Longyearbyen, Svalbard/Spitsbergen, Norway

Arrived here at 78 degrees Latitude at 8:00 this morning. After a leisurely light breakfast, we prepared for our Rib boat adventure at 11:00. We suited up in enormous flotation suits and goggles and went aboard. The boat only sat ten people and we sat on seats that you had to ride astride like being on horseback. Norma was fine but I had to remember back 50 years to my horseback riding days. One chap arrived in his walker but the pilot of the RIB told him he could not come for safety reasons. Thus he denied a person on the wait list a chance to experience this adventure so we were only nine. Our first stop was to admire a bearded seal resting on a pier then we were off to the open seas! There was a whole lot of wheeing and hooting going on as we crashed through the waves. It was like being on a ride at a Fair. So much fun! When I asked the gentleman seated in front of me if I was the only one making noise, he told me that I was making enough for everyone else. We stopped at a cliff to see nesting Arctic birds and I added a few more to my life list. We then proceeded to an abandoned Soviet coal mining town but the wind had picked up so we began our return. The ride back was much smoother as we were going with the current but I still managed to have a few waves splash over me. (I was sitting in the second seat from the front and no one was directly in front of me.) Two hours passed all too quickly. A quick check at the souvenir shop and back to our room for a room service lunch of chicken soup and sandwich.
Tonight, we are back at a specialty restaurant and yet another opportunity to pack on the pounds. Tomorrow we cruise the Magdalenenfjord which we are both looking forward to. We plan to spend as much time as possible in the Observation Lounge as the scenery here is supposed to be spectacular. We will be at the most northerly point of our voyage at 79 degrees Latitude. Check it out to see how far north we are. I should mention that we have no internet service here so am not sure when I can update the blog.