We flew from Oslo to Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
 

Where we boarded the Prince Albert 2

Chief Expedition Leader Conrad Combrink introduced us to the vessel and its facilities. 

From the start we had wonderful zodiac cruises around the icebergs.

_And through the sea ice.

Spitzbergen is famous for its beautiful mountains and fjords.

Some of the more adventuresome climbed a glacier.

And we saw evidence of the elusive Polar Bear.

Our first sighting of a polar bear was very exciting as they are very hard to find.

At Poolepynten we were lucky to have many walrus welcome us

Several were in the water right where we landed.

And posed beautifully for us..

Robin Aeillo, a Marine Biologist, was one of the expedition crew and gave wonderful lectures.

A few days later we had another bear encounter.

And Conrad got this wonderful shot of the bear posing.

More zodiac excursions through the ice.

Accompanied by a friendly seal.

And a very pretty Puffin

From the ship we saw Humpback whales

And near the end of our trip we cruised the ice again

And saw several polar bears on the ice pack.

We were always protected by our brave expedition crew members!

And were grateful for our skilled captain getting us so close to the wildlife.

I cant wait to return to the Prince Albert 2 on our Antarctic Adventure Tour in January 2010

Contact us to book your suite on the PA2.