Day 1, 6/25, Tuesday, board M/V Ortelius. We are the last few passengers for this trip.
Our luggages were already waiting for us in our room.
We were issued each a room key (like in modern hotels), which a clip.
The ship tracks each one of us when we disembark, and when we are onboard again.
1st, meeting in the lecture hall at level 3 (hardly used) to pick up the rubber mug boots.
2nd, emergency drill: we were told to wear life jacket and meet in the bar at level 6.
Then we went outside to visit the 2 life boats.
About 90 passengers total. Capacity is 108.
Shortly after 6pm, it's the welcome party with proseco and pastry.
Introduction of the ship by captain Per (Sweden), hotel manager Volodymyr (Ukrain) and Alfredo (Peru), and 13 expedition guides + 1 doctor (USA). Expedition lead is Claudio (Italy).
Out of those 4 are dedicated to diving, 1 for kayaking.
Oceanwide is a Dutch company. It owns 4 ships. Ortelius was a Russian research vessel built in Poland in 1989. Since purchased by Oceanwide, christened after Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius. Top speed 12 knots, UL1/1A ice strength (not sure in which ice class), single diesel engine.
On the way, I notices the signs in Chinese and English! Svalbard has been discovered by Chinese mass tourism.
We sailed out north into the midnight sun.
7pm buffet dinner. Many choices. Sat with the good doctor Jeff - the lone American in the expedition team.
Entrepreneurial. Physics undergraduate. A pediatrician and emergency doctor. Also does research, as well as flying gliders all over the world.
Very entertaining. Being with kids a lot equipped him with simple jokes and easy to chat manner.
Unpaid, just get the trip for free by giving out motion sickness pills. Not a bad deal.
Day 2, 6/26 Wednesday. 3°C. Overcast.
Wake-up call by Claudio - always "Welcome to another beautiful day in the arctic", followed by a brief announcement of what we expect to do in the morning.
His instruction is often confusing. Initially I thought of him incompetent.
However, as the days went on, I learned to read his message, also grew to like him, and appreciate what he did.
As for the other guides, I like Keechy (my go-to person for flower questions, a Dutch school teacher) and Slava (Russian, very chill).
Breakfast at 8:15. There are 3 types of strange juice. I tried one. Never took it again. The coffee is good. I started a coffee habit in the morning on the ship.
Today started with two mandatory briefings about AECO (Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators) and how to stay safe in the bear country.
This morning's plan of visiting the historical site of Smeerenburg, an old Dutch whaling, has
changed to plan B due to a polar bear sighting on our landing site.
So staying on zodiac to get closer to the waterfront.
The bear was sleeping on a patch of snow higher on some rocks.
At some point, another bear walked along the shore, and gradually going inland.
Our zodiacs moved around Smeerenburg to see a walrus colony. These blubbery creatures were sleeping too (their usual state), hardly move. A bit smelly. On our way back towards the ship, saw the bear raised his head.
With ~90 passengers, getting on and off the ship takes some time.
Buffet lunch. I like today's pumpkin soup, had two cups.
A long break after lunch, long enough to take a nap.
I went to the 6th floor bar, where the library is, to consult my flower photos against one of their books.
Too windy for an activity in the afternoon. Koen gave a talk on how to capture wildlife photography.
Later, we took another short zodiac cruise in Raudfjord (red fjord).
Got close to the glaciers. Saw some birds: black-legged Kittiwake, Black Guillemot, Glaucous Gull, Common Eider Duck, Arctic Skua, Arctic Tern.
Some saw 3 King Eiders, but not me.
With the wind picking up and the fog setting in, we headed back to the ship.
I missed today's recap before dinner at 7:30pm.
Very nicely decorated. Tasted good. Portion is small, but that's good, since there's no activity after dinner.
Yes, desert and fruit salad.
Talk about kayaking by Loel (Wales).
Picked up gear (wetsuit, 3rd life vest, rain jacket, neoprene paddle mittens) from him in the hanger next to the heli pad.
Everyone can go to kayak at least once.
1 group of 5-6 kayaks (each with 2 kayakers) at a time (a half day window).
Day 3, 6/27 Thursday. 5°C. Overcast.
