After waiting for the strong north wind to die down, we took off for our hike at 10pm. The terrain was steep and rocky but considering the mud only went up to our ankles, Krystina felt the hike deserved four stars. From the top of the peak we got a good view of the island which was basking in a spectacular yellow light.
Once back on Snow Dragon, the fog rolled in and it began to rain. The following day we decided to head around to Vigohmma, on the north side of Danskoya. Low visibility made getting into the intricate entrance of the bay challenging. We could not see the islands that we were meant to use as range markers and came to the conclusion that following the beach was our safest bet. It did get quite shallow but we made it in without hitting bottom.
Vigohamma is where Salmon August Andree set off on his fatal attempt to reach the North Pole by hydrogen-filled balloon in 1897. The site is considered to be a "holy grail" among those interested in polar exploration and special permission is needed from the Sysellmenen to land there. We were expecting to find a fairly flat area but instead found steep mountains.
As we were getting ready to go ashore, Frances looked out of the pilothouse window and saw a polar bear taking a stroll along the beach that we were planning to land on. Though the bear was clearly leaving the vicinity, we still chose to forgo our shore visit. Once the bear was out of sight, we set off for the north cost of Spitsbergen in search of better weather.
For more photos of Danskoya please click on Daskoya Album.
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