Seven Islands

And yet again, another day started with blue skies and brilliant sunshine, but it was definitely chiller. Our Arctic jacket we were given on the first day was needed today.

We had anchored between two islands of the Seven Islands archipelago, Phippsoya and Parrysoya. These are the most northerly islands in Svalbard and are normally surrounded by pack ice for 10 or more months of the year.

We explored the nearby cove of Parrysoya in the Zodiacs. The environment on these islands is known as Polar Desert. We also wound our way through the sea ice, with a brief stop to walk on the drifting pack ice. That was quite a strange experience knowing that there was no land under our feet!

The extra shots are of kittiwakes sitting on a small ice block, Tom, one of the few children on our trip,  on the sea ice and the Expedition crew having a bit of fun.