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Yearly Archives: 2024 − Travelblog
Kongsfjord: Ossian Sarsfjellet & Blomstrandhalvøya
Thu
4 Jul
2024
We enjoyed the day in Kongsfjord, where we expected the best weather available. We didn’t regret it!
Ossian Sarsfjellet has some great views over Kongsfjord, a mixed seabird colony of Brünich’s guillemots and kittiwakes and last but not least an impressive species range of flowers, including some rare ones such as arnica angustifolia.
Blomstrandhalvøya is one of Kongsfjord’s beautiful classics, from the old marble mine of Ny London / Marble Island to the elevated parts such as Bratliekollen which has a splendid panoramic view of Kongsfjord.
Photo gallery – Kongsfjord: Ossian Sarsfjellet & Blomstrandhalvøya – 03rd July 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
From Forlandsund to Ny-Ålesund
Wed
3 Jul
2024
Things happened quickly, the weather was great so made as much as possible out of the day. Walruses were high on the wishlist. We found them in Forlandsund, together with a lot of kittiwakes. A lovely combination 🙂
We continued to Ny-Ålesund, grabbing the opportunity to have the place to ourselves without any large ship there. Nice!
Photo gallery – From Forlandsund to Ny-Ålesund – 02nd July 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Taking off again – with SV Meander
Mon
1 Jul
2024
Today we took off again, this time with SV Meander! 18 days of Spitsbergen, that’s a lot. We are looking forward to the adventure!
And it was a good start: we enjoyed a lovely little evening cruise in Ymerbukta, enjoying the evening light at the glacier of Esmarkbreen.
And as we were just about to call it a day, we suddenly saw a polar bear family at Alkhornet 🙂
Photo gallery – From Longyearbyen to Ymerbukta and Alkhornet – 01st July 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Spitsbergen summer: chicks, champagne glasses, snow buntings
Thursday was the longest day in the northern hemisphere. This time it was the 20th of June and not the 21st because 2024 is a leap year. It varies anyway, in “normal” years it is sometimes also the 22nd or the 23rd of June, depending on the details of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. Anyway – 24th of June is Sankt Hans, and the night before is Sankthansaften (St. Hans’s evening), an event duly celebrated with huge bonfires and a drink or two.
Common eider duck on her nest at the dogyard in Adventdalen.
Now the summer is here in full bloom. Common eider ducks and geese are busy breeding in their colonies in large numbers, and you can see the first chicks making their first steps in the tundra.
It is summer when the champagne glass breaks
It is “officially” summer in Longyearbyen when the stem of the champagne glass is broken. The “champagne glass” is a huge snow field with corresponding shape on Operafjellet, eight kilometres due east and easily seen from Longyearbyen.
The “champagne glass”, a snow field on Operafjellet, on Sunday (16th June) …
With progressing snow melt, the stem will break and the food is then separate from the cup, and once that has happened it is summer. That’s how they do it here. It is a popular sport to predict the date of this important event, which this year happened last Tuesday, which is quite early. In other years this happened in late July, depending on the amount of snow and the timing of the snow melting period.
… and on Friday (21st of June).
Messengers of spring this year less abundant: decline of snow buntings
Many people in Longyearbyen had the impression that the numbers of snow buntings were lower this year than usual. The snow bunting is Spitsbergen’s only singing bird. It comes around mid April and the beautiful voice of the male brings pleasure to all who have just had half a year of winter.
The impression that numbers were and are lower this year were now confirmed by scientists from NINA (Norwegian Institute for nature research), as Svalbardposten wrote. The scientists maintain a long-term population monitoring project which now comprises 27 years. The project includes monitoring 100 nesting boxes in Adventdalen. Usually, between 40 and 60 nests are found in these boxes (in all of them together, not in every single box 😅). This year, however, the total number was nine.
Snow bunting in Adventdalen in early June: this year in lower numbers.
The exact reasons are unclear, but just for a change, climate change is not amongst the primary suspects. Neither the conditions in the breeding areas in Spitsbergen. One theory is that a part of the population fell victim to extreme storms in the Barents Sea during the autumn migration. There were heavy storms in the Novaya Zemlya area last October, which fits regarding space and time. The bird flue and unusual cold temperatures in the wintering areas, the region around the border between Russia and Kazakhstan may also have played a role.
A rare extreme event of this kind leaves at least space for hope that the population may recover in years to come.
An evening in Adventdalen
An evening in Adventdalen in June can be a little journey to paradise, especially for those interested in birds. Start at the common eider colony at the dogyard near Longyearbyen (an easy walk in town and located in the area that is generally considered polarbear-safe, certainly at the time of year when the ducks are breeding there). Just sit down somewhere and spend a little while quietly and you will see what I mean.
