Expedition Log
North Spitsbergen - Polar Bear Special
1-8 June, 2016
On board the
M/V Ortelius
MV Ortelius was named after the Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598)
who published the first modern world atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of
the World) in 1570. MV Ortelius was built in 1989 in Gdynia, Poland, as a research
vessel for the Russian Academy of Science and was named Marina Svetaeva. In 2011
she was purchased by Oceanwide Expeditions. The vessel was re-flagged and
renamed Ortelius. Now the ship is sailing as a 125-Passenger vessel. Ortelius is 91 m
long, 17,6 m wide and has a maximum draft of 5,80 m, with an Ice Strength rating of
UL1/1A, top speed of 13 knots and one diesel engine generating 3200 kW.
Polar Bear Special
Captain Ernesto Barria,
and his International Crew of 52
Including
Hotel Manager –Robert McGillivray (Netherlands)
Asst. Hotel Manager – Sava Savov (Bulgaria)
Head Chef – Christian Gossak (Austria)
Sous-Chef – Roden Paguio (New Zealand)
And
Expedition Leader – Rinie van Meurs (Netherlands)
Asst. Expedition Leader – Sebastian Arrebola (Argentina)
Expedition Guide – Jean-Baptiste Strobel (France)
Expedition Guide – Arjen Drost (Netherlands)
Expedition Guide –William Smith (United Kingdom)
Expedition Guide – Josef Wermelinger (Switzerland)
Expedition Guide – Hannah van Noort (Netherlands)
Expedition Guide – Baldur Thorvaldsson (Iceland)
Dive Master – Peter Webster (United Kingdom)
Dive Guide – Michael Green (United Kingdom)
Dive Guide – André Fahrni (Switzerland)
Expedition Doctor – Tanja Bayer (Germany)
Welcome you all on board
the Ortelius!
Day 1 – June 1
Longyearbyen
16:30 GPS position: 78°13.8’ N / 015°36.10’ E
Weather: +7,5°C, overcast, wind: Calm
Around one o’clock in the afternoon
all of us were in Longyearbyen in
Spitsbergen. This former coal mining
settlement has a population of
about 2,300 and is one of the
world’s northern most settlements.
We were taken to the town, which
gave everyone a chance to see the
town centre and excellent museum
in the large modern university
building. On display in the museum
is the whaling history of the
archipelago
and
plenty
of
information about wildlife, early
exploration and World War II.
Longyearbyen is named after the American, John Munro Longyear (1850-1922), one of the
founders of the Arctic Coal Company (1906-1916). Coal is still produced in a mine near
Longyearbyen but not in quantities as seen in the twentieth century. Our expedition ship
and home for the next week, Ortelius was anchored in Adventfjorden and members of our
staff and crew were on the pier with us while we were waiting for a large cruise ship to set
sail and Ortelius to moor alongside the pier. Our stay on board started with a warm
welcome in the lecture room by hotel manager Robert with a useful speech about the ship,
from basic rules about toilet system to high tech wifi and internet connections. We also
heard a bright safety briefing by third officer Luis about abandon ship procedures and how
to react in case of distress signals. This was followed by an exercise with gathering at the
muster station. Always good to know such things, and hopefully not put them into practice!
We then gathered around our expedition leader Rinie who introduced us to the rest of the
team and we all toasted to our great adventure ahead with Captain Ernesto Barría. After a
great dinner prepared by the chefs Christian and Paguio, we were sailing in the large fjord of
Isfjorden. On both sides of Isfjorden flat-lying sedimentary rocks only 45–60 million years
old were exposed, very young compared to most other parts of Spitsbergen, carved by
recent glaciers to display beautiful U-shaped valleys. Tired after the long journey and the
new impressions, the bunks were quickly found while the ship sailed into the open sea
towards the North.
Day 2 – June 2
Liefdefjord: Andøyane & Monacobreen
16:00 GPS position: 79° 40’ 24’’ N / 013° 22’31’’ E
Weather: +7,5°C, overcast, wind: Calm
Overnight the captain moved the
ship north and we woke up
looking out on the jagged
mountains of the northwest
corner. We would be sailing all
morning towards Liefdefjord and
we spent this time going over
several mandatory briefings. We
were told about how to behave
ashore, how to get in and out of
the zodiacs and what to do when
we encountered a Polar Bear.
