Yesterday we had had our first landing at the dock in Ny Alesund. Today we were promised two more landings using MS Spitsbergen’s ribs.
From the Ship’s Expedition log – 25.06.2022
Raudfjorden – Alicehamna
We started the day with our first small boat cruising infront of the Hamilton glacier in Raudfjorden. We enjoyed this sunny morning on the water and listened to hundreds of birds in the cliff above our heads. Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Black Guillemots surrounded us. Some of us even spotted an arctic fox below the bird cliff. During the afternoon we landed in Raudfjorden at Alicehamna and have learned about trapping on Svalbard. Around midnight we spotted very first polar bear in Woodfjorden
Day 7: Saturday 25th June 2022 Raudfjorden – Alicehamna
We noticed a lot of movement of the ship as we were waking up.
Our briefing yesterday and highlighted what an interesting place for landing in the morning was going to be. Sadly because of swell it had been decided that no landings were possible.
08:22 am: ///deceive.sanction.mashed
In the distance we could see another ship approaching.
Views inside MS Spitsbergen
The Hamilton glacier in Raudfjorden
Then we turned and cruised the fjord.
I think these were eider ducks.
1:47 pm ///checks.offhandedly.slurring
Landing at Raudfjorden at Alicehamna
Once on the beach we went into the trapper’s hut.
Then we climbed past the trapper’s hut onto alternating snowfields or rock fields.
Part of the way up the hill one of the expedition team was “guarding “a grave. This was probably a whaler’s grave and was at least 150 or up to 250 years old.
3:39 ///silvery.shrewd.mackerel
The tundra had pushed the coffin to the surface where animals, the weather and possibly other humans had all desecrated the grave.
The views were excellent looking out to sea and behind us in the deep valley we could see old polar bear tracks.
Back at the trapper’s hut…
Our rib ride back to the ship…
And then closer to the other ship in the fjord…
Jacuzzi time
After a quick change and we went out to the Jacuzzi.
Relaxing in the evening
This evening’s theme for dinner was Filipino food. The meal and all the choices were simply excellent…
After the briefing for the next day we stayed in the lounge to listen to the talk on polar bears.
Then we were all out on deck watching the coast.
Grey Hook
We were still out on deck at 10:30 looking for the trapper cabin that Christiane Ritter had wintered in.
Her book “A woman in the polar night” about her experiences wintering on Svalbard over the polar Winter. This was in 1934 and her experiences had motivated members of the expedition team to visit Svalbard. It is one of the best travel books ever written and the original German edition has never out of print.
(Note: I bought a copy in May 2026 when I was preparing this blog and it is one of the most riveting stories of hardship and survival that I have ever read – it is in my opinion a “must read” for anyone interested in Svalbard and its history.)
We stayed out on deck as the ship continued Northward.
The next day started early when two polar bears were spotted swimming near the ship. Later we cruised close to the Monaco Glacier and then visited Texas Bar Liefdefjorden
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