Trips

Sat., 7/1/23 - Tinayrebreen Glacier in Tinayrebukta and Lloyd Hotel in Mollerfjorden

Today's weather was very foggy with solid clouds about 100 feet above the sea. The day's activities included a Zodiac excursion to the area of the Tinayrebreen glacier located in Tinayrebukta. Since the view was right outside our windows and we opted not to join the Zodiac riders. There were no landings, the boats just floated around in the fjord looking for birds and animals.
Very foggy and very light at 2:30 in the morning	Runoff from the Tinayrebreen glacier
Tinayrebreen glacier	Tinayrebreen glacier
Tinayrebreen glacier	Reflection in the Zodiac driver's face shield
After the morning excursion, the MS World Traveller motored to the Mollerfjorden which is a 9 kilometer long Eastern fjord branch of the Krossfjorden. The afternoon Zodiac landing was at Lloyd Hotel in Mollerfjorden, with a glacier in the distance. On shore, we walked around the pebbly beach area looking for animals. There may have been two far-off reindeer, so far out one couldn't be sure. The beach has the orange “5-star” Lloyd Hotel which is a one room 4 x 8 metal shed/cabin complete with table and bench and wine bottles. It apparently has a history connected to the beginnings of the cruise ship traffic in Svalbard and has been designated a protected cultural remain. The flowers were nice and the rock interesting.
Moss Campions	Lloyd Hotel
Lloyd Hotel	Lloyd Hotel - interior
Rock weathered by constant freezing and thawing	Moss Campions
Sun., 7/2/23 - Poolepynten and Eidembukta
This morning’s activity was a Zodiac water landing at a spot of beach called Poolepynten, “a headland at the eastern coast of the Prins Karls Forlandt at Spitsbergen/Svalbard.” There is a shack and two navigation signals at the spot and maybe that was what attracted the “haulout,” or pack of walruses, who were laying on the beach. We could get as close as 150 meters from them and watch them sleep and ponderously roll over from time to time - usually on top of their neighbor. Walruses use their long, thick tusks to pull their enormous bodies out of the water and also for fighting off competition for mating with the females. The beach is also scattered with driftwood from Siberia. This is another research island, so only the walruses are allowed to squash the little patches of mountain pinks. On the beach we found the skeleton of a seal that was probably eaten by a polar bear.
Poster Boy
Haulout of walrus	Haulout of walrus
Haulout of walrus	Haulout of walrus
The big guy in the center decided he wanted to be elsewhere.	So he not so gracefully climbed over his friends.
To get to the edge of the pile so he could go back to sleep.	Shack, navigation markers, and driftwood
Whale bones	Seal, probably killed by a polar bear
Company at the site	Birds
The afternoon excursion was an hour-long Zodiac ride at Eidembukta. (Bukta means bay or cove.) We did not find the reported harbor seal and no wildlife or other marine life. There were a few Arctic birds, the Eidembreen glacier (no calving), and mountain peaks. The sun came out and it was quite nice. The rock formations were unique.	Eidembreen glacier
Eidembreen glacier	Zodiacs heading toward a tour along the shore and in front of the glaciers
Rock formations along the shore	Herring Gull
Tide going out exposing water plants attached to the rocks	Tide going out exposing water plants attached to the rocks

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