We sign the hike register at the rock cairn

Longyearbyen: Hiking up Plateau Mountain

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June 28th 2007
A bleak landscape appears outside our balcony. Voyager has arrived in Longyearbyen located on the island of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago. We are halfway between the North Pole and the Norwegian mainland. Once a mining area, oil-drilling drives today’s economy. With four months of midnight sun and four months of polar night, it takes a hardy soul to live here. Alan and I ... read more

Europe » Svalbard » Spitsbergen

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First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory.... ... read more