After we were handed our rubber boots, we could already practice a little with that last
newly learned skill as the first Polar Bears were spotted on the shores of Reindyrsflya. A
mother and a one-year-old cub were walking along the shore. We had to stay a little out as
the sea charts didn’t have any depths close to the shore, but the captain did a great job in
bringing us as close as safely possible. Both bears seemed in reasonable good shape, but
being on land already now, they still had a long time to go before the ice returned.
After lunch we boarded the zodiacs for a zodiac cruise around the largest of the Andøyane at
the entrance of Liefdefjord. These islands lived up to their name, Andøyane translates into
Duck Islands, as we saw many Eiders and King Eiders resting on the shores or the ice along
the shore. Especially the royal of the two was very popular by birders and non-birders alike
with its colourful head and bill. Another highlight was the several Red Phalaropes that were
swimming and displaying
along the shores. It was
really nice to see these
colourful birds in their
summer
plumage,
in
contrast to the grey winter
plumage some of us know
from
back
home.
Meanwhile the divers had
their first dive in the chilling
waters, something many of
the non-divers had quite a
bit of respect for. But we all wondered what life would be like under the water. To give a little
insight in that world, Arjen had caught some plankton and put it on display in the bar. When
given a closer look, the water teemed with tiny, barely visible copepods, who turned out to
be a really important stage in the food chain.
Just when recap was about to be started, another Polar Bear was found on a small island in
the inner Liefdefjord. This time we could get a bit closer, but apparently this bear was very
tired. Even though Ortelius isn’t the quietest of ships and Rinie was making several
announcements, it never even lifted its head. Only when Rinie made one final
announcement proclaiming him dead and saying that we would continue, he moved over
and lifted its head, showing he was really alive.
Recap was cancelled and we went straight to another nice dinner. After dinner many of us
went outside to have a look at the magnificent Monacobreen surrounded by steep
mountains. Many pictures were taken and people marvelled at the size of the glacier, even
though Rinie announced that
the small island we saw quite
far away from the glacier had
been ice covered little over
10 years ago. This far away
from civilization the effects
of climate change were
clearly visible. But thoughts
on that didn’t linger long, as
we were all captivated by the
different colours of the ice
and the sheer size of the
glacier.
After a short stay near the
glacier front, we headed out again, out of Liefdefjord towards Hinlopenstretet, searching for
the ice and hopefully more Polar Bears.
Day 3 – June 3
Hinlopenstretet
12:00 GPS position: 79° 11’ 730’’ N / 019° 36’064’’ E
Weather: 0°C, overcast, wind: force 7
After an uneventful overnight voyage from
Woodfjorden and an excellent cruise around the
Andøyanen (Duck Islands), Ortelius entered the
100km channel of Hinlopenstretet with Gustav V Land
to port and Asgardforma to starboard. Poor visibility
and weather gradually improved as the ship sailed
south giving superb views of the ice covered
landscape. Passengers became excited as broken sea
ice and small bergs slid past the bow as the course neared Wahlbergøya Island. Ahead an
unbroken line of white on the horizon indicated that we were nearing the ice edge. As
Ortelius nosed into the vast expanse of sea ice, sharp eyes spotted a bear walking across the
floes directly towards the vessel. Long lens cameras clicked as passengers recorded the
scene. This was what everyone had hoped for…a bear on ice. Unfortunately, just as lunch
was called, and still some distance away, the bear veered off to the left and walked away
from the ship.
Everyone thought the appearance of the bear appeared would be the highlight of the day,
when suddenly there was a dramatically announcement on the tannoy as everyone was
called to lounge to hear the captain announce that Ortelius had a major mechanical
problem. The ship had been immobilised… losing all power in the main engine, with the
failure of one of the cylinders. He
explained the ship was in a safe
position and in no danger whatsoever
and that Spitzbergen authorities,
Oceanwide Office and all Travel
Agencies had been informed and the
automatic, incident, maritime safety
procedures for passenger ships were
in place.
This included two vessels sailing
directly to the Hinlopenstretet
location to escort Ortelius. As Ortelius carried spare parts for almost all eventualities, the
ship’s engineers started working on the repair.
