Fri
19 Sep
2014
The arctic isn’t a theme park, it is still wild, rough, the real thing. Anyone who didn’t believe it was convinced today. Seemingly endless strong winds and snow showers, taking all the views, turning any walk out on the icy deck into a little expedition. Even Krossfjord, reasonably well sheltered against westerly winds, did not tolerate a landing anymore today. An afternoon at anchor, well sheltered from the heavy westerly seas, the winds howling through the rigging, it feels almost like a wintering. Now, if the storm never ceases…?
But it did. This October weather came 4 weeks too early, but it did not last forever. Blomstrandhalvøya provided us with cold feed, a frozen waterfall, wind and snow, some lonely reindeer, and of course famous Ny London in drifting snow, the old houses covered with crusts of ice and snow, a unique view!
Kongsbreen is producing Spitsbergen’s bluest icebergs, at least today. Do you know this famous photo of a very blue, very weathered iceberg in Antarctica, with penguins? Same colour, just without penguins.
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
In the late afternoon, the heavy seas at the pier of Ny Ålesund had calmed down enough to let us go alongside there. So we could help the Kongsfjordbutikken to a late season turnover peak and then walk in Amundsen’s footsteps. Ny Ålesund in winter mood.