We got up at 8 and went for coffee. We were supposed to cruise the Magdalene Fjord but the ship is not allowed to enter the fjord due to the type of fuel we have on board.
We arrived at the ice cap earlier than
planned. We are at 80 degrees, 30
minutes North. This is the furthest
north we’ve ever been, and only about 500 miles from the north pole. There was lots of ice floating in the sea –
but no polar bears this far south out on the ice. Too bad we couldn’t sail on to the ice shelf
but the navigation is dangerous in Voyager which doesn’t have an ice hardened
hull and isn’t an ice breaker.
Approaching the polar ice in the distance
And it gets closer and more massive
Ice as far as we can see in the distance - but no polar bears
Large and small ice flows in the polar ice
The captain got us pretty close to the ice considering the hull is not ice-hardened
With Judith at the polar ice - Allan took the picture!
More of the ice from the polar ice shelf
Panoramic view of the polar ice
We looked closely for seals, polar bears, or walrus on the ice, but none was spotted this far south
Tim's certificate of crossing the Arctic Circle
Larry's certificate of crossing the Arctic Circle
Our certificate for being at 80 degrees, 30 minutes north
The ship's compass reading
While we were at the ice, the staff played guests in a
“Polar Bear Club Volleyball Game” – they said the pool was really cold. It was fun to watch. I took pictures of Heather (and Kevin) in the
pool. They had a blast.
Polar Bear Volleyball: Crew against the passengers - Passengers won!
Heather, granddaughter of Jim and Mary Clark, joined in on the passenger team
Heart-throb, Kevin Hack, the lead male singer, in the pool. We enjoyed admiring Kevin! So did Heather! He can sing too!!!!
The crew team
We had lunch by the pool grill window and watched the
incredible sights with the floating ice on the sea. We returned to the room to warm up. Around mid-afternoon, Tim went to the gym to
work out and I caught up on computer stuff and read. About 3 we passed the Magdalena Mountains on
the port side – beautiful. We were
supposed to sail into Magdalena Bay but the ship has some sort of fuel that is
not allowed so we went to the polar ice instead. The mountains were magnificent.
The pictures don't do the scenery justice - beautiful Magdalene Mountains in the distance
Glaciers reaching down to the sea in the distance
Panoramic picture of the beautiful coastline with huge snow-covered mountains on Svalbard
Gorgeous scenery on a cloudy and cold day
Spectacular rugged terrain in the distance
It was clear but cold.
Tim went jogging up on the deck in shorts while I read and went to the
afternoon lecture. I missed High Tea
again.
We had an early drink in Observation and then Dinner in
Prime 7, just the 2 of us. We skipped
having a “special” bottle of wine as Tim wasn’t in his prime. Remember my warning about not dressing
properly? Starting to happen to
Tim. I think jogging on deck in just
shorts and a t-shirt was the culminating thing!!
Tim went to the cabin after dinner as he wasn’t feeling so
hot! He got worse during the night. I went to hear the pianist in a Grieg
concert. He wasn’t that good and missed
a bunch of notes. I didn’t know any of
the pieces he played but I’ll be visiting Eduard Grieg’s home and museum when
we get to Bergen.
I went to bed about 11, which was really midnight as we lose
an hour tonight enroute to Murmansk, Russia.
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