The captain then addressed passengers again at Recap at 6.30. Followed by short wildlife
lectures from Rene and Arjen. A very interesting contribution of the recap was the series of
underwater photographs taken by expert diver Rene Lipmann of “Sea angels” and assorted
species.
“Happy Hour” ensured happiness for the remainder of the evening.
Day 4 – June 4
Hinlopenstretet
12:00 GPS position: 79° 11’ 730’’ N / 019° 36’064’’ E
Weather: 0°C, overcast, wind: force 8
In the night of 3 to 4 June there must have been a higher number of restless sleepers than
usual. Not due to a heavily rocking boat or noisy people in the hallway, but because the day
before we were informed by the captain that – if we were lucky- the engine might get fixed
overnight and we would be able to hear this if they succeeded in fixing it. In any other case,
we would get towed back to Longyearbyen by the Sysselmannen who were already on their
way.
Since no strange sounds from deep down under in the Ortelius were perceived by either
crew, guide or passenger, we were not surprised when we received the news that all the
hard work overnight had sadly be in vain. The engineers had tried everything possible, but
were not able to get the engine running in time. Our captain then made the official
announcement
that we would get
towed back to
Longyearbyen
after all, since we
were “adrift” and
were to follow
standard
procedures, time
had run out. Not
to worry however,
we were in a safe
location, a safe
and –apart from
the
engineproperly
functioning vessel,
and the Sysselmannen were already on their way.
Despite this sad and slightly unexpected news since everyone, including captain and crew
had kept their hopes up, the mood was optimistic. “We are adrift in the Arctic pack ice and
will get towed away, that makes for a story!” and after all, we still had an amazing view and
interesting and informative activities to fill the time. Very understandable though, several
people informed as to what would happen with regards to refunding, possible flights home
that could be rebooked to an earlier date and of course “Does this mean we can have free
drinks?”, followed up by loud laughter.
After this short update about the whole situation and how to proceed, we were being
spoiled with an intriguing lecture about the “reproduction of polar bears” by the polar bear
specialist and hobbyist, Rinie van Meurs! For additional information on this reproduction of
polar bears, we were visited by our own personal polar bear who had apparently been in
disguise dressed up as a human
being in between the passengers
and came out to show his true
(white) colors. The polar bear
gave an impressive and very
detailed preview of “Arctic
courtship”.
Next, we could get comfortable in
the lecture room which was
transformed into a true “home
cinema” where the first part of
the documentary Frozen Planet
was shown, narrated by -of
course- David Attenborough. In the meantime, the Sysselmannen arrived and people were
kindly requested to stay off the deck and remain inside due to possible danger of the towing
cables that were being attached. Everything proceeded according to plan and soon we were
on our way to Longyearbyen again!
Later in the afternoon, a lecture about Barnacle geese was on the menu, presented by the
ceiling cleaner, Arjen, after which the documentary Frozen Planet continued with a second
part.
Half an hour before diner the usual recaps were presented in the lounge with Bill the Scot
telling us about how to see and perceive things in the Arctic in relation to his creative work
that can be admired on several locations in the Ortelius. Next, Hannah came up with a short
recap about piracy amongst birds in the Arctic, and finally JB-Jean Baptiste showed us some
very nice recordings of his work on Brünnich’s guillemots in Spitsbergen.
The dinner after these recaps was
most welcome since everybody had
been looking forward to a delicious
bbq-buffet. Chicken drumsticks,
racks, and beef was offered as well
as oven potatoes and for desert
some cake and brownies for the
ones with a sweet tooth. Coming up;
relaxed digestion in the Ortelius
lounge! Relaxation didn’t last long
however, since a helicopter with
three extra technicians landed on
deck and people hurried outside to
take some nice pictures of this spectacle. With the landing of this helicopter and the bar
filled with stuffed and chatting people came an end to a somewhat unusual day.
Day 5 – June 5
At sea towards Longyearbyen
12:00 GPS position: 78° 56’ 036’’ N / 009° 54’565’’ E
Weather: 2°C, partially overcast, wind: force 4
In the morning light with a fog-dimmed sunshine or later on in the darker fog with different
grey in the light, we found ourselves still towed from the “Polarsyssel” around the northwest
corner of Amsterdamoya.
