June 12, 2013

Overnight the ship continued north along the west coast of Spitsbergen. In the morning, we rounded the northwestern tip of the Svalbard archipelago and entered the vast fjord of Woodfjord. On the way, another polar bear was spotted on a small island. We watched as he proceeded to swim between multiple small islands.

The ship anchored at the end of a branch off Woodfjord near Monaco Glacier. We boarded zodiacs and cruised near the towering face of the glacier and around the calved ice floating in the fjord.

On the way out of the fjord, a couple of beluga whales swam near the ship.

After dinner, the crew spotted a group of walrus lying on the beach of a small island. This photo was taken through the telescope on the bridge. Notice that there is also a polar bear sleeping on the snow behind the walrus. Neither seemed to care about the other. Polar bears do not usually attack walrus as they would not win. The walrus would gouge them with their tusks.

To view more photos from Northern Spitsbergen, please go to Northern Spitsbergen Photo Gallery. To read about the next location visited, go to Northeastern Spitsbergen.

Home Locations Visited Photos Map Contact Us