Lands of Fire and Ice

Be introduced to your Expedition Team and attend a Zodiac briefing as well as an Arctic regulations refresher course that outlines the environmental policies all must adhere to in order to enjoy the privilege of visiting this pristine region at the top of the world. Tonight familiarize yourself with the elegant Silver Cloud, meet some of your fellow travelers, and enjoy the first of many memorable meals in one of the restaurants.

This flexible itinerary allows you to take advantage of favorable ice and weather conditions. Whether cruising by Zodiac amongst ice floes and icebergs or heading ashore for a guided walk, this unexpected adventure brings you up close to mystical settings. Each day the Expedition Leader and Captain determine the best course depending on changing weather, ice conditions, and the wildlife you encounter. Travel to see walrus haul-outs, see reindeer, and maybe spot an arctic fox or a bearded seal. Northern fulmars are constant companions. You might even encounter a few whales. Several species frequent the area, in particular minke and beluga. Here are a few of the places you might visit:

Magdalenefjorden – Found on Spitsbergen’s northwest coast, Magdalenefjorden was already seen by Willem Barents in 1596. Walrus was hunted here in later days and a whaling station was set up. The remains of blubber ovens and a cemetery can still be seen. Silver Cloud enters this scenic fjord in Northwest Spitsbergen National Park and you might land at Graveneset for a short walk.

Ice Cruising – With the strengthened hull of the Silver Cloud, have the perfect platform to search for walrus and polar bears as your crew devotes at least one day to exploring the pack ice north of Spitsbergen. Conditions permitting, the Expedition Leader may choose to take you out in the Zodiacs for an even closer look.

Liefdefjorden – At the entrance to Liefdefjorden are several small island groups. On the Andøyane (Duck Islands) you may encounter polar bears looking for bird eggs. With the Zodiacs you might circumnavigate several of the islands, always on the lookout for active birdlife – when Arctic terns circle specific areas it usually is a sign for polar bear presence on the islands.

Monacobreen – Cruise past majestic red Devonian sandstone mountains as you reach the end of Liefdefjorden for a Zodiac cruise along the front of two different glaciers: Monacobreen and Seligerbreen. Monacobreen has a 5-kilometer-long front and is a good place to look for seals, black-legged kittiwakes, and ivory gulls.

Fjortende Julibreen – The 14th of July Bay is located at the entrance of Krossfjorden. Here go ashore for a hike up to the 14th of July Glacier – conditions permitting, climb onto the glacier, or, alternatively walk to the Hanging Gardens, a beautiful plant oasis underneath a bird cliff.

Hornsund – This is the southernmost fjord on the rugged west coast of Spitsbergen Island. Jagged mountain peaks tower above glacier-filled bays. Amidst floating icebergs, watch for bearded seals, the beluga whale, and the king of the Arctic – the polar bear. Sightings are fairly common as the polar bear’s favorite food, the ringed seal, breeds in the fjord. The surrounding bird cliffs are home to thousands of pairs of nesting little auks. Visit the remains of whaling stations and trappers’ huts.

As you near the southern tip of this Arctic island, now a nature reserve, see thousands of seabirds diving into and out of the island’s steep cliffs. With your Zodiacs and favorable weather conditions, explore the rugged coastline. Close to 9 kilometers of cliffs are home to some of the largest bird colonies of the Northern Hemisphere. Common guillemots, Brünnich’s guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, and glaucous gulls are all found along the cliff. Other species have been observed, including Atlantic puffins and northern gannets. Of the more than 120 species registered, slightly more than 30 actually breed on the island. The Expedition Team provides insights into the environment, the terrain, and the wildlife that exist in these extreme conditions. Leaving Bear Island head out on deck to watch for whales; white-beaked dolphins and minke whales are known to frequent the area.