A wonderful, long Special Sunday Morning
Breakfast made us awake for Rinnies
second Polar Bear presentation describing
the most of the hunting strategies of Polar
Bears. Later in the morning, Josef offered
the chance during a work shop in the bar to
improve the photographic skills and speed
up the cameras for better bird pictures from
the ship.
A short meeting with the captain explained
the upcoming hours on the ship until
Longyearbyen. He noted also, that we will
be much sooner in Longyearbyen than
expected. We arrived there late evening around midnight.
After lunch, we found ourselves between the closed bridge, the bar or the decks to observe
the nice and calm weather and the occasionally birds who passed a long side of the ship. A
“BBC Frozen Planet” documentary in the lecture room was played during the afternoon.
Sebastian had a nice talk in the lecture
room about the life of Roal Amundsen,
one of the most successful explorers
of Polar Regions. The recap updated
us with some information relating to
the reduction of the ice around the
arctic, a personal view on paintings
with Bill and Rinnie’s information about
the next days in Longyearbyen
including the weather forecast.
After dinner, passengers spread out
between the various options with a
nice cinema evening with “Home”
including free popcorn or optional visits
in the bar into the late evening. The highlight however was the astonishing manoeuvre from
“Polarsyssel” to position “Ortelius” alongside the old coal pier near the airport in
Longyearbyen.
Day 6 – June 6
Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen
08:00 GPS position: 78°13.8’ N / 015°36.10’ E
Weather: 6°C, overcast, wind: force 3
Today we woke up along side the coal pier,
the former pier used for coal transportation, in
Longyearbyen. Last night, shortly after
midnight, the “Polarsyssel”, our big blue tug
boat, helped us reaching this destination.
This morning, everyone is free to visit
Longyearbyen, a small mining city of 2500
inhabitants, built at the beginning of the 20th
Century. Now, even if one mine is still
working near here, in Adventdalen, the jobs
are mainly focused on administration,
logistics, scientific research, education and, of course, tourism. All the cruise ships traveling
in the area make a stop in Longyearbyen, even the biggest one, which can sometimes make
the population of the city double in a very short period of time. Our ship with its 92
passengers is for sure more discreet, even if our adventures are already in the city’s
newspaper…
After lunch, almost everybody joins the walk in Adventdalen, a few kilometers from the city.
The upper part of the fjord is a flat, boggy, wet area, where Svalbard Reindeers (an endemic,
quiet rounded subspecies) can peacefully
graze between eider ducks and Barnacle
Geese. Some fellow photographers and keen
birders remain at the back of the group, more
interested in taking pictures of some
Dunlins, Purple Sandpipers, King Eiders or
even Red-necked Phalaropes, one of the
most beautiful waders that can be seen here.
Back close to the city, we stopped at the
kennels, where all the huskies and other dogs
are kept when they are not pulling a sledge.
We are less interested in the dogs sitting here
than by the big Eider Ducks nesting between
the kennels: those smart ducks just take advantage of the barking dogs around them to avoid
being bothered by some eventual hungry Arctic Fox wandering in the area…
Back on the ship, the expedition team gave the last updates about climate change: a new
study, just reported in the newspaper “The Independent”, says that 2016 could be the first
year since 100 000 years with the Arctic Ocean completely free of ice. Here
in the Arctic, where the temperatures rose two times faster than in anywhere else in the
world, climate warming is becoming climate warning…
Day 7 – June 7
Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen
08:00 GPS position: 78°13.8’ N / 015°36.10’ E
Weather: 6°C, partially overcast, wind: Calm
Our second day of unforeseen longer stay than planned in Longyearbyen took us to the west
of the administrative centre of the archipelago, to Bjorndalen or “Bear Valley”. Although by
no means more likely to be a place to spot polar bears than others around Longyearbyen
despite the name, the guides kept the same safety protocols as before.
The plan by going to Bjorndalen was to have a closer look at tiny fellows which we had
encountered out at sea; black and white whose weight is in a matter of hundreds of grams.
It is the Little Auk, Alle alle, that has its breeding place up in the hills looking over the sea
where they go for their much needed krill, small crustaceans that are the fundamentals of
life in the Arctic Ocean.
