Thursday, July 11, 2024

2024.7.11 Going home + summary

7/11, Thursday. Excellent buffet breakfast at the hotel (better than the SAS lounge). Called a taxi to the aiport using Bolt app. There's a Vy bus that runs every 30 minutes for 80 NOK. Flying British Airway this time. They are terrible, at least at Oslo airport: no one at check-in counter to take your bags 1.5 hours before flight. You wait in the crowded hallway OUTSIDE of the empty waiting room at the gate. They do give you meals and free beer on board. I wasn't able to sleep on the plane, despite of taking some melatonin. Watched many movies. It took me over 10 days to get over the jet lag.

Summary
  • Cruise is maybe the only efficient way to visit Svalbard. However, I felt like a bird in cage. This is probably my last cruise until I turn 80, or accompany someone of 80.
  • This is an excellent trip to go with your elderly parents: as long as you can walk 20 stairs (on the gangway between the ship and the zodiac), relaxing, good food, beautiful scenary.
  • Compared with Antarctica: Svalbard (and maybe Arctic in general) has less wild animals, but more flowers, more green. The west side of Svalbard is quite warm due to ocean current from the south. More restrictive unless you carry guns due to polar bear.
  • Too touristy: with no-visa requirement, anyone can visit Svalbard. The reservation system on the archipelago is good, so once you are out of the settlements, it doesn't feel touristy.
  • My favorites:
    • Hornsund in Spitsbergen. Stunningly beautiful.
    • The southern tip of Bear Island is incredible with birds, sea stacks, feels like a lost world.
    • Pack ice - new for me
  • It's good that we arrived 2 days before the cruise. Had time in case our luggage didn't make it.
On Ortelius, a few posters have useful informations:
Life style choices
  • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
  • Join the Buy Nothing Community
  • Shop organic, loose, local, seasonal
  • Eat less meat - no factory farmed meat
  • Support conservation charities
  • Eat safe, sustanable seafood: Marine Stewership Council, Good Fish Guide, WWF Seafood Guides
  • Drive less
  • Use less water
  • Use less electricity
  • Use biodegradable household products
  • Support local clean-ups
  • Educate yourself and spread awareness
  • Vote for politicians who care about the environment
Documentaries to watch Books/papers to read
  • The Curious Life of Krill - Stephen Nicol
  • The Seabird's Cry - Adam Nicolson
  • The Two-Headed Whale - Sandy Winterbottom
  • Voices in the Ocean - Susan Casey
  • Spying on Whales - Nick Pyenson
  • The Genius of Birds - Jennifer Ackerman
  • Eye of the Albatross - Cal Safina
  • The Brilliant Abyss - Helen Scales
  • Eye of the Shoal - Helen Scales
  • End of the Line - Charles Clover
  • Terra Incognita - Sara Wheeler
  • Antarctica - Gabrielle Wheeler
  • Let's Save Antarctica - Catherine Barr (for children)
Citizen Science projects