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| The 1st pic of the day thru my porthole |
I then went up to the bridge before b/fast, but Gary wouldn't let me take any photos from there, so I braved the chill & went on the top deck for a while.
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| The mountains of Spitzbergen from PP's top deck |
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| As is this |
Oooer! ! !
After breakfast I went back on deck for a while ~ photoing & whale watching, & then we all piled into the lecture room for Heidi's lecture about Svalbard plants.
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| Dobby on deck. She was a great smiler :-D |
After that, although it was still a dull & misty morning, most of us were on deck clicking away.
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| Red sky in the morning, Shepherd's warning? |
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| The Ruzeski brothers, Jay & Scott |
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| Very calm seas . . . |
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| With barely a swell |
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| Carol mid-flow about Svalbard trapping |
My notes say Carol's lecture at 1100 was
interesting, & spoke of decimating the whale population, killing walrus for their oil & trapping foxes & bear for fur.
Bloody, greedy, humans :-(
Not good, eh?
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| It's not a finger, but I know not what! |
Then it was lunch, but no notes about who with, or what we talked about!
After lunch was over I went back on deck for more pics of calm seas, misty mountains & hungry Auks.
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| Fishing Alcids of some sort |
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| It must be easier with no waves? |
Eventually, the PP reached her destination & anchored, & we were called to the zodiacs for our Alkhornet hike.
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| A bit of colour amidst the sea mist as we head landwards |
That's him on the left.
Once we had all congregated at the top of the slope, we were offered a choice of 3 hikes.
I chose a longer one with Stephen & Heidi.
My notes mention things like Knot Weed, Mouse-eared Chickweed, & Woolly Louse Wort.
As Smeagol would say, these are not very nice names, Precious, but the notes mean I showed Heidi the pics & she identified them.
Sadly, my hieroglyphics don't say which are which - Um?
I was on Robyn's zodiac on the way back, & it was easier to take photos than usual, as there was virtually no swell.
Back in my cabin (tag turned so it was clear I was back aboard), I changed into the bikini for the Polar Plunge.
The wee Aus lads were keen to go 1st, but one kept dipping his toe in & bottling it, & he took 5 or so goes before he made it in.
The notes say 25 peeps Polar Plunged, & I think Tony wielded my camera for me.
I chose to dive in off the steps, & there's a pic in the Aurora Expedition log to prove it ;-p
It wasn't as cold as I'd expected it to be.
In fact, I defo remember the sea at Kirkwall feeling colder as I walked in.
Clearly, diving's the way to go! ;-)
Later on, some peeps were jumping in off the side of the ship rather than going in off the gangplank, & when I saw this, I was tempted to have another go, but I was nearly dry by that point, so passed.
Maybe next time ;-p ?
I did try & upload the certificate we all got, but blogger didn't like the server, so the paperwork remains unblogged.
Afternoon tea today was coconut cake & coffee, & then I had a sauna, a shower & a sleep before heading to the bar where I sat & chatted with Jay, Scott & Tony before dinner.
I also started to read Jay's book he'd signed for Roy.
The ocean was still dead calm, so the vino stayed level in its glass at dinner when I sat with Robyn, Andy, Janette & Anne.
At some point we were told we could submit photos for the Expedition Log, so I sat with Peter after dinner & used the ship's laptop to have a look at what I'd got on a bigger screen than the 1 on the Lumix.
I ended up submitting four, three of which made it.
Wow!
Considering I was using a point'n'shoot costing less than £200, I was/am well chuffed :-D
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| The blue PP dead astern |
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| We were well wrapped-up against the cold This would change! |
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| Andy helping other PP-ers up the slope |
Once we had all congregated at the top of the slope, we were offered a choice of 3 hikes.
I chose a longer one with Stephen & Heidi.