The buses took us past the Longyearbyen camping place and from there we walked a little
distance to the site where the auks bred. Accompanied by our very own Jean-Baptiste, who
has done scientific work on the site in the past, we made our way up the hill but made sure
to step as little on the rocks as possible as beneath there might be auk nests. Once up, we
tried to sit down and stay motionless as this would help making the birds carefree about our
presence. Once satisfied with the auks, we split up, some went a bit further along the road
while others began making their way back. Some Svalbard Reindeer made their appearance
to our delight along the way, as did the occasional Arctic Skua and even an Arctic Fox looking
for auk eggs. From the bus and also in fact whilst just out of the bus in the morning, we also
spotted a Humpback Whale popping up from time to time. Whilst in a distance, it was a
welcoming way to say goodbye to our passengers at the end of their albeit different trip
than we had planned for.
Day 8 – June 8
Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen
08:00 GPS position: 78°13.8’ N / 015°36.10’ E
It was now time to say farewell to our great adventure, to our safe floating home and to our
lovely new friends! We went down the gangway at about 9 am. A bus took us to town so
that we could do a bit of visit, shopping and mailing from one of the northern most
settlements, before heading to the airport.
Total distance sailed on this voyage:
651 nautical miles / 1,205 kilometres
On behalf of Oceanwide Expeditions, Captain Ernesto Barria
and the Officers,
all Crew, Expedition Team and Hotel Team,
it has been a pleasure travelling with you!
www.oceanwide-expeditions.com
DIVE 1 – June 2
Liefdefjorden
14:30 GPS Position:
Weather: +2°C, overcast,
Sea temp: +1°C, visibility: good
First dive of the trip! After a very busy morning of safety briefs and an afternoon of familiarisation of
the dive facilities on board, sorting out dive
equipment and sorting weights we did a warmup
dive to make sure everyone was weighted correctly,
comfortable with the water temperature and all
their equipment. Dive time of 40 minutes was given
on the assumption that no one would last half that
time, only to be proved wildly wrong. Several divers
surfaced with very cold and painful hands but all
enjoyed the dive, with relatively good visibility and
lots of life, including sea angels (on the first dive!),
Figure 1: Sea angel. Image by Rennie
crabs and several species of fish
Diver
Phil
Jennie
Wolfgang
Christoph
Synthia
Leo
Kim
Rennie
Duncan
Laura
Nicol
Karine
Annely
Leanne
Dive Time-mins
21
21
26
26
26
41
41
40
40
31
31
31
Depth-m
4.6
4.6
6.3
6.3
7.3
6.7
6.8
6
6
4.5
3.7
4.5
Grey (Red) Phalarope
Thorshühnchen
Phalaropus fulicarius
Arctic Skua
Pomarine Skua
Long-tailed Skua
Great Skua
Glaucous Gull
Schmarotzerraubmöwe
Spatelraubmöwe
Falkenraubmöwe
Skua
Eismöwe
Stercorarius parasiticus
Stercorarius pomarinus
Stercorarius longicaudus
Stercorarius skua
Larus hyperboreus
Great black-backed Gull
Mantelmöwe
Larus marinus
Black-legged Kittiwake
Ivory Gull
Arctic Tern
Dreizehenmöwe
Elfenbeinmöwe
Küstenseeschwalbe
Rissa tridactyla
Pagophila eburnea
Sterna paradisaea
Brunnich’s Guillemot
Black Guillemot
Little Auk
Atlantic Puffin
Snow Bunting
Dickschnabellumme
Gryllteiste
Krabbentaucher
Papageitaucher
Schneeammer
Herringsmowe
Sandregenpfeifer
Uria lomvia
Cepphus grylle mandtii
Alle alle
Fratercula arctica
Plectrophenax nivalis
Larus fuscus
Charadrius hiaculata
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Ringed Plover
Mammals / Säugetiere
English Name
Walrus
Bearded seal
Ringed seal
Harp Seal
Harbour/Common Seal
Blue Whale
Fin Whale
Minke Whale
Humpack Whale
Beluga
Arctic Fox
Polar Bear
Spitsbergen Reindeer
Deutscher Name
Walross
Bartrobbe
Ringelrobbe
Sattelrobbe
Seehund
Blauwal
Fin Wal
Zwergwal
Buckelwal
Weisswal
Polarfuchs
Eisbär
Svalbard Renntier
Latin Name
