Oceanwide Expeditions

NOO16 West Spitsbergen - Isfjord, Aurora Borealis 2012

NOO16

Day 1 - After arriving in Longyearbyen, the ‘capital’ (actually the administrative centre) of Spitsbergen, you may wish to visit the Svalbard Museum which has an interesting collection on the history of Spitsbergen, the mining industry and polar exploration. We stay the night in Longyearbyen.

Day  2 - In the early morning we sail, setting course for Alkhornet, a high cliff. Below the cliffs we often see Arctic Foxes and Reindeer. We continue to Trygghamna to visit the remains of a 17th century English whaling station and an 18th century Russian Pomor station.

Day 3 - We leave Tryghamna early in the early morning and pay a visit to Barentsburg, the only inhabited Russian settlement in Spitsbergen. It is interesting to experience how the miners live through the polar winter. There is for instance a swimming pool filled with heated sea water.

Day 4 - We sail into the inner reaches of the Isfjord system to Ekmanfjord along some beautiful glacier fronts, where during nights with open sky we will experience temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celcius. The first new ice will be forming on the heads of the fjords.

Day 5 - At Kap Thordsen, we could visit the well-preserved Swedish House, built in 1872 by Nordenskiöld, where in 1872-73, 17 winterers died of lead poisoning. Same evening we arrive in Longyearbyen.

Day 6 - Departure by scheduled flight from Longyearbyen to Oslo.

These October Spitsbergen voyages, at the onset of winter, are ideal for observing the splendid Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).