Conquering the Far North: a Journey to the Arctic

The Arctic has always piqued my curiosity. Apart from my quest to see polar bears in the wild, the stunning photos of massive slabs of sea ice and mammoth glaciers ignited my sense of adventure. The best way to visit the Arctic is on an expedition ship - I chose Quark Expeditions, a company which specializes exclusively in polar adventures. Don’t be misled by the “expedition" label - these are intimate, luxury small boats that offer plush cabins, delicious food and drinks, and even have a spa and sauna for when you need a little pampering.

The itinerary I chose navigated around the island of Svalbard, which belongs to Norway. We reached Svalbard by taking a 3 hour charter flight from Helsinki. After a short drive, we boarded the Ultramarine in the port of Longyearbyen and set off on our adventure. After taking care of the safety drills, we met our expedition leader, Sarah, in the auditorium to raise a toast as we set sail.  While I expected our fellow passengers to be in the 50s+ category, I was surprised to see that all ages were strongly represented, from young teenagers to active adventurers in their 80s.

As Sarah quickly explained, expeditions in this corner of the globe are at the mercy of Mother Nature so while a general route had been plotted based on the weather forecast, flexibility is key as we would likely need to pivot if the weather changed or the sea and ice conditions became unfavorable. While we were anticipating a lot of down time on the boat, we soon learned this would not be the case! At around 7AM each day, we were gently awoken with a call from our expedition leader which included soothing music, a weather report, our coordinates, and the day's plan. Weather permitting, each day included two zodiac excursions to view wildlife, glaciers, or to step onto land for a hike (hikes were offered for all levels, ranging from meanderers to chargers).

Quark also offers two kayaking programs: the first is a one time paddle and the second is a full cruise kayaking program, which replaces the zodiac excursions. I chose the full cruise program and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be a water level.  We were fortunate that the weather gods were kind to us and we were able to kayak for all but one day of the trip. 

In the morning, we hopped into a zodiac to reach our kayaking location and then launched over the side into our kayaks and set off. Each exploration offered an incredible experience in this otherworldly landscape, whether watching a massive glacier calve into the ocean, spotting endearing puffins fly overhead, kayaking through crackling sea ice, watching thousands of little auks jockey for a spot on the crowded cliff sides, kayaking along with friendly seals, or watching reindeer graze along the shoreline.

When we weren’t kayaking, we marveled at the incredible wildlife sightings. We were lucky to spot a polar bear twice during our journey. Given Norway’s laws for wildlife protection, the boat was not able to approach closer than 500 meters to the polar bear.  It was still fascinating to watch this incredible animal as it paced the shores before diving into the ocean for a two mile swim before climbing out and joyfully rolling in the snow and sliding down snowy hills. I had to remind myself that these are actually very dangerous animals!  We were also fortunate to sight a large group of walrus lounging lazily on a beach.  Given that walrus don’t move particularly fast, the laws allow for closer observation on land. They were almost comical with their large whiskers and massive tusks - but evidently not too amusing if encountered on the water in a zodiac as their tusks are lethal puncture weapons! After a few minutes, we got an urgent call from the expedition team that we need to quickly load back up into the zodiac as a polar bear had been spotted heading in our direction. Just another day of adventure on the Ultramarine!  On the one day when the weather was rough, we tacked due north through massive slabs of sea ice reaching a little over 500 miles from the north pole.

It was always enjoyable to reflect on the latest excursion with fellow adventurers over dinner, at the bar, or in the sauna. Each day brought a new surprise and I felt so fortunate to be able to be along for the ride on this incredible adventure.