Top of the World

 

Well, our Julia has been back from her polar adventure on Silverseas Silver Explorer for some time now.  So, as promised in our June 19th post, we are sharing Julia's "cool" summer adventure in the Arctic, where the cruise season runs from May through September for obvious reasons.  (BTW there's still time to get onboard this season if you call right away.)  But if you can't make it now, this is the time to book for 2016.

First a little info about the geography.  The Arctic is really "The Top Of The World" and includes many countries, including parts of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Russia.  Although some cruises depart from capital cities, most leave from cities in Norway.

Julia's cruise departed from Tromso--the second largest city north of the Arctic Circle--going north to Longyearben, land of the "midnight sun".  There, from May through July, the day never ends and between November and January the sun doesn't shine, and early spring is a good time to witness the Northern Lights known as the Aurora Borealis.

Mom and cub for Julia's special birthday!

Julia was celebrating a special birthday on this adventure and her most wished-for gift was the sight of a polar bear and its cub.  Well Julia is blessed in many ways; she got her wish on her birthday, June 19th, the eighth day of the cruise.  For more than two hours she and her fellow cruisers watched the cub roll in the snow, walk away and then turn around and run after mom, even take a swim with mom and come out of the water on mom's back.  A special wish granted!

Her days (and nights) on the Silver Explorer expedition ship were quite different from a classic cruise.  Expedition ships don't feature casinos, multiple restaurants, cruise directors or shows.  Instead you will find an expedition leader, naturalists, lectures and daily zodiac expeditions.  Still, the Silversea traditions were very evident on this cruise and all the experiences were well planned.  A rotation system was set up to insure that everyone could start early and/or sleep late and only a certain number of people would be ashore at any given time.  Each expedition lasts about 90 minutes, and each zodiac carries 8 to 10 people including the naturalist who navigates the zodiac.

Each of her zodiac cruises explored a different territory...

• Sorkapp, the bear territory--didn't see any bears, but the ice cruising was enjoyed by everyone.
• Burgerbukta-- no bears again, but lots of rare bird species, a massive glacier and a bearded seal floating on a chunk of ice were seen
• Gnalodden, which is best known for its bird cliffs and trapper's hut.  The story was told of Wanny Wolstad, a woman from Norway who spent five years living in the trapper's hut.  Julia wondered how she managed to sleep through the cacophony of thousands of humming birds.  Maybe it was just the scenery that made the noise bearable. 

Julia's days -- remember no darkness--were filled with briefings and lectures which ended in time for a 7:30pm dinner.  She never knew what magnificent sight would appear at any particular time.  Something unexpected was always expected making the cruise a really memorable adventure.  Julia wrote about it in her blog.  So you can click here to join Julia and enjoy her full report being at the top of the world.   

We hope that our blog is a fun way of helping you prepare for a memorable journey of your own.  Our Reid Travel advisors really enjoy mixing their knowledge with your imagination to concoct the perfect mix of travel and adventure tailored to your travel desires.   

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