Hornsund, Spitsbergen
The Ice Bears expedition embarked from Longyearbyen on August 1st, and National Geographic Explorer departed Isfjorden before dinner. The early morning hours brought calm seas, low clouds, and patches of sun as the ship sailed south along the west coast of Spitsbergen. Before breakfast several whales were sighted around the ship, and we paused to watch as at least two fin whales and one sperm whale provided excellent views. The sperm whale surfaced near the ship, refilled its lungs, and then displayed flukes as it dove beneath the surface. During breakfast the ship continued on toward Hornsund. After a fine meal, National Geographic Explorer entered Hornsund, continued up the fjord, and then paused at the mouth of Samarinbukta where we spotted two polar bears on the snow close to the shoreline. The fog lifted and we caught sunny glimpses of the sharp peaks of western Spitsbergen as we turned back toward the west and prepared for an afternoon landing.
After finding a safe landing site on the beach at Gnålodden, we went ashore beneath the towering cliffs of 500-million-year-old (Cambrian) carbonate rocks. We hiked along the steep cobble beach to examine coarse calcite veins that indicate ancient fractures that allowed hot water to flow through the rocks, a Pomor cabin site and grave, and the more recent and still serviceable trapper cabin. The spectacular scene of rocky beach and towering cliffs was greatly enhanced by nesting guillemots, numerous glaucous gulls, kittiwakes, and barnacle geese. As we watched and listened to the bird colony, we spotted Arctic foxes patrolling the rocky base of the cliff. One mother fox with two youngsters were particularly enchanting as they traversed the moss-covered slopes beneath the cliff.
During the late afternoon, National Geographic Explorer turned north into iceberg-choked Burgerbukta. The beautiful Paierlbreen glacier and the icebergs were framed by jagged mountains above the fjord. An examination of nautical charts and recent observations indicate that the glacial ice has retreated more than a mile in the last 15 years. The ship turned back to the east and exited Hornsund during the evening. We turned south and rounded Sørkapp, Spitsbergen before turning north toward the eastern islands of Svalbard.
