Our two days at sea from Ísafjördur to Svalbard, Norway were, thankfully, uneventful; as in we had smooth sailing and nobody got seasick!:)
Our two days in Svalbard were great! Located about half way between Norway and the North Pole (about 1,000km), the Svalbard archipelago is a very interesting place. The city of Longyearbyen (pop. around 2,500), is where most of the population resides, and is the northernmost city on earth with full-time residents. And while the archipelago has around 3,000 polar bears, only about 300 tend to live near the city. Still, anyone travelling outside the settlements is required to have the means to scare off a polar bear, so outside the city, carrying a firearm is mandatory.
Svalbard is classified as an ‘arctic desert.’ With low humidity and minimal precipitation, the air is almost as dry as it would be in a ‘hot’ desert. Oh, and less than 10% of the landmass has any vegetation (being covered with ice and snow), so don’t plan on relaxing under a tree and enjoying the long sunny days of summer, you’re not going to find any trees.
The University Centre located in Longyearbyen at 78° N latitude is the world’s northernmost research and higher education institution, with courses offered in Arctic biology, Arctic geology, Arctic geophysics, Arctic technology and Arctic safety. The student body is quite diverse, given that Svalbard is a ‘visa-free zone’ meaning anyone from any of the 48 countries that are part of the Svalbard Treaty can live there.
Our time there seemed to fly by. We explored the city, got to meet with some friendly sled dogs, and took a catamaran out to explore around the archipelago and see some glaciers up close.
We even got a glimpse of the ‘seed vault’, sometimes also known as the ‘doomsday vault’. It serves as a secure global backup facility for preserving seeds from around the world.
It is built into the mountain to ensure stability and protection from environmental threats. It has over a million seed samples from nearly every country. Seeds are stored in individual packages, designed to last for centuries. It is designed to protect the world’s biodiversity by storing seeds from various crops and plants, and acts as a safeguard against natural disasters, war, and climate change.
I almost forgot, we brought our new buddy along to see the dogs as well.
