Spitsbergen Hotel - Rica Longyearbyen

... there is a gift shop (which I avoided so as not to be tempted...), as well as a spa and beauty salon. I did splurge on 2 massages which were well worth it. But I'm getting ahead of myself...<br><br>The trip started with champagne and an emergency drill. The alcohol flowed freely throughout the voyage and I thoroughly enjoyed my martinis and wines. We had a briefing on using the Zodiacs which ...

... settlement but it has recently been promoting tourism in the area. The mining history is evident all over town and although the blocky rooming house buildings aren't particularly interesting architecturally, at least there is some color used here! <br><br>The landscape around the town is stark and raw. There are no trees this far north although the flowers are plentiful ...

... discover why &#8211; we run into totally preserved reindeer legs &#8211; the climate is so dry &#8211; it is the Arctic High Desert &#8211; that nothing decomposes. Also there are almost no insects to feed on whatever the polar bears leave behind.<br><br>Although we have yet to see an Arctic fox, we see the skull of one.<br><br>After lunch we spot our first bearded seal. He was only interested in sleeping so eventually we move on.<br><br>We find a baby ...

... below 3 feet is permanently frozen (permafrost) and anything buried gets pushed up to the surface within a few years.<br><br>Here the frozen sea ice that defines the Arctic Ocean prevents circumnavigation of the archipelago even in the summer.<br><br>5 countries border the Arctic Ocean &#8211; Canada, America, Russia, Norway and Denmark (Greenland).<br><br>4 of them are oil-producing giants with oil fields worth trillions found between the 65th and 75th parallels.<br><br ...

... www.embryonal.net/svalbard08/ind ex.html there i have provided many, many other pictures and 2 packing lists from our trip! If you have some questions about our trip please dont hesitate to ask me! i hope my photos from svalbard let you help to distract a little from your work, your problems or just make fun to view!!!!=) cheers elaso

Life in the Arctic For my expedition around Svalbard, I was on the Russian ship: Akademik Shokalskiy. It is an ice-strengthened ship which can take about 50-60 passengers. The captain and crew are Russian, while the hotel and expedition staff come from a variety of countries (on this occasion, Sweden, Canada, Britain, Argentina and America). I was the only Aussie on board. The ...

... I have seen of west Antarctic settlements. It is a harsh but beautiful environment up here. I had come for an Expedition trip of the Arctic with Quark, the same company that I travelled with to the Antarctic. I was ready for a very different but still fantastic experience, and I was hoping very much that I would see at least one polar bear. You'll have to read my next blog to find out if I got my wish!!

... it is both a point and very flat. The government had built a navigation aid nearby along with a hut containing supplies. There was what I think was a couple barrels of fuel, too. We weren't all that close to the hut and navigation aid, but we would be heading in that direction since the walrus were right next to the navigation aid. Once everyone was assembled on shore, we began walking along the beach so as to not disturb the Arctic terns, which were nesting in the scattered ...

... of the mine itself. He also had many old mining related items as props. He finished with a short safety briefing. Methane is released when coal is mined, and it can build up in the mine. For that reason, smoking is not allowed in the mine (of course) and no electronics are allowed either. This includes cameras, so I couldn't get any pictures down in the mine. We went into an adjacent room and put on coveralls, gloves, helmet, and lights. The helmet was nothing ...

... we were in wet and heavy snow. We worked our way up a ravine and up onto the Larsbreen. Along the way we saw the entrance to an ice cave. In the summer, tours inside the cave are given, but in summer the cave is not stable. That ice cave is the only ice cave in the world where public tours are given. The Larsbreen and the Longyearbreen are frozen to the ground and it is so cold year around that the glaciers remain stable. We walked on top of the Larsbreen for a ...