Two glaciers: Monacobreen and Seligerbreen.
Switched to Kayaking in the morning, because a long hike was in the offer in the afternoon. Our group had 11 people, one paddled with the guide. Two person kayak is pretty stable. It glides on the water quite fast. Getting onto the kayak from a zodia is a bit wabbly. A zodiac followed us, just in case. We paddled in front of glacier front, saw one small calving. Missed seeing beluga whales. The ship on the right photo is our Ortelius.
Back on the warm boat for lunch.
Chicken, steamed veggie, French fries, ozo with sundried tomatoes. Chickpea soup. Cheese board.
Afternoon, we landed at "Texas Bar", a trapper's hut full of empty alcohol bottles. 3 groups. The "long hikers" went with Misha and Aitana, "medium hikers" and walkers near the landing site.
Our group walked up a ridge and followed it to the side moraine of the next glacier: Erikbreen.
On the way, saw 1 flowering Svalbard Poppy, a couple of Woolly Louswort (more hairy than Hary Lousewort), a lot of Moss Campion and Purple Saxifrage.
Also saw a rock ptarmigon, halfway between winter and summer plumage.
Half of a leg, and one antler of a reindeer.
Misha likes to make a 5 minute silence. Here, in front of Erikbreen, the group settled down on various rocks.
This is my favorite hike during the trip.
Back at Texas Bar, I wasn't allowed to go see the bar itself, because, I was told I'm too late. Even though it's a less than 5 minute walk. A group of brave passengers changed to their swimsuit for a polar plunge. Towel is provided. I was too chicken to get into the cold water.
Minke whale from ship.
Misha talked about Walrus and Wally after today's recap.
7:45pm: 3-course dinner. One fish with roasted potatos, and one duck magret with Chinese greens.
Day 4, 6/28 Friday. 3°. Overcast.
I started my routine of yogurt with nuts and fruits at breakfast. Yes, coffee.
Phippsøya in the morning. Rocky beach. Still some snow.
A whale-hutting hut. Some bear scat.
2 groups of walkers.
Saw Little Auk on the high rocks, identified by Ian. Snow bunting, Canadian Geese.
Green, but no flowers. Moss and lichen. A few poppy but in buds. Arctic Sage. Wood Rush.
Later, I'd be bugging Ian and Heather for flower questions every day. They are experts. A very nice Scottish couple.
Lunch. Fish stick? Then slumber.
Went to the bar and tried other beverages from the instant machine. Anything chocolate is no good (from some crappy chocolate powder). Anything coffee (or with milk) is good. Coffee is freshly grounded on the machine.
Parryøya in the afternoon.
The guides set up a perimeter where we were allow to walk within. It's not a large area.
I was reprimanded not wearing rain pants.
A pair of Arctic Skua was defending its nest.
Very unhappy when hikers walked by. It's difficult to discern their nest: same rocks as nearby.
We all participated cleaning up the beach. I picked up trash along my walk.
Near the landing site, there was a bear carcasse in the snow.
His parts were scattered around, obvioiusly picked by others.
We were not allowed to touch or move anything.
Keechy talked about the ringed rock patterns on the groud, after today's recap.
Dinner: white asparagus salad, tuna salad. Asparagus is canned.
Main: seabeam with frozen broccoli, or lamb shank with canned string beans. Both good. Lamb is huge, need more salt. Fish has too much sauce.
Millefeuille for desert with strawberry sauce. I scrapped off cream and sauce.
Day 5, 6/29 Saturday. 1°C. Cloudy -> sunny. In search of pack ice.
Sticking my head into this hole above the hull to take view of breaking ice. It's mesmerizing to watch, except for my hand would start freeze after taking a few minutes of video.
Lunch has borsch. I like it, and had 2 cups. Warmed me up. Quite cold today.
After the slumber, Koen gave a different photography talk.
The sun came out in the afternoon, making everything very pretty, but not warmer.
Circulr holes in the ice, birds on ice, including one Ivory Gull. A big walrus pooping on ice, fairly close.
Minke whale, fin whale. None very close.
All eyes and binoculars peeled for bear, but we saw none.
Saw a bigger ship.
