Longyearbyen is the capital city of the Svalbard archipelago which sits halfway between North Cape and the North Pole. At this latitude in July the sun stays fairly high in the sky throughout the night but never seemed to reach directly overhead during the day. This is known as the midnight sun. The ship made a two day stop at this port, docked the first day and anchored with tendering the second day.
Longyearbyen is surrounded by the permanent snowfields that blanket the island of Spitsbergen. Sixty percent of the Svalbard archipelago is covered in ice year-round. This the world's northernmost city was founded in 1906 by an American businessman, John Longyear, who started a coal mining operation here.
After a sea day, we got our first views of the archipelago late that evening.
In the morning we were docked in Longyearbyen.
The dock was within walking distance of the town and free shuttle buses were also available.
Outside of the pink area in the town map you are required by law to carry polar bear protection with you, i.e., a rifle.
A monument to the men who came to Longyearbyen to work the coal mines.
Many polar expeditions begin in Longyearbyen.
Barnacle Geese and White Cotton Grass
Avalanche fence snakes up the hill behind the town.
Longyearbyen is rustic as expected. Most of the buildings function as living quarters and support for workers and tourists. Norway does not allow pregnant women and older residents to reside in this town, due to lack of adequate medical facilities. Any serious medical issue requires transport to Tromso.
ATV SAFARI
Our first excursion in Longyearbyen was a two-hour ATV tour outside of the town. Yes, all the ATV guides were packing.
The full body overalls, gloves, hats and helmets were provided and kept us toasty warm.
This additional polar bear warning sign was posted at all the town boundaries.
We passed a summer sled dog training/exercise.
Reminded us of our ATV work at Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.
Of the seven original coal mines, only one is still active today. The coal mined there is used to generate electricity for the island. After passing this point, we returned to Longyearbyen.
HIGHLIGHTS OF LONGYEARBYEN
The second day we took a guided tour of the town along with visiting the Svalbard Museum.
The museum covered the history and culture of the area as well as the wildlife.
An Atlantic Puffin
Example of a cabin used by 17th century whalers.
As we ascended the gravel road west of town, we were rewarded with a panoramic view of the port and the Viking Saturn at anchor.
The Global Seed Vault, aka Doomsday Vault, is effectively backup storage for a global network of more than 1,700 smaller vaults called gene banks. Countries deposit copies of the seeds they hold in their own banks, and the Svalbard facility keeps them safe.
Tendering back to the mother ship.
We had taken the last tender back to the ship, so when we got back to our room, we watched as the crew loaded the tender back into its berth.
Up she goes.
The lift arms then retracted the tender.
We watched as the Captain paused thirty minutes to rotate and provide a 360-degree view of the Austfonna glacier and the bay as we left Longyearbyen.
It was 54 degrees, but the sun felt warm. I guess our blood had thickened.
This was the most northern point of our journey. At 78 degrees latitude we were just shy of the polar ice cap and about 800 miles south of the North Pole. Next stop...Iceland.
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