80° North, 5/17/2025, National Geographic Resolution
Aboard the
National Geographic Resolution
Arctic
Happy Norway Day! Today is the anniversary of Norway becoming an independent nation and having their constitution. We celebrated by walking on sea ice beyond 80° north. It was a beautiful bluebird day on the ice, and many plunged into the freezing cold -1°C water afterwards.
In the afternoon, we encountered a polar bear that was miles out on the ice. As it took notice of the ship, it approached and gave everyone on board an incredible opportunity to view this regal and majestic animal.
With an insatiable curiosity, Ezra has been drawn to travel the world and explore from a young age. Ezra pursued a degree in History from Colorado College, which only further piqued his interest to travel and see firsthand the places that he had read...
There are few sights as splendid as a bird cliff in full flow, and Alkefjellet is about as good as it gets. Sat on the eastern side of Spitsbergen Island, the cliffs are made up of a dolerite intrusion into a sedimentary layer of limestone. The heat of the magma converted the limestone into a quasi-marble layer, and the resulting effect is a kind of reverse Oreo cookie appearance with a dark chocolate filling surrounded by pale cream biscuit. Having said that, the darker dolerite was today almost hidden beneath tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Brunnich’s guillemots. These, the most common members of the guillemot family here in Svalbard, have just arrived for their annual breeding season, a brief two months spent on the rocks before returning to their default habitat of the open ocean. Weighing just 600g, or just over a pound, these delightfully smart in appearance birds sport a feathered dinner suit – white belly and black back with just two cute little swirls of white on the rump. Their voices cry in a joking laugh, belying their vicious way of fighting over the narrow rock ledges where they must find room to nest.
Today we explored the mountainous coastline and fjords on the west side of Spitsbergen Island. Early risers were treated to streaming arctic sunshine accompanied by distant views of feeding beluga whales, walrus in the shallow waters, and reindeer dotting the shoreline. Our first destination was Poolepynten, a triangular point of sand and gravel jutting out into Forlandsundet, the channel separating Prins Karls Forlandet from the main island. Not only does this collect an array of flotsam, but walrus often find it an attractive place to haul out. From here we sailed into St. Jonsfjorden amidst mountains and glaciers. A sheltered area proffered the opportunity once again to kayak and to go for short cruises in our expedition landing craft. Along the fast ice edge, there were several species of guillemots and gulls, as well as seals and walrus diving to find lunch. Distant glaciers glowed dark blue, and reindeer grazed in the nearby hills. Just enough time was left in the day to dash back to National Geographic Resolution , warm up, and make it to cocktail hour and recap before another scrumptious dinner to wrap up the evening.
