Hey guys,
It's been a few days since my last blog, but in fairness, I have been uber busy!
On Tuesday the IPY field school set off to Kappe Linne, the most easterly point of Isfjorden, and home to Isfjord Radio, an old radio station turned hotel. The trip out there was pretty intense; we set off in three zodiacs and although the wind was light, the water was pretty choppy. We were pretty much being slammed into the water every 5 seconds as each new wave came - so much so that someone even jarred their back pretty badly. I really enjoyed it though! Upon arrival at Kappe Linne, we dumped our stuff in our rooms, and set out on a tour of the geology and botany of the region. The trip would have been much better if it wasn't so bloody cold! The wind had picked up at this point, and with a lot of standing around to look at plants etc, we all soon got very cold. After a quick game of stuck in the mud, we soon warmed up...!
The next day we went on another trip, this time to a rock glacier and Lake Linne (which was still frozen). We had some fun on the way back when out one the students got stuck in some mud - after some time we eventually got her out, but I nearly got stuck in the process...I don't think the teacher was too happy about all this. Following our hike, we hopped back onto the zodiacs and set off to Barentburg, the Russian mining settlement. After going there last year, I was a bit dubious about returning. The place is very strange and very Russian. However, the sun was out and it had a much better feel to it this year. The food wasn't great though (it wasn't last year either so I came prepared with sandwiched) - I got a plate of rice with a few peas in it, yummy! The trip back to Longyearbyen was much smoother and we even got to stop off at the bird cliffs which was really cool.
Since returning from Kappe Linne it has been non-stop. Jenny, the director of APECS arrived and she is a heavy drinker so we had two late nights with her - one of which consisted of "speed dating" with Scandinavian politicians which was very interesting (especially as a good few of them were partying with us until 4am!). We also had a "friday gathering" (pretty much a party they hold at UNIS every friday night, although ours was on Saturday) so there was another late night last night. I'm definitely not designed for three late nights in four days. Although today, the majority of us got up and went for a hike. We are hardcore!
Over and out!
It's been a few days since my last blog, but in fairness, I have been uber busy!
On Tuesday the IPY field school set off to Kappe Linne, the most easterly point of Isfjorden, and home to Isfjord Radio, an old radio station turned hotel. The trip out there was pretty intense; we set off in three zodiacs and although the wind was light, the water was pretty choppy. We were pretty much being slammed into the water every 5 seconds as each new wave came - so much so that someone even jarred their back pretty badly. I really enjoyed it though! Upon arrival at Kappe Linne, we dumped our stuff in our rooms, and set out on a tour of the geology and botany of the region. The trip would have been much better if it wasn't so bloody cold! The wind had picked up at this point, and with a lot of standing around to look at plants etc, we all soon got very cold. After a quick game of stuck in the mud, we soon warmed up...!
The next day we went on another trip, this time to a rock glacier and Lake Linne (which was still frozen). We had some fun on the way back when out one the students got stuck in some mud - after some time we eventually got her out, but I nearly got stuck in the process...I don't think the teacher was too happy about all this. Following our hike, we hopped back onto the zodiacs and set off to Barentburg, the Russian mining settlement. After going there last year, I was a bit dubious about returning. The place is very strange and very Russian. However, the sun was out and it had a much better feel to it this year. The food wasn't great though (it wasn't last year either so I came prepared with sandwiched) - I got a plate of rice with a few peas in it, yummy! The trip back to Longyearbyen was much smoother and we even got to stop off at the bird cliffs which was really cool.
Since returning from Kappe Linne it has been non-stop. Jenny, the director of APECS arrived and she is a heavy drinker so we had two late nights with her - one of which consisted of "speed dating" with Scandinavian politicians which was very interesting (especially as a good few of them were partying with us until 4am!). We also had a "friday gathering" (pretty much a party they hold at UNIS every friday night, although ours was on Saturday) so there was another late night last night. I'm definitely not designed for three late nights in four days. Although today, the majority of us got up and went for a hike. We are hardcore!
Over and out!
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