FUN-travel: Raudfjorden, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 5
September 1, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Raudfjorden, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 5
Day 43 – Tuesday, August 12 – Raudfjorden, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 5 – foggy – calm seas – low 40’s – 24 hrs daylight
What I LIKE
- 7:30 – typical wake up
- 9:00 – scout boats sent to look for polar bears
- 10:00 – 1st expedition in 1st group – zodiac tour
- – see mama bear w/baby bear on shore close to water
- – only 40 yards away!
- 11:30 – return – AWESOME 10+
- 1:00 – lunch
- Room R & R
- 7:00 – expedition recap & tomorrow schedule in theatre Deck 4
- 7:30 – dinner Deck 2 – mushroom soup, frog legs, salmon – VG!
- 10:30 – swing out w/music in Lounge on 3 – piano, vocals & dancing!
- Get an hour back!
- No satellite coverage – no internet
- – just enjoy being in present w/o distraction
What I DON’T LIKE
- missed mama bear jumping in water to pull up carcass
- only one expedition – early sail to Greenland
- – no satellite coverage – no internet
- – getting board w/only bi polar documentaries
FUN-fact – Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (16 July 1872 – 18 June 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the Antarctic expedition (1910–12) to become the first men to reach the South Pole in December 1911. In 1926, he was the first expedition leader to be recognized without dispute as having reached the North Pole.
FUN-travel: Alkjefellet & Wahlbergoya, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 4
August 29, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Alkjefellet & Wahlbergoya, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 4
Day 42 – Monday, August 11 – Alkjefellet & Wahlbergoya, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 4 – light morning drizzle – mid 30’s– 24 hrs daylight
- 10:15 – 1st expedition in 2nd group – zodiac tour
- – foggy low clouds hug shore line jagged hills – drizzle stops
- – 300 ft high cliffs w/high columns caused by erosion jut out of sea
- – filled w/1000’s of black guillemots
- – breeding pairs occupy almost every inch
- – constant frantic activity & squawking – some fighting in ocean
- – baby chicks don’t fly off, they drop off, them swim w/mom
- – their little feet paddling franticly as they learn how to swim – just too cute!
- – fabulous 10+ start to the day!
- 11:45 – return
- 12:30 – lunch Asian/Chinese theme
- Nap
- 3:00 – 2nd expedition in 1st group – wet landing – landscape pretty desolate
- – timber logs dot the coastline
- – from Russian logging caught in Arctic tides
- – there are no trees in the Arctic
- – some patches of colorful moss & lichen
- – a dozen walrus hanging out & warming up
- – get a show when Walter the Walrus rolls himself down beach to water
- – fabulous 10+ end of day!
- 4:30 – happy hour – nice Chardonnay Viognier blend
- – in room cheese & salami snacks from lunch
- 6:00 – steam room VG for stiff back
- 7:00 – expedition recap & tomorrow schedule in theatre Deck 4
- 7:30 – dinner on Deck 2
- 10:30 – whale spotting alert – up to deck 7
- – blue whales are the biggest of all
- – see a few spouts – not much fanfare
- 11:30 – to bed
- No satellite coverage – no internet
- – just enjoy being in present w/o distraction
What I DON’T LIKE
- – not as showy as the humpbacks
- No satellite coverage – like having news channels – no internet
FUN-fact – There is no sun from August to March and full sun the other months.
FUN-travel: Andoyane Islands & Monacobreen, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 3
August 26, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Andoyane Islands & Monacobreen, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 3
Day 41 – Sunday, August 10 – Andoyane Islands & Monacobreen, Svalbard – A&K Arctic Cruise Day 3 – full sun w/clouds in distance – mid 40’s – 24 hrs daylight
What I LIKE
- 1st group expedition – 8:30 – zodiak tour (no landing) of Andoyane Islands includes:
- – birds include arctic terns, black guillemots, eiders
- – landscape includes mountain ridges of very different shapes & ages
- – alpine summits w/granite & remnant of volcano
- – spot 2 polar bears swimming
- 10:00 – return & 2nd group goes out
- 11:30 – announce that polar bears are on land
- 12:00 – 1st group (that would be us!) gets taken back out
- – mom & cub – pretty much grazing on berries
- – not too much moving & pretty far away
- – Chris has high zoom lens
- 1:00 – lunch features Italian buffet
- – French pizza better than no pizza
- – deck 6 is more casual for dinner & best lunch option
- – always has main hot food item cooked to order
- – outdoor deck seating available too
- 3:45 – 2nd expedition – Monacobreen
- – large glacier named after Prince Albert I of Monaco
- – 3 mile wide glacier main attraction
- – chunks of ice crunch under zodiac
- – navigate around small icebergs
- – lots & lots of ice make for nice spotting – bearded seal resting
- 5:15 – return & happy hour
- 7:00 – expedition recap & tomorrow briefing in theatre Deck 4
- 7:30 – dinner on Deck 2
- No satellite coverage – no internet
- – just enjoy being in present w/o distraction
- Really smooth well stabilized ship
What I DON’T LIKE
- 6:30 – wake up
- 8:00 – hurry up & wait – standing in line to go out
- Polar bears too far away to really see
- – miss seeing them come out of water & walk onto shore
- Pizza not that good
FUN-fact – Per AECO guidelines only 100 people are allowed to land at one time. The ship has 197 passengers that are divided into two groups for the expeditions. You are either scheduled for the first and the last landing or the second and the first landing each day. To make it fair this rotates every day.