Under somber grey
skies we set out in our Polar Cirkel boats at 08:30 to explore the terminus of
Monacobreen, a glacier named after Duke Albert of Monaco. Each glacier cruise was thirty minutes
long. It took about five minutes for the
speedy Norwegian boats to reach the
minimum safety distance of 200 metres to the glacier which meant that each boat
had a full twenty minutes to cruise along the ice front! As an additional safety measure, all five
boats set out in an anti-clock wise train, ensuring that you always had company
close by.
As usual there were
thousands of Black-legged Kittiwakes in the air, on the water and perched on
ice floes. Where the fresh water outflow
of the Glacier was the greatest, there congregated many thousands of sea
birds. With good binoculars you could
see that most of the birds were Kittiwakes with a smattering of Northern
Fulmars and Glaucous Gulls mixed in. It
took a full five hours to make sure that everyone got their turn in the Polar
Cirkel boats. By 13:30 everyone was back
on board Fram.
In the afternoon we
visited a site called Jotunkjeldene in Bockfjorden. In Norse mythology, Jotuns are a race of
giants. Jotunskjeldene translates to
"giant springs". However the
springs here are barely more than a trickle of sulphur laden water. One wonders
if these springs were larger at one time or if perhaps the name is an example
of Nordic humour. The result of the warmer spring water is the presence of several
species of plants that do not grow anywhere else in Spitsbergen. We walked 100 metres straight up from the
landing site to the spring and from there we could continue for another two to
three hundred metres where we had a nice view of the surrounding area. From that beautiful vista we could continue
down the same route to the landing site.
Jotunkjeldene is a
beautiful place. Large glaciers surround the landing site. There are deep red, iron rich mountains to
the east. There were lots of wold flowers
blooming including Bulbous Saxifrage, Mountain Avens, Arctic Mouse Ear and
Svalbard Poppy. We saw lots of
evidence of Caribou in the form of scat and shed antlers.
By 20:00 everyone was
back on the ship. Even though we had
already had a full and rewarding day, the day was not yet over. We set a course for Moffen island where we
would cross 80˚ N and where we hoped to find Walruses hauled out on the sandy
beach. Moffen is a protected area. No one is allowed to land there, but with
good binoculars we hoped to see those extraordinary pinnipeds.
On the way to Moffen
Island we sighted Five Polar Bears in the same area. One of the bears was dragging what looked
like a Reindeer leg. Food is one of the
only things that will draw Polar Bears together in a loose group. We watched the Polar Bears for about an hour
and then we continued on to Moffen Island.