Keechy talked about ice after today's recap.
Dinner is out on the heli pad. Food gets cold very quickly. Bundled up.
Free drinks (Heineken, one white one red wine, cokes).
Sat with Paulette and Mark. Mark is a diver on this ship, so we don't really see him.
I'm surprised to learn that Mark is a member of The Explorer Club.
He said his entry ticket is cave diving.
On this ship, there were about a dozen divers/snorkelers. According to Mark, most they saw are kelps, some small crabs. Rarely a fish.
Heading back south over the night.
Day 6, 6/30 Sunday. Sunny and warm, 10°C!
Signehamna Bay in the morning, at the west side of the beautiful Lilliehöökfjorden.
Remains of a WWII German weather station that was established by Hans-Robert Knoespel.
A beautiful lake with ice on the edge that made tingly sound whenever wind blowed.
Saw reindeers twice (2 different groups).
Mexican style lunch with tortilla soup.
Soon after lunch, the ship moved closer to Lilliehookbreen and back out.
It is beautiful, especially in such good weather.
So many large and small glaciers.
Afternoon, Tinayrebukta. A hike. Quite pretty. A rock ptarmigan.
A one point, Misha took the group on a traverse of steep-ish slope. I didn't follow and stayed behind with Juan.
Soon, they turned around.
Overall, very pretty area.
On the way back to the ship, saw a bunch of harbor seals at the beach.
They hardly moved, looked like logs.
Dinner with captain Per. For a Swedish, he's quite talkative.
We learned the upcoming more stringent regulations to preserve the wildlife, including
500m from polar bear, max of 39 persons on shore.
With more and more tourists coming, some of these are probably necessary.
We felt very lucky to be here now.
After dinner, we were encouraged to fill up a survey. The reward is 2 drinks on house. Tips are collected. They take all currencies and credit card.
Day 7, 7/1 Monday. Overcast. 4°C.
Glacier front, Gaffelbreen.
Again, the guides set the perimeter, and we were allowed to wander on our own.
Again, a not a large area. We were able to step on to the ice at the side of the glacier.
Lunch. I like the taragon soup today.
Afternoon: Poolepynten walrus hangout.
We were divided into 2 groups. One walked along the beach, another watch the walrus.
A new plant species: Oysterplant. The leaves have an oyster after taste.
An arctic tern was flying low and making angry calls. Turned out its nest is nearby.
The guides drew a line in the sand, and we were only allowed behind the line.
Walrus is mostly sleeping on shore. Not much movement. Kinda boring.
Today's recap is for the whole week.
Some of the guides were dressed up.
Juan did a slide show composing of mostly his own photos and a few from the divers. It was very nicely done.
It's very appreciative that Juan gifted this slide deck to everyone who's interested.
Last dinner of this cruise.
Before bringing out desert (bread pudding), each of hotel staff was introduced and ran through the dinning room under loud cheers. Many of them have been with Oceanwide for many years. Kudo to the company treating its staff well.
Before midnight, one officer practicing docking the ship before his exam. I went to the bridge to see him parking the ship in Longyearbyen the first round. Unsuccessful.
Day 8 7/2 Tuesday. Partly cloudy. 7°C. Longyearbyen - Disembark.
Total distance sailed on this voyage: 830 nautical miles.
Furthest North: 80°51.144’ N
The photo to the right is from Juan. The guides on this trip.
I chose to stay onboard to catch up sorting my photos, and washing my pants. The air onboard is quite dry. They would all dry in a day. There are 30+ passengers who would stay on for the next trip. Some went to the town with the departing passengers. They can come back with the new passengers or take a taxi. We are not allowed to walk south of the main dock without a gun.
Some interesting passengers:
- Yvonne from Australia, a very active and talkative optometrist who's been to ~150 countries.
- David from London, a reserved retiree who's been to ~140 countries.
- A Dutch retiree who's on his 9th trip to Svalbard (first time ~40 years ago).
- Ian and Carole from Scotland, with such a wealth of knowledge of plants and birds. Very kind and willing to answer all my stupid questions.
- K.C from Sigapore, on a cane with knee problems, gluttonous, always taking too much food while sighing about taking too much food.