Norway's raw beauty and cultural curiosities attract a steady stream of eager visitors to Harstad, which is superbly positioned on the country's biggest island, and offers unrivalled access to some of Norway's most spectacular northerly scenery. Enjoy long, bright days of endless sunlight, or velvety dark winters of ethereal Northern Light shows, as you take a journey to this ethereal land of the north. With mountain hikes, and trips out to sea on the trail of whales and dolphins, Harstad is a natural playground with something for every taste. Rugged peaks, crisp mountain lakes, and stomach churning cliffs, which drop away to smooth ocean await, as you dive into the heart of the area's fjords and mountain scenery.

The morning is used to explore the area of Tysfjord by land or Zodiac. A long hike might lead to gigantic waterfalls, while others might simply walk up to a beautiful cascade in this “alpine” area. This is the narrowest part of Norway and was formerly used by Sami reindeer herders of Sweden and Norway. During the afternoon the ship sails south, giving lecturers time to expand on Norway’s natural history.

Nordfjord and Melfjord are part of the very scenic county of Nordland. Silver Cloud cruises along the picturesque fjords with their lush slopes. Occasionally waterfalls tumble down over the smooth rocks. Svartisen National Park extends to the bottom of Nordfjorden, a branch of the Melfjord. Svartisen is one of the largest icecaps of the Norwegian mainland. The shoreline forms part of the border of the national park with dense birch forests in the fjord’s valleys. Hikes might be offered to a viewpoint above the fjord and Zodiac cruises closer along the shore. The narrow fjords with their steep mountainsides are impressive to see from sea level.

The Vega Archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a myriad of islands scattered in the Norwegian Sea and home to one of Norway’s largest eider duck colonies. Of the 6,000 Vega islands, 59 were once inhabited by families that made their living from fishing and from eider down harvesting. Today, there are no year-round residents, but the population returns in the summer to continue the 1,500-year-old tradition of caring for the eider ducks and harvesting their precious down. The eider ducks return to their breeding ground in the Vega Archipelago every year and lay their eggs from May into June. In the fishing harbor of Nes, visit the Eider Duck Museum, which provides insight into the islander’s unique traditions as guardians of these birds and describes the process of producing eiderdown duvets. Nearby exhibitions detail the archipelago’s UNESCO status and document the history of Lånan – the largest egg and eiderdown farm in Helgeland. Before returning to the pier stop in at the Coastal Museum to have a look at their motor collection and later make a brief visit to see the Vega Church in Gladstad, a wooden church dating from 1864.

On the approach to Geiranger cruise Storfjorden. South of the village of Helsem the large fjord branches towards the east and the south. The 26-kilometer (16 mi)-long Sunnylvsfjord to the south is one of the innermost branches of Storfjord. The fjord ranges from 600 to 2,000 meters (2,000 to 6,600 ft.) wide and the fjord reaches 452 meters (1,483 ft.) below sea level at its deepest point. The famous Geirangerfjord branches off to the west from the Sunnylvsfjord. Of Norway’s many fjords, Geirangerfjord is doubtless the most beautiful. Impressive mountains, numerous waterfalls, as well as farms clinging to the steep hillsides give the fjord its unique character. This excursion takes you uphill past the wooden, octagonal Geiranger Church, through the wild Flydal valley where a scenic overview stop is made, and continues around hairpin bends to Lake Djupvatn, and the summit of Mount Dalsnibba (1,500 meters.) From here, there is an amazing panorama of mountains, waterfalls, and lakes.

Alternatively (and weather permitting) the more energetic can spend a few hours kayaking the quiet and spectacular Geirangerfjord with two-person kayaks. Geirangerfjord is one of nature’s masterpieces and on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Its description as “the world’s most beautiful fjord” is no exaggeration and it is amidst this dramatic mountain setting that you can experience some spectacular sea kayaking. The kayaks provide an amazing perspective from which to view the cascading waterfalls and steep mountain walls that rise as high as 1500m.

After breakfast, disembark Silver Cloud.