Cotton Grass (Eriophorum angustifolium )

Well, we made it! The trip from Isfjord Radio caused many anxious moments and frequent checks on the skipper, Harri's part that we were OK. The wind buffeted us all of the way. The waves, constantly coming towards us crested betweeen 0.5 and 1.5 metres at times caused the boat to leap forward, crashing down frequently, engulfing us in water. It was like being in the equivalent of a wet water Grand National, And it went on for almost 3 hours!

We finally pulled into the harbour at Longyearbyen at 10 past 10 that night, under low scudding clouds. The sky was almost dark, probably a first for Svalbard in the last 6 months. Lorna had suffered; two whiplash incidents in car crashes in her past made this experience difficult and pins and needles had returned with a vengeance.

It was all we could do to climb into the taxi and walk up the stairs of the hotel to our room, collapsing on the bed after a warming bath/shower.

Next morning Lorna felt little better so we cancelled the dog sled ride. A lie in followed by some retail therapy was needed. After that there was just time to collect our possessions and transfer to the airport. I'll gloss over the travel back to home. In many respects it was uneventful in comparison to the previous evening.

While we were out on the walk, these cotton grass being whpped by the strong windwere one of the few signs of vegetation in the town. I regretted not taking my macro lens because, despite the lack of trees and bushes, small alpine flowers were dotted all over the tundra. Oh well, I'll just have to go back!

I update the blog, even including a very cheesy video of part of the journey in the boat.

Thanks everyone for the interest in the trip, your comments stars and faves are very gratfiying and I am only sorry I struggled to respond. As you might imagine I have a lot of processing to do now we are home and hope to put a short portfolio of images together soon.