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| A tufted saxifrage? ? ? |
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| My 1st reindeer pic. Cute or what? |
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| Not sure if this is Mum or Dad? Lady reindeer have antlers, too |
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| Not a clue what this is, but it would look good in my kitchen! |
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| I think this used to be a reindeer shin? |
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| A pretty mound of purple flowers |
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| & some white ones |
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| Orange lichen |
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| Heidi reckoned this was an Arctic fox jaw |
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| Zoomed reindeer on July snow |
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| Baby takes a breather |
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| A triangular peak reminiscent of the Eiger |
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| Not much green grass for the reindeer here! The PP is the blob in the background |
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| There follows a lot of reindeer pics . . . |
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| You'd think they'd get cold bums? |
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| No idea, but they're pretty |
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| This has been the flower duet! (Apologies to Delibes ;-p ) More reindeer due . . . |
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| This is where I'd taken the reindeer pics. As you can see, they'd been well zoomed |
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| I make Christmas cards every year from my own photos. Maybe Alkhornet's Rudolphs etc. could be next year's Stars On The Cards??? |
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| Young Henry (I think) examining fluff. By this point, many of us had cast off our warmest outer layers |
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| I think (from my notes) this is Whitlow Grass, but don't quote me! One of the few bits of green to be seen! |
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| Stephen on bear look-out duty |
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| It really was warm enough for T-shirts. You can see the big blue Aurora jackets round our waists |
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| Dad, Sean, taking a rest after running around in the sun with all the lads |
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| My notes say this is the northern Jacob's-ladder. Um? Where are the rungs? |
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| Maybe Northern pixie's don't need ladders? |
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| Not a bloomin' clue! & Yes ~ that was a pun ;-p |
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| This Mum hasn't got big antlers |
As Smeagol would say, these are not very nice names, Precious, but the notes mean I showed Heidi the pics & she identified them.
Sadly, my hieroglyphics don't say which are which - Um?
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| A herd between us & the sea . . . |
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| & another between us & the mountain |
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| It was mid-July, but the snow was still in the valleys |
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| This one's beak leads me to think it's a skua? They don't look as brown as the ones I saw on Hermaness |
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| Sitting on eggs? |
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| One of the Koreans who was unaware he was pretty close, & wouldn't really need that enormous lens! |
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| A reindeer wearing shades ;-) |
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| I lay down to stabilse the max zoom for this |
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| Zodiacs await |
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| The sea was still very calm . . . |
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| & we had a smooth ride back to the PP |
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| The big splash as I dive in at 78 degrees norrth |
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| We were supposed to swim out to the zodiac, & Gary & his camera Some peeps never made it |
The wee Aus lads were keen to go 1st, but one kept dipping his toe in & bottling it, & he took 5 or so goes before he made it in.
The notes say 25 peeps Polar Plunged, & I think Tony wielded my camera for me.
I chose to dive in off the steps, & there's a pic in the Aurora Expedition log to prove it ;-p
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| A great shot of my awful screw-kick! |
It wasn't as cold as I'd expected it to be.
In fact, I defo remember the sea at Kirkwall feeling colder as I walked in.
Clearly, diving's the way to go! ;-)
Later on, some peeps were jumping in off the side of the ship rather than going in off the gangplank, & when I saw this, I was tempted to have another go, but I was nearly dry by that point, so passed.
Maybe next time ;-p ?
I did try & upload the certificate we all got, but blogger didn't like the server, so the paperwork remains unblogged.
 |
| Despite the latitude, it was warm enough to hang around for >an hour in a bikini while other peeps did their Polar Plunge |
Afternoon tea today was coconut cake & coffee, & then I had a sauna, a shower & a sleep before heading to the bar where I sat & chatted with Jay, Scott & Tony before dinner.
I also started to read Jay's book he'd signed for Roy.
The ocean was still dead calm, so the vino stayed level in its glass at dinner when I sat with Robyn, Andy, Janette & Anne.
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| Taken after dinner as we headed north. The water was still beautifully smooth . . . |
At some point we were told we could submit photos for the Expedition Log, so I sat with Peter after dinner & used the ship's laptop to have a look at what I'd got on a bigger screen than the 1 on the Lumix.
I ended up submitting four, three of which made it.
Wow!
Considering I was using a point'n'shoot costing less than £200, I was/am well chuffed :-D
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| With barely a ripple marring the surface |
The sea remained amazingly flat as we sailed north, & I kept bobbing out to see if anything photogenic was happening.
I eventually left the bar at 10 to midnight, but went up on deck to catch the midnight sun.
So endeth my 1st day on Svalbard.
That's another off the bucket-list :-D
OAO
* That's chilly dip, not chili dip. I prefer guacamole, anyway ;-q
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| A photo at 0010 . . . |
I eventually left the bar at 10 to midnight, but went up on deck to catch the midnight sun.
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| the seas still smooth & the sun still high |
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| A solitary soul watching the sun go down, but not set |
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| Taken at 11 minutes past midnight |
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| Another sunset selfie |
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| I get Arty-Farty with a sunset shadow ;-) It reminds me of the one from the Royal Clipper |
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| The last pic of the day at 0017, & the sun is still well off the horizon as we sail north to the ice |
So endeth my 1st day on Svalbard.
That's another off the bucket-list :-D
OAO
* That's chilly dip, not chili dip. I prefer guacamole, anyway ;-q
