> northern-europe
Svalbard is an archipelago that sits in the far northern Arctic ocean latitudes (from 74°-81°N). My visit was in May during the transition between Arctic winter and spring. By the time of my visit, the period of 24 hour sun had begun, however the sun angle was always favorable and made for interesting light and shadow when it broke through the clouds. I was traveling on a small, ice class, ship and making Zodiac excursions for even more access to the fast ice and wildlife. We spent much of our time in the fjords around Spitsbergen, but also navigated north into the pack ice at 81°N. Much of Svalbard is covered with glaciers which cut the rock and shaped the fjords in which we traveled. It’s an incredibly dramatic area.
Thanks to Giancarlo and Sergey, our guides, for their kindness, expertise and presentations about the history and geology of the area. They helped us reach some amazing locations. I’ll be back in the Fall of 2026 and am very excited to be returning.
