Southward we went. The winds and the waves became fierce and rain set in, so the captain decided to skip our planned stop in Hornsund, at the southern end of Spitsbergen – The conditions were not good for a landing and there was a huge gale coming in. The ship was made ready for the open ocean and a crossing of the wild Barents Sea. We waived our farewells to Arctic expanses of Svalbard and to the land of the ice bear and we set our sights on the notorious ocean crossing that separated us from the Norwegian shore. The Barents Sea was known as one of the earth’s stormiest seas and it didn’t disappoint. The ship bounced, and jarred, and rocked, and rolled its way southward for the next four days. For the first day
... read more
