NORWAY 2018 JULY 25 - AUGUST 9

DAY 1: LAX TO LONGYEARBYEN – JULY 25

Since almost missing connections on our first trip to Brazil due to airline fiascos Jeanne and I always arrive on a trip a day early. It also gives us some time to deal with jet lag so we are fresher for the start of the “official trip”.

DAY 2: LONGYEARBYEN – 26 JULY We arrived in Longyearbyen, Svalbard after about 30 hours of travel. A taxi driver met us in the airport and took us to the Svalbard Hotel. The person at the desk was very nice and extremely helpful. She showed us a map of the town and suggested walks to take and restaurants to eat at. She said if we wanted to buy snacks at the grocery store we need to do it before 5 pm. The hotel had booked all their regular rooms so we were given an apartment above the bar. There was room for a family – a bedroom with two bunkbeds, a bedroom with a queen size bed, a spacious living room and a kitchen. We had a delicious dinner at the small dining room in the hotel. We both had reindeer, shared an appetizer plate, and a really good glass of red wine.

Our apartment at the Svalbard Hotel View of the town from our apartment window

Typical housing in Longyearbyen Snow mobiles and skis are the typical modes of winter transport.

DAY 3: LONGYEARBYEN – 27 JULY We woke up quite early and nothing in town opens until 10 am. It is a good thing we bought snacks at the grocery store. We checked out at 11 am. They allowed us to store our camera gear behind the desk since we could not check into the Radisson Blu Hotel until 3 pm. We hauled our 3 duffel bags to the Radisson Blu to store in their luggage room. We then wandered around town and made a stop at a gallery called 2 Wildphoto. Everyone we met in this town was so friendly. I asked a woman at the front desk a question about living here. She, like the waitress we had at dinner the night before, said she loves it here. She looks forward to the dark of winter after having light all summer. She says it’s a time when the tourists are mostly gone, the pace is slow, and the people spend time together and enjoy each other. She said it is beautiful as long as there is snow on the ground, especially during a full moon.

The Church functions as a community center in Longyearbyen. It has a comfortable welcoming feel inside.

A view of the inside of the church.

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The main shopping area in town is one street long. Polar graffiti!

We had lunch at a pub in the main shopping area. The local beer was quite good.

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Our room at the Radisson Blu. We bought the wine at the grocery store in town.

DAY 4: LONGYEARBYEN – 28 JULY – SHIP DAY 1 Slept late – 8 am! We had the day to kill before boarding the ship. We went to the museum in town and had an opportunity to become familiar with some of the birds we would see on the trip. We boarded the Polaris 1 at 5 pm. We were given a very cool room. It had a double bed, bathroom, desk and closet. We also had a heater so we could adjust the temperature. We had a porthole that could be covered so we could make the room dark to sleep. It was hard to get used to 24 hours of bright daylight. The dinner menu was fish soup and salmon. It seems like we will be traveling with a very nice group of people. This is a good thing since we will be in very close quarters for the next 10 days.

We motored north all night toward Smeerenburgfjord.

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Jeanne’s iPhone shot of the Polaris 1 at the dock. Our cozy and comfortable cabin on the Polaris 1.

DAY 5: SMEERENGURGFJORD, FUGLEFJORD AND HAMILTONBUTKA – 29 JULY – SHIP DAY 2 Up at 5:30 am. Misty, windy and cold this morning. We did a morning ship cruise in Smeerenburgfjord. We had Walrus sightings around lunchtime. We boarded zodiacs and got out on a beach near the walruses. We spent over an hour with the walruses and observed great behavior. Three of them came in from the ocean, swam past us, checked us out, then swam back to the group and rolled around on the beach. Very cool! We did an afternoon cruise on the ship in Fuglefjord and photographed beautiful glaciers. After dinner we did a zodiac cruise in Hamiltonbukta and photographed sea birds and glaciers. The scenery was spectacular. We saw a mother polar bear with cubs from the ship but we did not photograph them.

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Smeerenburgfjord Smeerenburgfjord

Atlantic Walrus at Smeerenburgfjord Atlantic Walrus at Smeerenburgfjord

This bearded seal was seen on an after dinner zodiac cruise at Hamiltonbukta.

