When we woke up, National Geographic Endurance was heading into beautiful Krossfjorden. After breakfast and mandatory, first day briefings, we were privileged to observe the magnificent glacier Lillehookbreen, which appeared in the mist. We stood on the outer decks to enjoy our first glacier of this trip. We breathed in fresh Arctic air and talked about ice.
In the afternoon, we went Zodiac cruising in the famous 14th of July Bay. We explored under the bird cliffs and observed guillemots, eider ducks, gulls, and, of course, the beloved puffins. We spotted a dozen reindeer on the tundra while we viewed the glacier. We spent some time near the glacier and were lucky to spot calving (ice breaking off and falling into the sea) as we navigated around the brash ice.
On our way back to the ship, we decided to try our luck in spotting an Arctic fox, and we succeeded! The small animal descended the hill and posed for photographers. Afterwards, we turned our attention to the barnacle geese, which sat calmly on the tundra. Our cruise ended with a sighting of a curious harbor seal.
Overall, we had an amazing first day of our Svalbard expedition.
