Fri
8 Aug
2014
Sometimes, 200 metres are more than enough to have the world below you. And if this world is Sørkapp Land with its wide glaciers and some of Spitsbergen’s finest mountains, under a blue sky and a bright sun, then it is one of life’s better moments.
Stellingfjellet has one of the archipelago’s largest guillemot colonies, high up on the cliffs. Ten thousands of them. It would rival famous Alkefjellet in Hinlopen Strait, but the first floor is uninhabited and the visitor’s lounge a bit more distant.
High surf on the beach. A polar bear is roaming around, looking for birds that have fallen down from the colony. Our first bear.
There is one glacier after the other on the east coast, separated by steep, dark cliffs. Inhospitable and wild.
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
We find a silent anchorage in a bay that does not even exist. Virgin land, which appeared just very recently under the retreating glaciers. We don’t miss the change to explore it a bit just before midnight, finding ammonites and polar bear tracks with surprisingly large icebergs in beautiful evening light in the background.
By the way, my new book is in print and it can now be ordered 🙂 it is a photo book with the title “Norwegens arktischer Norden (3): Die Bäreninsel und Jan Mayen”, with German text Click here for further details!