7 DAY 6: BODLEYBUKTA (WAHLENBERGFJORD) – 30 JULY - SHIP DAY 3

We had our second polar bear sighting the third day on the ship on July 30. It was a beautiful, healthy male we later named “Big Boy”. We observed him from the zodiacs and he seemed curious. We watched him sleep quite a while but he would look up and stretch occasionally.

We spent a lot of time watching “Big Boy” sleep although he would occasionally look up, sniff, and stretch.

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Polar bears are excellent swimmers. We watched this guy cover long distances very quickly.

We watched bear behavior for hours. We were so lucky to have so many opportunities to observe this bear.

We visited “Big Boy” on three separate zodiac rides. One after lunch, one just before dinner, and one after dinner. He put on a show for us. He walked down the beach right in front of us, went for a swim, and climbed up and rested on several different icebergs. He was one beautiful, big bear! 9 DAY 7: BODLEYBUKTA (WAHLENBERGFJORD) – 31 JULY - SHIP DAY 4 We had such good luck with “Big Boy” the day before that we decided to stay put in Wahlenbergfjord and try our luck again. This wonderful bear did not disappoint us.

We photographed polar bears from the zodiacs. “Big Boy” a beautiful polar bear.

10 It was definitely worth staying at Wahlenbergfjord to spend more time with this bear.

After lunch Judy and Susan gave slide shows showing some of their best images. It was quite enjoyable. It is fun to see other people’s photos and travel experiences. We did a late after dinner cruise from 10 pm to 12:15 am. It is so surreal when the sun never sets. You can go out any time of day to see stuff. The cruise was a long cold ride to a new area with huge glaciers. We saw a 2-3 year old bear, a walrus, birds, and spectacular scenery. I got pretty cold on this ride.

Atlantic Walrus This bear was seen on a late after dinner ride.

DAY 8: ETONBREEN (WAHLENBERGFJORD) – 1 AUGUST- SHIP DAY 5 Since we were out so late the night before breakfast was not until 10 am. We did a zodiac ride from 11 am – 1pm. We saw a bearded seal and I took some landscape shots. The light was beautiful at times as the sun darted out of gray clouds.

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This is our third bear and the only bear sighting that we had August 1. The glaciers were huge here.

Sabine’s gull The scenery was spectacular at Wahlenbergfjord.

DAY 9: ETONBREEN (WAHLENBERGFJORD) – 2 AUGUST- SHIP DAY 6 After an 8:30 am breakfast we headed out on the zodiacs. The wind was up and the water was choppy. We did a short ride to observe a female bear with two cubs. We thought it would be our only opportunity to see cubs on this trip and we did not want to miss it. We took some photos of sleeping bears and were back at the ship at 10:15 am. Bob Wilson gave an interesting talk on polar bears before lunch. We went back out to view the bears around 2 pm. It was windy and cold and the bears went further from the beach up the hill. When we got back Steve showed his images of splash composites and I gave a slide presentation showing an overview of trips and locations in California photographed during the last 10 years.

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Wahlenbergfjord Glacial melt at Wahlenbergfjord

Female polar bear with her two cubs at Wahlenbergfjord.

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Lenticular clouds over the glacier at Wahlenbegfjord

DAY 10: ETONBREEN (WAHLENBERGFJORD) – 3 AUGUST- SHIP DAY 7 We moved the ship back to the area where we previously photographed the polar bear we called “Big Boy”. We were on the zodiacs at 10 am. Big Boy was snoozing on the shoreline so we decided to cruise around through the ice. We came across a 1 and ½ to 2 year old walrus cub with its mother laying on the ice. After spending some time photographing and observing the pair of walruses we headed back towards the beach where Big Boy was sleeping. In route we came across a very thin female polar bear. We took a few photos and quickly moved on so we would be sure not to stress this already physiologically stressed animal. We then came across Big Boy hunting in the ice. He put on quite a show for us. He climbed on an iceberg from the water, shook off the water, looked around, then got back in the water to swim some more. This was all in beautiful light surrounded by beautiful scenery. It was an amazing experience. We got back to the ship for a late lunch around 2 pm.

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Female Atlantic walrus with her cub. A very thin female polar bear

“Big Boy” continues to put on a show for us. He swam, climbed on icebergs, and posed for us.

“Big Boy” is a cooperative, beautiful bear.

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I guess it is time for another swim!

