group was back aboard, Silver Explorer weighed anchor and resumed its course deeper into Hinlopenstretet (Hinlopen Strait). Destination: Bråsvellbreen, the glacier that forms the southern part of the Austfonna Ice Cap.

Wikipedia defines an ice cap as: “… an ice mass that covers less than 50,000 km² [19,300 square miles] of land area (usually covering a highland area).” Covering an area of over 3,125 square miles (8,100 km²), Austfonna — which translates to Eastern Ice Cap — is the third largest in the world. Bråsvellbreen makes up approximately 450 square miles (1,110 km²) of the cap. Named after the sudden, big surge the glacier made in 1937-38, its name literally means “sudden advance.” The 111-mile (180 km) combined front of the Austfonna and Bråsvellbreen ice cliff is the longest glacier front in the northern hemisphere.

Any hopes for doing the planned zodiac cruise here were quickly dashed in the face of the heavy sea ice conditions. It sure would have been nice to get closer to the 300 feet (90m) high terminus … talk about feeling small when nose to nose with something of that magnitude. Instead, Silver Explorer slowly sailed along the edge of the sea ice so as to give us an opportunity to enjoy the magnificence of Mother Nature. Rather than stay in one spot, Mui and I roamed about decks 6 and 7 from stern to bow and back, enjoying the changing scenery and the shifting light conditions.

When the ship began the return leg of our ice cruise, Mui and I settled on the benches on Deck 7 aft. Thus protected from the chill generated by the ship’s movement, we continued to enjoy the scenery we’d already seen from a different perspective. That we had the area to ourselves added to our pleasure. Peace … quiet … spectacular scenery ... and a cup of hot chocolate. In a word ... WONDERFUL!

Since the planned zodiac cruises were scrubbed, a lecture was added to the afternoon program. Peter Damisch, ship’s historian, talked to us about the failed Andrée Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897 — a truly fascinating, but sad story in which the three expedition members perished and were lost to the world until their remains were found 33 years later. Peter gave an excellent accounting that brought the expedition alive in words and pictures, the latter from film found with the remains.

The photograph, taken by expedition member Nils Strindberg, was recovered in 1930.

Our afternoon continued with tea in the Panorama Lounge. I’ll just say that the scones were yummy and leave it at that. At 6:45p, we joined our fellow travelers for the daily recap and briefing. After Kara’s presentation about walrus, Uli talked about blue whales, a topic postponed from yesterday’s cancelled recap.

Then, it was Robin’s turn to take the stage to give us the big picture for tomorrow. Plans for exploring the area we’re currently in have been scrapped. A storm with 30-knot (34 mph/56 kph) winds is heading into the area. That’s near gale force winds. Add a snowstorm into the mix and the weather would make life quite miserable for us. So, we’re going to head back the way we came and travel west to avoid the storm. We have a couple of different possibilities to explore; weather will determine which of them become the “plan of the day.”

Next, we were shown a preview of the voyage DVD Kristine Hannon, the ship’s photographer, has been busy preparing since embarkation day. Since we have our own photos and videos, we don’t intend to buy the DVD. Besides, $150 is a bit steep IMHO; and considering what we paid for this voyage, it should be given as a farewell gift to passengers. Just saying!

For dinner, we shared a four-top with Drs. Bob and Christina. Once again, much hilarity ensued — particularly with respect to dark chocolate and marzipan balls, Bob’s preferred dessert with a good red wine. But before the sweets, we had a good meal that consisted of leek and potato soup, linguini, and grilled sea bass served on a bed of spinach (for me). Mui ordered the same meal, exchanging the soup for a mushroom salad that he deemed very tasty. Dessert (before the special sweets) was a most excellent triple chocolate mousse that was a delight to the palate.

Tomorrow … new areas to explore.