Let the fun begin! At last!
As of 9 a.m. this morning (local time), Laura has been released from isolation and food is finally tasting relatively good to both of us. The Seabourn room service staff has been wonderful throughout our entire stay so far, but we hope we won’t be needing their services in the coming days (we may still use them, as dinner isn’t served in the dining rooms until 7 p.m., but needing is the key word in that sentence).
Yesterday was Bear Island (Bjornoya, in Norwegian), which should really have been called bird island in my opinion and the opinion of the others I talked with. We could only see the nearby cliffs and their multitudes of birds, but those in the zodiacs were in the thick of it. One woman told me that they were told by their zodiac guide not to wipe off the guano from their clothing, as it was acidic and would stain everything (they were instead to rinse off back at the ship). Through no choice of our own, I think we have “picked” the 2 shore excursions/zodiac rides to avoid on the trip so far. Those going to Nordkapp a few days ago couldn’t see more than about 20 feet due to the fog, we were told.
Bear Island is considered part of the Svalbard Archipelago, even though it’s quite far away. From the map above, you can see that it’s about halfway between the coast of Norway and the rest of Svalbard’s islands.
Here are my views of the island (you saw some of the birds in yesterday’s post – I’ll spare you pictures of any quano). They were taken from the patio outside the buffet dining room, where I had my lunch. Several of the bids (Fulmers, I believe) were assuming that we were a fishing boat and would be cleaning our catch during the voyage – according to the naturalist onboard. Nice try.
There’s nothing on today’s docket until 3 p.m. this afternoon, when Laura and I will officially set foot on Svalbard in Hornsund Fjord (near the southern tip of the island of Spitzbergen).
No one so far has seen any polar bears or other wildlife beyond a few dolphins and those early reindeer we saw near Nordkapp. Oh, and that couple of gazillion birds on “Bear” Island.
evertstouring 