16 DAY 11: WAHLENBERGFJORD AND WAHLBERGOYA – 4 AUGUST- SHIP DAY 8 We watched Big Boy from the ship after breakfast and then motored out to a new location. Suzi gave a short talk on sharpening photos – and mentioned sharpness is often overrated. Samuel gave a slide show based on his time working at the French research station in Antarctica. It was a really interesting talk. The station is near a colony of emperor penguins and was the home base for the crew that filmed the documentary March of the Penguins. Samuel had beautiful photos and is a good bird biologist.

Later that day we did a short zodiac ride to photograph walruses. The light was not great – I did not get very good photos. At 4 pm we went on a zodiac cruise at Aklefjellet to see the “Bird Cliffs”, a nesting site for Thick Billed Murres (Brunnich’s Guillemots). The sights, smells, noise, and chaos of this area were a sensory overload. It was incredible to see this.

Bird cliffs at Aklefjellet. The birds in the air and on the cliffs are Thick-billed Murres (Brunnich’s Guillemots).

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Thick-billed Murres (Brunnich’s Guillemots). The Glaucous Gull is a major predator of chicks in seabird colonies that nest on cliffs.

A pair of Thick-billed Murres with their chick. Our first sighting of an Arctic Fox.

18 DAY 12: YTRE NORSKOYA AND FUGLEFJORD – 5 AUGUST- SHIP DAY 9

After breakfast we did a zodiac landing at Ytre Norskoya and hiked up a steep and rocky trail to an area Samuel called “Puffins Cliff”. Our guide Agnes helped me get up the steep, rocky, uneven parts of the trial. The hike was a challenge for my knee but it was worth it. We had great views of Atlantic puffins. We spent about 90 minutes photographing and observing puffins – not a bad way to spend a morning!

After lunch the ship cruised through Fugelfjord. We had cruised in this fjord on the way up. It was beautiful with calving glaciers and ice in the water. We circled a bearded seal with the ship and I got lots of photos. Our guides, Samuel and Agnes, spotted a female polar bear with two 6 – 8 month old cubs on a hillside. We got in the zodiacs so we could get closer. It turned out to be an incredible session watching these bears. We initially saw them at a great distance in the fog. Then mom brought her two cubs down to the beach right in front of us. They walked along the beach for 1.2 kilometer (Samuel had a GPS). They then got into the water and swam 420 meters past our zodiac to an island. We watched one of the cubs play with a dead bird on the island – very puppy like!

19 Atlantic Puffins at Ytre Norskoya Agnes and I photographing puffins

Bearded seal photographed at Fuglefjord from the ship We first saw this female and her two cubs at quite a distance

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These 3 bears walked down the hillside towards the beach where we were sitting in the zodiacs.

These two cubs were like puppies – they were curious and playful. 21

The female bear decided to get into the water and go for a swim.

Mom and her two cubs got in the water very close to our zodiacs. The first cub is holding onto the hind legs of mom, the second cub is holding onto the hind legs of its sibling. This was incredible to watch.

22 DAY 13: OSSIAN SARSFJELLET AND KONGSVEGEN – 6 AUGUST- SHIP DAY 10

We had Breakfast at 8 am and then took a short zodiac ride to a beach at Ossian Sarsfjellet. The goal was to see reindeer and hike to an arctic fox den where we would have a chance to see an arctic fox. We were not disappointed. We saw reindeer, had great views of an arctic fox, and then hiked to a cliff where we could observe black- legged kittiwakes nesting on a cliff. My injured knee prevented me from hiking down a steep cliff to photograph the kittiwakes but I was able to do everything else thanks to our guides Samuel and Agnes. They helped me get up and down the steep, uneven parts of the trail. The scenery on this hike was beautiful. I was also able to get a record photograph of a rock ptarmigan.

After lunch we motored over to Kongfjorden for views of spectacular scenery and a bearded seal. It was a relaxing afternoon. Suzi spent some time showing us how she picks and edits photos. After dinner Suzy (Sam) showed us some videos and Jeanne gave a slide show. 23

Reindeer seen at Ossian Sarsfjellet in rout to the fox den.

We spent quite a bit of time with this arctic fox. We watched him sleep a while by his den. He would get up, move around, and then take another nap. I was able to get a shot of him just before he ran up the cliff.

