Hornsund - Visual Garden of Eden in Rocks, Snow and Ice

It was rock and roll getting here (June 15), but the waters are calm in the bay Burgerbukta facing the Muhlbacherbreen Glacier in Hornsund. We thought it might be warmer due to the Gulf Stream on the west side of Svalbard, but here the mountains rise straight up, and everything is covered with snow. We are way north of the Arctic Circle. We are in a bowl of beautiful, snow-capped maountains with glaciers flowing down in between the cliffs. We tokk a zodiak ride in the AM to the glacier, and then walked part of the base of Mount Gn-lodden (don't you love the spelling of some of these places?) in the PM. Pictures of the bay and mountains follow: In front of the latter scene, you can see more of the purple saxifrage coloring the tundra at the base of the mountain. We may add a link to a review of the litchen, moss, and grass we saw. Small, but also beautiful in this rugged terrain. We also saw our usual kittiwakes all around.

Cliffs and puffins

In the afternoon of 6/12 we travelled to the northern tip of Bear Island where there is a weather station manned by 11. Purple saxifrage and Tufted Saxifrage (orange) greeted our arrival. While small, they lend a splash of color to an otherwise drab, stoney tundra landscape. Here are pictures of each: We came here, however, primarily for the dramatic cliffs and birds. Here are pictures of Little Auks, puffins, and fulmars: The weather dog and waterfalls from the cliffs round out our highlights for the day.