Svalbard in the Arctic - June 28, 2013

Overnight, we cruised back towards the south around Nordaustlandet and back up into Hinlopen Strait to disembark on the shores of Palanderbukta for a long hike (4.8 miles) over rocky, rugged terrain.  It was nice to get a good strenuous hike in.  After lunch, we came upon a lone walrus, followed later by two polar bears.  One had killed a seal before we arrived and the other was lurking around trying to see what opportunities might present themselves.  In the end, the second polar bear gave up and walked off but not before coming closer to our ship than any other polar bears we saw.  This brought our total number of sightings to twelve.

After dinner, we had reached Moffen Island, back above 80 degrees latitude, inhabited by a large number of walruses that are protected there.  As a result, we had to stay at least 300 meters from the animals.  It was still fascinating to watch them snuggle together and lumber up and down the beach front.