Fox dens are usually found in the vicinity of nesting seabird colonies. The birds and chicks are an important source of summer food.

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There are large, spectacular glaciers at Kongfjorden.

Northern Fulmar Bearded Seal

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DAY 15: ALKHORNET AND SKANSBUKTA – 7 AUGUST- SHIP DAY 11

This will be our last full day on the ship. We motored most of the night so we could do a morning landing at Alkhornet for another chance to see reindeer and a fox. We hiked through some beautiful, somewhat soggy areas to get to the fox den. We saw the fox, but it quickly disappeared either into his den or up the hillside. We quietly waited over an hour for him to return. It didn’t happen. This experience showed us how lucky we were the day before when we got great photos and spent quite a bit of time watching a fox. Even though we did not get many fox photos it was very peaceful sitting quietly in the waiting for the fox to return.

The ship motored to a new location after lunch. It was a relaxing afternoon of napping, reading, and chatting with the others in the group. We arrived at Skansbukta around 6:30 pm and took the zodiacs out so we could explore the beach. It was very scenic. We observed a 1919 coal mine with remnants of track used for coal cars. There was also a wrecked wooden boat on the beach. I photographed a hut that can be rented in Longyearbyen. The accommodations were pretty rustic.

After a wonderful duck dinner we had to pack up so we could disembark after breakfast the next morning.

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Reindeer on tundra at Alkhornet I only got a few photos of this fox at Alkhornet.

Tundra and reindeer at Alkhornet Lichens and grass at Alkhornet.

View of the outside of the hut at Skansbutka. View through a window of the inside of the hut. 27 IMPORTANT PEOPLE!

Suzi Eszterhas – Our Trip Leader Our guide Agnes Blanc Our guide Samuel Blanc

This photo of Jeanne and I was taken by our fearless leader Suzi Eszterhas.

Our group of 12

Left to right: Kathrine Moule, Jim Moule, Steffi Swynnerton, Charles Swynnerton, Judy Hamilton, Susan Janin, Suzi Eszterhas, Steve Sphall, Suzy Osborn, Jeanne Hartman, Bob Wilson, Sherry Schmidt.

28 THOUGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS Many of the last true wilderness areas left on the planet are found in polar regions. I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit both the Antarctic and the Arctic. These two polar regions are characterized by differences as well as similarities. Antarctica is a continent surrounded by ocean. It lacks larger terrestrial carnivores so penguins, nesting seabirds, and pinnipeds are easily seen. There are only 3 species of flowering plants found on the continent. Lichens are the dominant photosynthetic organisms. The arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents. It is the land of the polar bear, the top predator of this region. An abundance of predators such as polar bears and the arctic fox limit nesting birds to inaccessible cliffs. Wildlife was not nearly as abundant as what I observed on the Antarctic Peninsula. I found the plant life in the arctic tundra diverse and beautiful. It also felt familiar. It was very similar to alpine areas I have hiked through in the Sierra Nevada. In fact, I observed species in Svalbard such as mountain sorrel (Oxyria digyna), that are also seen in the high country of the Sierra.

Both regions are characterized by beautiful, dramatic landscapes featuring icebergs, glaciers, mountains, and spectacular light. Both regions are vulnerable to human impacts, especially climate change. On this expedition cruise we did not have to break through sea ice, something that was new for the ship we were on, for this time of year. In conversations with locals in Longyearbyen, concern was expressed about how quickly glaciers were melting and average temperatures were rising.

I learned the value of patience on this trip, more than any other that I have been on. Rather than moving on after photographing a polar bear at Wahlenbergfjord, we spent several more nights in the area, knowing there was a bear there. My tendency would be to move on and see other areas. However, staying with this bear, spending many hours watching him sleep, definitely paid off. By staying with him we saw him hunt, swim, climb on icebergs, and wonder down the beach. He became a very special bear to me after all the time I spent observing him.

29 I encourage you to get out and see the world as soon as you can. Things are changing fast and what you can see today you might not be able to see in 10 or 20 years. As one of my hero’s Edward Abby says:

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….A part time crusader, a halfhearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourself for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it while it’s still there. So get out and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breath deep of that yet sweet lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, awesome space.”

Map of the Svalbard () Archipelago from Wilkepedia:

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