Hello from the Northern Hemisphere

Day 5: Svalbard archipelago

Ang, you asked what happens to people who die on Longyearbyen….well, no one is allowed to be born or be buried here. If you die here, you have to be taken away to be buried elsewhere! The hospital here only has two beds.

Just thought you would be interested to see the times for sunrise and sunset

Very busy morning as we had to attend a mandatory briefing on the international rules for visiting the Arctic done by the Assoc of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators…..rules like “don’t leave anything behind”, “don’t try and lure a polar bear with food”, “if you spot a polar bear, stay calm and tell your guide” ( the guides carry a firearm onto shore just in case….).

We also had to get fitted with our boots to go on land. There’s a special room for boots called the Mudroom

And this is where we were meant to sail today…to a place called Boltodden.

Unfortunately visibility was really poor and they didnt want to take any risks using the zodiacs. This is all you (and I) will get to see of Boltodden and the first sighting of an iceberg (tiny compared with Antarctica!)

So the rest of the day was spent drinking coffee, eating and playing quizzes

Stuart and Alison (pommies) and I won both quizzes that were run today!