Last Updated on May 1, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Back to “Two Weeks in Norway – Dog Carting and a POLAR BEAR – Day 15”
ATV Safari
We booked an ATV Safari at Svalbard Adventures for this morning’s adventure. They picked us up from our hotel right on time, and we discovered that we were the only participants on that trip. Is that a good sign? It means we’ll get special attention and access. Is it a bad sign? It means the trip is not as popular as other activities.
Overall, it was a very good sign.
The date was July 1 and the weather was, as my notes say, “very, very warm.” They bundled us in snowmobile suits, just like Green Dog did the previous day for the dog carting adventure. For the dog adventure we were very hot in our suits and also very active; one day later in the year, and it was now many degrees warmer; up to the high-50s Fahrenheit. That’s neither here nor there, neither a “good sign” nor a “bad sign” because you just can’t predict the weather. The adventure would have been better done in May, I believe.
We headed off up the Adventdalen Road, which sounds special, but there is only one road out of Longyearbyen into the hills. We had traveled that road yesterday on our way to the Dogs. However this day we passed some female eider ducks. They were worth a picture or two:
We drove along the dirty coal-truck-filled road, then up a mountain track to the antenna.
for a expansive view of the valley
Then along another track
to a hunter’s camp where we met some dogs. They were listless and uninterested in us, no comparison to yesterday’s bunch; I probably felt that way about them too since we wouldn’t be running them. We saw some reindeer just sitting and relaxing in the meadow. Here’s a Snow Bunting we saw singing on a pole at the camp.
We stopped for some photos of our own:
What more could we see or do? We were hot.
“Do you want to go to the Global Seed Vault?” asked our guide.
Oh, my, yes we did. We wouldn’t be allowed in, but to actually see the seed vault would be a tremendous adventure. We drove all the way from one side of Longyearbyen past the airport and up on the hill near the airport. We’ve seen the seed vault is many a doomsday movie in which the hero or heroine is sent to this desolate place to retrieve the seeds which will re-grow the earth.
We were there. The sun was shining; there was no apocalypse in process. But we saw the entrance to the Global Seed Vault:
The Svalbard Museum
Our guide delivered us back to Longyearbyen and recommended we check out the Svalbard Museum, so we did. The fact that it was located next to our hotel also swayed our decision.
It was filled with exhibitions on Arctic life, hunting, animals, coal mining, basically what makes or made Longyearbyen tick over the years. It was definitely worth the visit.
The Hot Tub at the Radisson Blu Polar Hotel
How is it that we’ve been at the hotel for three nights and not gone to the hot tub? I guess the Arctic adventures and the polar bear distracted me.
After a good lunch at the hotel bar, we felt the right move would be towards the hot tub. Who can resist with views like this?
What next? Sleep, of course. We would need our beauty rest if we were to enjoy our 6pm to midnight boat trip looking for wildlife.
Better Moments “Catch of the Day”
Once again, we headed out in the Better Moments little boat to scout for wildlife on a tour called “Catch of the Day.. The captain was full of the story of yesterday’s adventure, that of finding the polar bear, and hoping to see him again. No such luck. We trolled back and forth in widening loops in front of the glacier area, but no polar bear greeted us.
What did greet us however was the sunshine. It seemed so very illusive in Svalbard.
We headed over to see the bearded seals, just like the previous night, and saw them, again. We saw the puffins, again. We visited Brunnich’s guillemots, again. We did see a more beautiful cliff:
Bottom line, the “Catch of the Day” is a beautiful trip, but when you caught the best the night before, it just seems more of the same.
Back at near midnight, here is a glimpse from our hotel room of the midnight sky. It is so much more impressive when it is the sun that is shining.
