Monday 20 August 2012

All seasons in one day!

 Waking up to blue skies and the sun shining on the Monaco glacier was an enchanting experience. Especially because we knew we were going out for a cruise with the smaller polar circle boats.  At 8.30 we started, we dressed in special warm suits, and could enjoy  Monaco glacier and Seliger glacier from close by. The glaciers have a collective front of around 5 kilometers. After two hours the sun disappeared behind the clouds and some minutes later it began to hail. The weather was erratic, but we are in the arctic, so it is nice to experience some colder weather. At around 12.30 everybody had his round of cruising and we sailed towards Bockfjorden to land at the Jotunkjeldene. From the ship we could clearly see Sverrefjellet, remains of a former volcano that erupted a few hundred thousand years ago under glacier ice. Arriving at the beach we found the first proof, small black stones with holes in it, lava! After a short walk up we had a beautiful view over the fjord, the old red sandstones  and the thermal springs in the front.  During most of the landing it was quite windy and snowy, the mountains around us became covered with a thin layer of snow. It was a breathtaking view. Back on board we attended the information meeting and at 22 o’ clock we arrived at Moffen at 80 degrees North. Unfortunately the island was empty, no walruses to be seen. Well well…we can’t be lucky all the time. We returned back inside and had to hold our balance while walking, quite stormy outside and big waves rolled the ship. About time to go to bed.