Woke this morning in the beautiful fjord of Lilliehookbreen, Svalbard. Took a zodiac cruise towards the glacier with Alice. The scenery was stunning and the glacier huge (over 22km long). Calved icebergs fill a large part of the 14km long fjord. We cruised around for an hour or so before coming face to face with a rare reddish brown bearded seal, and grabbing some ancient blue ice for a special Gin & Tonic. On the way to our next stop we were lucky enough to run into a huge pod of Beluga whales. They didn't do much, so we left for Ny Alesund - a tiny village. It is the northernmost functional civilian settlement in the world, supposedly set up for polar research but looked more like a spy post to listen to the Russians.... Especially weird as we had to turn off all our phones and other electronic equipment. I spent the afternoon kayaking then took a quick walk through the village. The village was once a mining town and is criss-crossed by a number of above ground wooden conveyor boxes which contain all the plumbing and wiring due to the permafrost. A couple of fun facts: Residents must keep their doors unlocked for the sake of people seeking cover in the event of a polar bear attack. If you die here they cannot bury you on the island because of the frozen ground (you will never rot away). Finally the town is known as having some of the cleanest air in the world.
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