Page 77 - 2003 SVALBARD, NORWAY

the rigorous environment, the change of seasons which bring

necessary alterations to hunting and survival skills. How good it is
to know that despite these tough tasks and lessons, the Svalbard

population of polar bears is doing well and is self-sustaining. What
a great effect that l973 Norwegian protection of the bears from

hunting and the subsequent Arctic Nations Treaty against polar
bear hunting of 1976 has had on these magnificent maritime
bears!

After lunch, we got all our packing done so that we were ready to

put our red suitcases out whenever Ralph called for them. Packing
really was not a chore because we just rolled up all the dirty

clothes and put them in the “to be checked” luggage and then
kept the few clean things out for the backpacks since we would

need them with us at the airport hotel in Oslo. We relaxed, read,
sat in the Lounge, and talked to a few people. Meanwhile the
waters were getting a bit more rambunctious, but the captain

assured us that when we rounded the bottom of Spitsbergen
Island, the waters would smooth out again.

Around 5 PM, Stefan had the lecturer’s dais again and this time he

showed us pictures from his favorite springtime activity around
Longyearbyen. He flies over from Arizona and meets a friend to go

“ski-dooing” up a glacier behind the little town and on towards a
cabin they share. It sounds like a grueling adventure since they
must deal with hungry polar bears, many hours of complete

darkness, significantly cold temperatures, primitive conditions
which require melting ice & snow for water, paranoid bathroom

visits because they must go outside the cabin and never know
when they will meet a polar bear on their way there or back. The

pictures Stefan takes of the strange light in the Arctic at that time
(around April) are truly lovely and different from the kinds of light

we were seeing. The land still locked in ice and snow is both