x
5 June
4 June
3 June
x
x
x
x
7 June
Lagopus mutus hyperboreus
Calidris maritima
Arenaria interpres
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Odobenus rosmarus
Erignathus barbatus
Phoca hispida
Pagophilus groenlandicus
Phoca vitulina
Balaenopentera musculus
Balaenopentera physalus
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
7 June
Alpenschneehuhn
Meerstrandläufer
Steinwälzer
x
6 June
Rock Ptarmigan
Purple Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
x
x
x
x
x
6 June
Gavia stellata
Fulmarus glacialis
Anser brachyrhynchus
Branta leucopsis
Somateria mollissima
Somateria spectabilis
Clangula hyemalis
5 June
Sterntaucher
Eissturmvogel
Kurzschnabelgans
Weisswangengans
Eiderente
Prachteiderente
Eisente
4 June
Red-throated diver
Northern Fulmar
Pink-footed Goose
Barnacle Goose
Common Eider
King Eider
Long-tailed Duck
3 June
Latin Name
2 June
Deutscher Name
2 June
English Name
1 June
Birds / Vögel
1 June
OTL 04 June 2016 Polar Bear Special
x
x
x
x
Dephinapterus leucas
Alopex (Vulpes) lagopus
Ursus maritimus
x
Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Polar Bear Special
Wednesday June 1
Longyearbyen
WELCOME ABOARD!
Your luggage will be delivered to your cabin as soon as possible. Please check to make sure you
have received all of your luggage!
Feel free to explore the ship and enjoy a Tea or coffee in the Bar/Lounge on deck 6
TBA
Once we have all passengers on board, we will ask you to gather in the lecture room
on deck 3 to meet hotel manager Robert and Expeditions Leader Rinie (introduction
to the ship) mandatory ‘Safety at Sea’ briefing by the safety officer. Everybody has
to attend this briefing!
This will be followed by a mandatory safety drill.
±18.00
Departure of the Ortelius. Please keep clear of the fore-deck.
19.00
Captain invites all passengers to a reception in the bar (Deck 6) and Expedition
Leader Rinie will introduce your expedition staff and inform you about our plans for
the next few days.
19.30
Dinner is served in the dining room (Deck 4 behind Reception).
*TBA = ‘To be announced’. Please listen for announcements on the speaker system.
The first part of the evening we will sail through the large Isfjord towards the open sea. Then we
head north, along the outer coast of Spitsbergen, heading towards the north coast of Spitsbergen.
Spitsbergen Polar Bear Special
June 1 to 8, 2016
Thursday 2nd June, 2016
Exploring Liefdefjorden
7.45
Wake-up call
08.00 – 09.00
Breakfast
09.15
Mandatory briefing in the lecture room about how to behave in Polar
Bear country, AECO field guidelines and Zodiac Safety Briefing, by
our Expedition Leader Rinie.
TBA
We will hand out the rubber boots. Please stand by announcements
as we call you by deck number.
12.00
Lunch
TBA
In the afternoon we intend to explore the Liefdefjorden, on the North
coast of Spitsbergen. Please be out on deck to help us searching for
wildlife and enjoy the magnificent scenery.
18.30
Recap in the bar. “What’s a recap?” Come along to find out!
19.00
Dinner is served in the dining room.
*TBA = ‘To be announced’. Please listen for announcements on the speaker system.
Remember, stand by for announcements. The key to a successful expedition is to be
flexible.
Spitsbergen Polar Bear Special
June 1 to 8, 2016
Friday 3rd June, 2016
Exploring Hinlopenstretet
7.15
Wake-up call
07.30 – 08.30
Breakfast in the dining room.
Expedition morning in the Hinlopen Strait. Our activity will depend on ice and weather
conditions, please stand by announcements.
12.30
Lunch is served in the dining room.
Expedition morning in the Hinlopen Strait. Our activity will depend on ice and weather
conditions, please stand by announcements.
18.30
Recap in the bar.
19.00
Dinner is served in the dining room.
*TBA = ‘To be announced’. Please listen for announcements on the speaker system.
Remember, stand by for announcements. The key to a successful expedition is to be
flexible.