The current impression on the wide tundra areas nearby and a bit further into Adventdalen is a slightly different one. It is just an impression, totally selective in space and time, but the impression is that there are far fewer geese grazing now on the tundra in lower Adventdalen than there used to be in previous years.
A comparison. The first picture is from July 2022 …
Geese in Adventdalen, 2022.
… and the second picture was taken on Monday (10 June 2024).
Geese (or not) in Adventdalen, June 2024.
Was it the bird flu?
The location of both photos is not exactly the same (there is a few kilometres between them, but both places used to have plenty of geese in the past), June is not July and 2024 is obviously not 2022. So, just to make it clear again – it is just an impression. No data, no science. But I found the impression quite strong and it is that there are fewer geese around. Maybe they already went for other areas in the spring of 2024? There was little snow in May, that might be a difference. Or was it the bird (avian) flu? This disease may have played a role, as it is reported to have killed about 1/3 of the Svalbard population of Barnacle geese, amounting to 13,200 birds as Scotland’s Nature Agency im wrote in Oktober 2023. A staggering number.
Many species of smaller birds
But a closer look reveals a lot of life, especially amongst smaller birds, as the following little selection of photos may show.
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
First row, left: leucistic Barnacle geese are regularly seen, although very low in numbers. Middle: dunlin. Right: Red throated diver
Second row, left to right: Eurasian teal, reck-necked phalarope, snow bunting.
There were also some king eiders, but we saw them “only” in flight that time.
Especially Eurasian teal and reck-necked phalarope are amongst species that are not seen every day and everywhere in Spitsbergen. Lower Adventdalen has an impressive range of species, well worth a visit for bird lovers, and nature lovers in general.
From Eidembukta to Ymerbukta and Longyearbyen
Sun
9 Jun
2024
We started the day in the lovely bay Eidembukta on the west coast with its wide tundra plains. Sunshine, blue sky, breeding geese (keep your distance), reindeer (don’t move, they might be curious and come pretty close), views on glaciers, lagoons and moraines. A wonderful part of Spitsbergen, very different from the steep, rocky, heavily glaciated areas further north which currently still have much more of a winter appearance.
Later we continued into Ymerbukta, our final stop in Spitsbergen’s beautiful nature, still with something near 2 kilometres of ice between the glacier and open water.
On the way back to Longyearbyen, we rounded things off with a passage near Grumantbyen, and later we went alongside in the harbour of Longyearbyen. Those who wanted to were still early enough to round the day off in the local brewery close the harbour – the world’s northernmost brewery.
So a wonderful journey came to its end. The weather had largely been really good, the spirits high, the wildlife was there … great stuff! Big thanks to all who have contributed to this, first of course the crew of the good sailing ship Antigua! And of course everybody else who was part of this trip and who came with enthusiasm and curiousity and good spirits. Save travels back home, and see you again next time! ☺️
Photo gallery – From Eidembukta to Ymerbukta and Longyearbyen – 06th June 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
From Ny-Ålesund to Forlandsund
Fri
7 Jun
2024
What a day! Full sunshine, and summer in the air. The air temperature was 5 degrees centigrade, but it felt like 20 🙂 the morning in Ny-Ålesund was pure pleasure.
Later we sailed south into Forlandsund. We still had walruses on the wishlist. Well, no problem …
Gallery – From Ny-Ålesund to Forlandsund – 06th June 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
In Krossfjord
Fri
7 Jun
2024
Waking up in Krossfjord with flat calm water and mirror images is a pretty good way to start the day 🙂 although it is painfully obvious here how dramatically the glaciers are retreating, both smaller ones such as Forbesbreen and the mighty Lilliehöökbreen. Still, they are hugely impressive. A great place!
Later, we got to see some Brünich’s guillemots and even some puffins pretty close-up in Fjortende Julibukta. Good stuff. Then we finished the day in style in the harbour of Ny-Ålesund.
Gallery – In Krossfjord – 05th June 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Northwest Spitsbergen
Thu
6 Jun
2024
A calm night at anchor is always a good thing, especially in beautiful Holmiabukta and accompanied by the mating call of ringed seals, a very special sound that you can only hear at this time of year when the ship is anchored and the engine is off.
Fuglesongen can make getting off and on again on the shore a challenge, but what you get in return can be stunning. You get close to the soul of the Arctic – in shape of countless little auks. The place is so full with life.
