Tuesday, 12 July (Part II)
Once all of the passengers were aboard, Silver Explorer weighed anchor for Isfjorden (Ice Fjord) — home to not just our afternoon landing site, but also to Longyearbyen, our debarkation port tomorrow morning.
Isfjorden is Svalbard’s second longest fjord.
It took us about four hours to get from St Jonsfjorden, the site of our morning hike (post here), to our afternoon landing site. That gave us plenty of time for a leisurely lunch. We even had time to do a bit of laundry and get started on packing our bags, which Joel and Alain had cleaned, tied up with a silver bow, and set out for us — hint, hint!
We get the message — we’re gonna be kicked off the ship tomorrow.
At 2:00p, we joined our fellow-passengers to watch the video recap Kristine had prepared of our voyage. We’re amongst the few who have not signed up to purchase the DVD. After all, we have beaucoup still images and video footage of our own to remind us of our 10 days in the Arctic. (Besides, I still think that for what we paid for this voyage, the DVD should be a gift to the passengers.)
By 4:00p, the ship was anchored inside Isfjorden. As the first two groups set off in the zodiacs, we went to the Panorama Lounge for afternoon tea and chocolate-chip scones.
Mui plays mother and pours a cuppa.
One of the many glaciers of Isfjorden, but it’s not where we will be going this afternoon.
We watched as the zodiacs headed west from the ship. They kept going until we lost sight of them. As it turns out, the fjord is so deep that the ship had to anchor a considerable distance from our landing site at the base of Alkhornet (also Alkehornet, Auk-Horn), so named because its shape resembles a horn. The moss-skirted rock-face is home to auk colonies, but visiting them was not on the agenda.
I can see the reason why “horn” is part of the name of this cliff.
The area had been checked out and deemed to be bear-free. With armed guards posted as lookouts, and the rest of the expedition team standing vigil as well, we were given free reign to wander over the very springy, moss-covered tundra. Giving the nesting Arctic skuas a wide berth, we headed inland to hike up the skirt of Alkhornet to see Svalbard reindeer — cows and month-old calves — and possibly some birds.
Even though the angle of ascent turned out to be steeper than it looked from a distance, I had every intention of getting to the finish line. At least I did until I turned around and saw several reindeer grazing far below us. At that point, Mui and I decided to divide and conquer. He’d continue up and I’d go down. One of us was bound to get images of the reindeer that had eluded us thus far on the trip. It turns out that we both got lucky. The calves he was hoping to see had moved off, so Mui only saw the cows. My up-close-and-personal encounter, on the other hand, was with the males roaming the lush, green skirts of Alkhornet.
View from the point where I turned around; the reindeer are on the other side
of the small group of red-jacketed passengers in the distance.
The land I had to traverse consisted of moss-covered mounds surrounded by narrow, water-filled moats that were easily forded with a small jump. In some ways, it felt like I was walking on a trampoline. With the sun out, it was a gorgeous afternoon and I really enjoyed myself as I made my way over to the three reindeer in the distance. I even had company part of the way when a reindeer coming down from the upper reaches decided to take a path not far from mine.
Reindeer have a circumpolar distribution, but the Svalbard reindeer are exclusive to this area. They are short-legged and have relatively short, round heads, and are rarely seen in groups larger than 3-5 individuals, except during the rut in late autumn.
The animals showed no fear of the humans that stood around, watching them intently and snapping pictures. They were interested in one thing, and one thing alone — grazing. Not surprising really; this is the time of year when they must feed to accumulate significant amounts of fat to survive the harsh Arctic winter. They kept coming closer and closer to us; we kept backing up to give them space and let them go about their business. After 10 days of just seeing indications of reindeer — scat (poop) and hair — I was very happy to finally see the animals themselves. That they weren’t mere dots in the distance was a real bonus.
What’cha looking at?
Portrait of a Svalbard Reindeer.
When Mui joined me, we moved away from the reindeer to check out an Arctic skua that was sitting on the tundra, its mate flying overhead. I’m glad Claudia was nearby to tell us that there was a chick on the ground as well. It was so well disguised that I doubt we would have noticed it had we been on our own. Even knowing the chick was there, photographing it was a matter of blindly pointing the long lens in the right direction, clicking the shutter, and hoping for a relatively good shot. (The photo below is heavily cropped.)
arctic skuas usually lay their eggs in July, but since incubation takes about 26 days,
this one must have laid its egg sometime in June.
I’m glad we dallied a bit here or we would have missed the wildlife comedy-drama that followed. We were all maintaining considerable distance between us and the skua, but the reindeer that wandered into the nest area wasn’t so considerate. When he got a bit too close, the mate that had been flying overhead flew into protect his family. Like a guided missile, the bird targeted the big bad reindeer and had him running off at a gallop.
First the warning shot, flying low over the reindeer ...
... and then the attack!
With the show over, we slowly headed back to the beach and to the zodiac awaiting us. We were loathe to leave, but as with all good things, we knew the landing had to end … and with it, so did the voyage. Not literally, of course, since Silver Explorer still needed to cross 
Isfjorden to dock in Longyearbyen. The good news, we’d been told, was that we’d be tied up to the pier for the night. But we still had 3-4 hours before that happened.
Back on the ship, we finished what little packing remained and set all but one of our bags outside the door for the crew to take down to the ship’s bowels. Then, raiding the mini bar, we enjoyed a drink with the tapas Joel insisted on bringing us.
We enjoyed our last dinner aboard the ship at a four-top with Christina and Bob. No one was saying their farewells yet as we were going to be chartered to Oslo as a group. So, the atmosphere in The Restaurant was one of tempered joviality — mostly because we were dead tired after two hikes in one day and had little energy left for laughter and conversation.
I ordered and enjoyed a purple artichoke appetizer with Arabian spices, followed by pasta Bolognese, and stir-fry noodles. Mui opted for and enjoyed an iceberg wedge salad, followed by pasta Bolognese, and grilled grouper. I think my chocolate raspberry mousse was a better choice than his apple strudel with vanilla ice cream; but he wasn’t complaining, so who am I to pass judgment (I don’t like cooked fruits).
Around 9:00p, we arrived in Longyearbyen to a nasty surprise. No space at the pier tonight! That put paid to our plans to go ashore and explore what we could of the administrative center of Svalbard. Oh well; at least we’ll be docked at the pier in the morning for debarkation and won’t have to be shuttled ashore by zodiac — luggage and all.
It’s a gray, overcast night. The light is dull, so I won’t attempt any photographs of the distant town from the ship, but a walk around deck is in order before bedtime. Bye for now.
