Svalbard, Day 9
Svalbard, Day 9
By Blog.Admin
July 13, 2009
We awake in the southern part of Bellsund to the call of “humpback whales at 12 o’clock!” Outside, it’s sunny and 7 degrees C, and the plan is to do an extended walk at Research Fjord, named for the French scientific expedition ship La Recherche, which charted much of this area in 1838.
Our Expedition Team is ashore with the first group of passengers when the kayakers spot a polar bear, no more than 50 yards from where Woody and Snowy stand, hidden by a ridge. Those ashore are swiftly loaded back into Zodiacs, and we wait anxiously while the danger is assessed.
But the bear moves off into the other direction, perhaps spooked by the sound of the engines, and we continue our landing with revised plans for shorter walks, keeping a close eye on that bear!
The site is historically significant, once used for commercial ventures including whaling, mining, and trapping. A large, leaning hut, built in 1904 to appeal to hunting tourists, lies abandoned, along with many mining carts, testimony to those seeking their fortune (unsuccessfully) in this challenging wilderness. 
We form groups by challenge level and walk the lush tundra and steep, copper ore-embedded rock, careful not to step on the lovely pink moss campion - or goose poop! There are many egg-filled nests throughout the area, and one sandpiper runs around acting injured, trying to direct our attention away from her own.
After an active morning, lunchtime brings a welcome treat, and there is literally a stampede to the ice cream buffet! We sail on to Bourbonhamna (Bourbon Bay), named for its royal visitor, the Prince of Bourbon, who helped chart the area in 1891.
At the landing site, we trek carefully around the well-maintained hut, Bamsebu (home of the bear) - still used, but no longer for hunting. Boats are scattered along the beach, being claimed back by nature and time.
The peacefulness of the setting contrasts harshly with the remains of 500 beluga whales, their bones and skulls piled along the beach. Sadly, these are just some of those hunted here in the 1930’s.
Back on board, the crew tackles some tricky navigation, guiding us into a lovely bay for a ship cruise, where several polar bear are spotted. After dinner, we gather in the lounge for tonight’s bar talk, “Size Doesn’t Matter.” Mariano recounts some wayward photographic attempts, including one hilarious homemade video of a ‘Penguin Hitman.’
Kristina Smith