Spitsbergen Polar Bear Special
June 1 to 8, 2016
Saturday 4th June, 2016
Hinlopenstretet
7.15
Wake-up call
07.30 – 08.30
Breakfast in the dining room.
10.00
In the past Spitsbergen was visited by whalers from all sorts of
nationalities, and they have left evidence of their stay. Please join Bill
in the Lecture Room for a talk on the History of Arctic Whaling.
12.30
Lunch is served in the dining room.
15.00
We will play the BBC documentary Frozen Planet in the Lecture
Room.
17.00
The Barnacle Goose migrates every spring from Scotland to
Spitsbergen where they start their love cycle. Please come and join
Arjen while he talks about The Private Life of the Barnacle Goose.
18.30
Recap in the bar.
19.00
Dinner is served in the dining room.
Spitsbergen Polar Bear Special
June 1 to 8, 2016
Sunday 5th June, 2016
At sea to Longyearbyen
7.45
Wake-up call
08.00 – 09.30
Special Sunday Breakfast is served in the dining room.
10.00
Rinie will give another interesting Polar Bear presentation, this time
he will discuss with you the hunting strategies and food. Please join
him in the Lecture Room.
11.30
For those who would like to improve their photographic skills, Josef
will have a photo workshop in the bar.
12.30
Lunch is served in the dining room.
15.00
We will play the BBC documentary Frozen Planet in the Lecture
Room.
17.00
Join Sebastian in the Lecture Room while he talks about the life of
Roald Amundsen, a truly Polar Explorer.
18.30
Recap in the bar.
19.00
Dinner is served in the dining room.
After Dinner
Movie Time!
Spitsbergen Polar Bear Special
June 1 to 8, 2016
Monday 6th June, 2016
Longyearbyen and Adventdalen
7.45
Wake-up call
08.00 – 09.00
Breakfast is served in the dining room.
Free time to explore Longyearbyen
12.00
Lunch is served in the dining room.
13.15
The buses depart the pier towards Adventdalen.
We will be taken by a bus and then walk back to Longyearbyen (about 10km) through the
tundra and partly along the road. Adventdalen in June is an excellent birding area, dotted
with Pingo’s and ponds, and a grazing area for Reindeer.
-We recommend to wear rubber boot in case we get off the road to see wildlife. The
tundra will be wet and muddy.
-The Expedition Staff will escort you along the walk. At some point, if needed will split the
group in two (faster walkers and those who would like to spend more time observing
wildlife). Please remember not to stray from the group, even though it’s close to
Longyearbyen we are still in Polar Bear country.
18.30
Recap in the bar.
19.00
Dinner is served in the dining room.
Spitsbergen Polar Bear Special
June 1 to 8, 2016
Tuesday 7th June, 2016
Longyearbyen and Bjoerndalen
7.45
Wake-up call
08.00 – 09.00
Breakfast is served in the dining room.
Free time to explore Longyearbyen
12.00
Lunch is served in the dining room.
13.15
The buses depart the pier towards Bjoerndalen.
We will be transported by bus to the entrance of Bjoerndalen. From there, we will walk
towards the colony of Little Auks. The walking distance to the colony is 3 to 4 km, which
will take us around 1 hour to get there and 1 hour to come back to the bus.
-We recommend to wear rubber boot, the tundra may be wet and muddy.
-The Expedition Staff will escort you along the walk. Please remember not to stray from
the group.
18.30
Please join Captain Barria and the expedition team for a farewell
cocktail in the bar!
19.00
Dinner is served in the dining room.
Spitsbergen Polar Bear Special
June 1 to 8, 2016
Wednesday 8th June, 2016
Longyearbyen
07.15
Wake-up call.
07.30
Breakfast is available in the dining room.
07.30
All check-in luggage needs to be placed outside your cabins by this time.
09.00
Disembarkation:
For those taking the flight DY397 from LYR to OSL at 12.40, there will be a bus and a
luggage truck to take you to the airport at 09.00 hrs.
For those taking the flight SK4491 LYR to OSL at 13.50, there will be two buses and a
luggage truck to take you to town at 09.00hs.
The transfer from town to the airport will be at 12.00 hrs.
Bon voyage & welcome back soon!