Hinlopen and Palanderbukta, Svalbard
For a few more days, up here at the top of Svalbard, the sun will remain above the horizon 24 hours a day. This morning the sun was already high in the sky when Bud Lehnhausen, our Expedition Leader, woke us for an early breakfast at 7am. We were in Palanderbukta, a fjord that reaches far into the west side of the vast ice cap of Nordaustlandet. Blue skies, streaked with thin fragments of low cloud and a fresh breeze suggested a day of promise.
A choice of a Zodiac cruise or a walk on shore during the morning, gave us all the opportunity to be up close and personal with the polar desert landscape of our surroundings. It was hard to believe that this barren, stony, shoreline and the hills behind could support any form of life.
Much to our surprise, a wide variety of flowers including Arctic mouse eared chickweed, tufted saxifrage and the Svalbard poppy were found, still in flower, tucked in the shelter of the quartzite and limestone pebbles beneath our feet. Although sparse in number, many different species of birds were also seen including a few barnacle geese, ivory gulls and an Arctic skua that delighted us with the most diligent, territorial protection display. A small herd of reindeer were observed by one of the walking groups, high up on the inhospitable slopes close to the ice cap. It is hard to imagine how these hardy creatures fined enough food to survive. Once we were all back on the ship we enjoyed a quick lunch while we made our way out into the Hinlopenstretet, on our way to the bird cliffs of Alkefjellet.
Soon after lunch a call came to come out on deck to observe numerous fin and blue whales that had been seen feeding ahead of the ship. We had some excellent sightings of these enormous sea mammals as they came to the surface to breath in close proximity to our position. Across the Hinlopen Straight at the bird cliffs we watched in wonder as thousands of Brünnich’s guillemots came and went from their breeding ledges on these spectacular, precipitous cliffs. On the sea below many of the guillemots were observed bobbing on the surface, like buoyant, little boats. Occasionally one of the tiny young chicks could be seen swimming beside the male parent. Glaucous gulls were seen knocking guillemot chicks from the ledges and eating them at the base of the cliffs.
David Cothran went diving in the waters below the cliff and reported that he had one of the most sensational dives of his career. We hope we will see images from these murky depths at a future evening recap.
Stefen Lundgren gave an interesting presentation on the life of the polar bear as we went on our way further north. We are now heading north to the permanent ice that presently stretches to the North Pole and onwards.
