Sunday, September 6th, 2026

I think that time changes disrupt my brain. Although the time advance the day before had put us back onto “real” time (assuming that Prague time is “real”) none of my devices had yet managed to connect to anything that told them that fact. As a consequence, my Virgo based time anxiety yet again woke me from my slumbers with sufficient vigour to ensure that I would not return to them. A glance at my iPhone revealed that it thought it was 03:30. This meant it was 05:30, unless it had caught a signal from Svalbard, in which case it WAS 03:30. It had not – so it was not – but I got up anyway.

The lounge was deserted and, try as I might, I was unable to locate another book that I wanted to read. There were volumes from a few authors that I do like, but they were German, French or even Hebrew translations. Although I might have been able to struggle through the French one, in my estimation, I did not have enough time to learn German or Hebrew before we reached Tromso, let alone to a level where I was able read a book in them.

There was a glossy picture book on Plankton resting on the counter, no doubt left there by Chloe. I thumbed the pages. It was quite interesting, in a slightly scary way. Chloe would not have agreed, but most of those things are UGLY. Thank goodness that they are too tiny to see, or nobody would ever go in the sea, a river, a lake, a pond or even a puddle, ever again !

After almost two days in the sea-ice, it was quite a relief to look out of our cabin window when I took Lucie her coffee and see just sea !

Breakfast came and went and, before I really knew it, it was time for Charlotte to talk about whales. As we know from our Antarctic trip, there are many kinds and Charlotte managed to include the whole spectrum of baleen (filter feeding) and toothed (self explanatory) whales for the entire globe. The talk centred on the differences between the two types, the sizes, the ranges (usually vast), diet and breeding, Whales have a very matriarchal society. In most species the males meet the females, they mate and then the males return to their solitary lives. Female calves usually stay with a group of females, but male calves leave the pod once they become independent. Whale “song”, once thought to be a conversation, is now thought to be used to define territory. Astonishingly, the Blue Whale (a baleen type and the world’s largest creature) can filter one and a half tons of food a day.

Outside the windows, the sea was rising and, after days of calm, the swell was quite large. The wind was from behind the Plancius and we seemed to be flying along.

Next up were the Laurel and Hardy of geology, Sven and Marco, with a humorous and interactive introduction to identifying rocks. We were given a quick course in the essential differences between, sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks and a chart to help us decide.

Then, we were divided into four groups that were each given the name of a whale species – and each group was given three rocks to classify. Team Orca, us, got our three right, we had one of each, in fact three of the teams had one of each (although one team misidentified one of theirs). Sadly, Marco was a bit sneaky and poor team Minke was given a “trick” rock that was none of the above. It was an interesting and informative talk, I would be viewing the rocks in our Alpinarium in a completely new light when we got home.

Then it was lunchtime and, once again, Captain Christophe joined us at our table. We congratulated him on his successful navigation through the ice and he confessed that, until he had actually squeezed the Plancius through the very last gap, he was not certain it would go between the two huge floes …. On a happier note, he told us that the swell would not get any worse and that, when we rounded the final coastal point before Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s main town, we should be out of it altogether. We hoped that was correct because Pippa still hoped to organise a final landing to see some Walruses.

In the afternoon, Koen gave us an information/promo talk on Oceanwide’s full spectrum of expeditions. Sadly and I do mean that, there was nothing that would offer us enough “new” stuff to justify the eye-watering expense. It looked as if we would have to search for any future insane trips elsewhere, or just let Lucie organise them.

In the distance, the snow capped mountains of Svalbard appeared through the low clouds in front of the ship.

Appropriately, this was the time for us all to sit in the lounge and raise a glass of Prosecco with Captain Christophe as a toast for a successful voyage. This was followed by cheers for all the expedition team and it almost became emotional. The team were all dressed up, but not in their gear. Needless to say, Chloe’s “posh frock” had a plankton motif. Then we watched a video of all our experiences, prepared by Sven. How soon we forget ! Well, not forget, exactly, but we certainly allow new experiences to elbow their way to the front of our minds. It was a collection of pictures and short videos taken by Sven, augmented in places by snaps borrowed from other guides and included, for some reason, a photo of a penguin and a short clip of some plankton dancing. It was artfully and sensitively done. Lucie and I were not in great evidence, but my silly bobble hat was clearly visible in some of the longer shots. The applause from the throng was prolonged and genuine.

We were then steaming into the inlet leading to Longyearbyen, the main town of Svalbard.

The final dinner was early, because Pippa was still hoping for a last hurrah and, if Walruses were spotted in a known “haul-out” place, we would get a final spin in the Zodiacs. and, Sadly, just before dessert, the news came that there were no Walruses on the beach – so no landing. We ate our pannacotta and, after a few minutes on deck in which we too were unable to spot a Walrus, we returned to our cabin. 

The next day, a lot of passengers would leave the ship to go home – and some new ones would board. As “remainers” (there is a first!), we could still keep our muck boots for the time being. Although we could go ashore to explore the delights of Longyearbyen, we would need to be back on board the next day by 17:00, to participate in the safety drill.

I wondered what awaited us the next day. Longyearbyen has a fairly safe central zone, but extended wandering is forbidden as Polar Bears can (and sometimes do) wander into town ……

It was cloudy outside and, despite the, now customary, dramatic sunset, it had just begun to drizzle slightly.

I went to bed !