After the business of yesterday with three landings, this morning we had a chance to sleep in a bit with a 7:30 a.m. breakfast. Through the night, we cruised north and woke up in the northernmost part of the Spitsbergen Island, surrounded by ice. It was perfect habitat for scouting the horizon, looking for wildlife. We spent the day on the boat, carefully navigating around massive pieces of ice that surrounded the ship. Because we had the entire day on board the ship, we heard several presentations put on by both guest lecturers and natural history staff. Along the way, we spotted several seals and many species of birds. All the while, we had beautiful weather and calm waters—perfect conditions for the polar plunge! Those who were brave enough jumped into the freezing waters of the Arctic from a platform. After the plunge, the hotel crew onboard set up a barbeque on the rear deck where we had sausages and beer and great music for the afternoon. It was another wonderful day here in the Arctic!
6/15/2025
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National Geographic Resolution
Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard
This morning, National Geographic Resolution explored the northeast coast of Spitsbergen Island. On approach to our landing, the ever-watchful spotters on the Bridge found a mother and cub polar bear on fast ice at a comfortable distance from our landing site. On shore, we divided into casual, moderate, and long walkers and set off into the high arctic tundra to explore the barren beauty of this high latitude. The long walkers made it to a high point with an amazing view of the ship and fjord, while the casual and moderate walkers explored the fjord-indented coastline. After lunch, we hopped into Zodiacs for an amazing cruise along the bird cliffs at Alkefjellet. The highlight was the thousands of Brunich’s guillemots nesting on dolerite ledges and covering every available space. Birds, birds everywhere! It was truly a sight to see and hear. We found an arctic fox cruising along the rocky shoreline and incredibly steep terrain, looking for anything (eggs, chicks) falling from the sky. Most of these bird cliffs have a resident fox den beneath them, as the abundance of birds helps sustain them. It was another incredible day at Latitude 79 North!