Later, the majestic Fuglefjord presented itself in the most beautiful sunshine. What a pleasure! A polar bear in Kobbefjord rounded the day off.
Galerie – Northwest Spitsbergen – 04th June 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
In Raudfjord
Wed
5 Jun
2024
The days are full and beautiful, and there is not much time to write. The weather God is clearly on our side. A little bit of fog just added to the atmosphere, and then the sun came out in full splendor in inner Raudfjord. The ice was breaking up in Ayerfjord, something that clearly benefitted biological productivity, and the table was laid for huge numbers of Brünich’s guillemots and several Minke whales.
Photo gallery – In Raudfjord – 03rd June 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Ice – 02nd June 2024
Sun
2 Jun
2024
We had already covered a lot of distance to the north so we were on Spitsbergen’s north coast this morning, ready to sail for the ice. And so we did. We reached the ice edge after a couple of hours at 80°31’N. What a wonderful icy world! That’s were we spent the next couple of hours.
Then we went south again, with a perfect gentle sailing wind. All sails went up, one by one. Beautiful, that’s how we love it!
Gallery – Ice – 02nd June 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Longyearbyen to Smeerenburgfjord – 01 June 2024
Sun
2 Jun
2024
Here we go, starting with SV Antigua in Spitsbergen!
Looking at the weather forecast, we decided to get north quickly, even though that meant sailing the first night including some bumpy stretches. Next morning, we wanted to go for our first landing in Engelskbukta, only to see a polar bear coming out of the water exactly where we wanted to go – what an amazing start to the day and the trip!
Under sails, we continued northwards, although the swell did not exactly make this passage the greatest bit of sailing fun ever. So everybody quite enjoyed touching solid ground later that day in Bjørnhamna.
Gallery – Longyearbyen to Smeerenburgfjord – 31st May / 01st June 2024
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
Ice in Adventfjord, spring in Adventdalen
Wed
22 May
2024
Some impressions from Longyearbyen’s near surroundings, where the snow began to disappear quite rapidly in early May. But there was quite a lot of drift ice in Adventfjord (and not only there) in early May, much to the delight of many in Longyearbyen who enjoyed the views.
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
The two gulls are lesser black-backed gulls (that’s what I think, at least; gulls are a bit of a science), quite rare birds in Spitsbergen.
Meanwhile, the geese have arrived and gather on snow-free tundra areas in and near Longyearbyen. There are more and more of them every day, a beautiful time for birders and nature lovers.
“Ice in Advent Bay”: 1896 and 2024
The ice in Adventfjord reminded me much of an old image from 1896. This (below) is how the Englishman Martin Conway saw Adventfjord – Longyearbyen did not exist back then, but there was a hotel at Hotellneset, not far from where the airport is today.
Conway and his group were the first ones to cross Spitsbergen over land from Advent Bay, as it was known back then, to the east coast. Later he wrote the classic “The first crossing of Spitsbergen”, which is highly recommended by the present author.
“Ice in Advent Bay”. This is how Martin Conway saw Adventfjord in 1896.
It looked very similar in early May 2024.
This season’s first triplog: with SV Meander from Alta to Bodø
The 2024 arctic saison has begun! We spent 10 days with SV Meander sailing in north Norway from Alta to Bodø. If you follow my travel blog on these pages then you know all about it and you have already seen a lot of pictures. Now the triplog is available. The triplog itself is in German, but it comes with plenty of photos well sorted in 3 galleries. Start here.
SV Meander in Trollfjord.
It is certainly worth clicking through the photos. We were very lucky on this trip, with a lot of sunshine and no really bad weather, almost a bit untypical for the area and that time of year, still late winter. And yes, the whales … but just have a look at the pictures.
Good SV Meander will keep sailing in north Norway also in the future, both in spring and in the late season, in November, when we count on seeing northern lights and orcas. Visit Sailing Expedition’s website for more information.
The next triplog will come in June, after the trip with Antigua 31 May – 08 June.
Polar circle, Saltstraumen and Kjerringøy
Sun
5 May
2024
A ship is clearly the best way to travel in a country with a coastline as Norway has ⛵️👍😎 as we did it the last couple of days with SV Meander. But believe it or not, there are other options. To round this chapter of my travels off, we had a good look around Bodø, from Saltfjellet with the polar circle in the south to Saltstraumen and Kjerringøy in the north. Beautiful places, some of which I am sure we will visit under sail as soon as the opportunity comes up.
A highlight for me was the sighting of moose – we don’t have them in Spitsbergen. We saw as many as nine of them just one evening! And no, that does not include the three reindeer in the first image with hoofed animals in the gallery below 😄.
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Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
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