Greetings from Svalbard!
Greetings from Svalbard!
By Blog.Admin
DAY 1
July 5th, 2009
We arrive in sunny Longyearbyen on the mountainous island of Spitsbergen, many of us the night before, jet lagged but kept awake by the startling 24-hour sunlight. We are rewarded with warm weather and blue skies, perfect for exploring Longyearbyen, an old mining town with colorful Scandinavian homes and a rich history of exploration.
Enroute to port late afternoon, we catch our first glimpse of Akademik Sergey Vavilov, gleaming white against the blue of the ocean and sky. Our Expedition Team presents us with life vests and we step into Zodiacs - rubber boats that we will get to know intimately over the next 10 days!
On board, we gather in Vavilov’s spacious lounge, surrounded by endless sea and mountain. We meet Woody, our Australian Expedition Leader, who kicks off the adventure with an introduction to the ship and staff while we dig into hors d’oeuvres, sip champagne, and discover we are quite the international group of travelers.
After dinner, we cruise the bay of Isfjorden, shutters snapping wildly as Fulmars float and dip alongside the ship, seemingly asking for their close-ups. It’s close to midnight and jokes are made about getting up at the crack of dawn, but despite the bright sun we make it off to to our cabins, eager for what the next day has in store.
Kristina Smith