My week of "work" up North.

I had the most amazing week last week. I wouldn't believe you if you told me these stories, but they are true stories, I swear :)

So finally I got a job and it's a very good job for me. I'm enjoying so much working in a University again and with environmental research. Last week I got to join the course I'm helping with on their cruise excursion up North. We sailed in an ice breaker ship called Lance out Isfjord and up the West coast of Svalbard.

We stopped in NyÅlesund on the way up and got to walk around for a few hours. There isn't much to see or do there because it's a population of around 12 in the winter and about 200 in the summer so anytime you go it's pretty dead :) They opened the store (that is correct "the" store) especially for us, so that we could purchase post cards and things. I had a grand total of 26 kroners with me and had to choose between two postcards, or one post card and a stamp, or one postcard and a chocolate bar. I'm sorry everybody but I needed the chocolate bar, so not everybody is getting a post card from NyÅlesund! NyÅlesund was a very cute little place and it has a beautiful beach with several glaciers coming into the sea right across the fjord, and they had a very nice little museum about the mining history there as well as a newer museum that focused on all the environmental research that goes on there now.

We then sailed further North and around the North West point of Svalbard until we came to Raudfjord on the North coast. It was there that we found land fast sea ice and decided to break our way into it and have the ship park in the ice.  By the time we started breaking through the ice we had already hopped in the hot tub (that's right there was a hot tub onboard). So it was from this vantage point that we had our first polar bear sightings of the trip!

These bears stuck around on the sea ice  for nearly the entire time we were parked there. We all witnessed these bears mating, eating, hunting, sleeping, running, walking, fighting, and swimming. So pretty much everything polar bears do but give birth. Most of the time they were over a kilometre away but could clearly be seen without binoculars. There were a couple instances where the bears came quite close to the ship, but never cause any harm to us or our equipment. One of the times they came close it was to try and catch this fat harp seal that had been laying near our ship for hours. Another time we were out on the ice and they just happened to stroll a little too close for comfort so were had to get back onboard the ship. Many great photos were taken and many fantastic memories were made.

A bunch of us, including one crew member, did a proper polar plunge in the month of May. We broke through the thin ice that was behind the ship, tied a rope around our waists and jumped into the water! It was cold and so salty, but I would do it again in a heart beat. When I scrambled up the sea ice steps out of the icy water I struggled to but my warm one piece suit back on because my fingers were fumbling from the cold shock, but with a little help from my friends I was able to dress myself so that I could run up the ladder on the ship and jump into the nice hot tub. It was an awesome experience.

On our last day we were well ahead of schedule so we used the time to do what normal cruise ships do, we drove up to pass the 80 degree parallel! One the way back South we sailed in to a really beautiful fjord that most cruise ships visit called Magdalenefjord and on the way our I saw walrus laying on the ice near the shore but they were very far away and honestly I mistook them for rocks at first glance!

The weather on the way back was getting bad so the ride got a little wavy and kept rocking me to sleep., but it was great to experience the sea spray on your back when standing on the bow, holding on against the crazy strong winds.

The office at the NyÅlesund harbour.

The old coal mine train that would carry the coal from the mines.

One of the many glacier fronts seen from NyÅlesund.

The most northern, and cutest post office I've ever seen.

Roald Amundsen's launching point for his airship trip to the north pole in 1926.

The bears we saw mating earlier, this is the view from my cabin window in aboard the ship.

The view out the back of the ship.

Everyone taking photos of the bear when he came close to the ship.

Raudfjord, our home for the week.

On our way home we took a stop in Magdalenefjord.

Hopefully there will be some more photos to follow, I just have to get them from everybody else who took way better photos than I did because I have the tendency to put my camera down when fun things happen :)