By boat to Barentsburg
13th July: the MS Expedition boat and visit to the mining settlement of Barentsburg
We got on the cruiser MS-Expedition, chartered at the Spiztbergen Travel offices. In the afternoon we visited the Russian mining settlement of Barentsburg.
Breakfast at the guesthouse was served in the building where reception was located. It was here we met Cecile, our first guide. Whilst eating we also met Bjorn, the second guide. We should have been in a group of 15 people but since my friend Alessandro could not leave Rome, there were only 14 of us.
The guides seemed friendly. The only difficulty was my bad English, which did not allow me to fully understand what was being said. At the end of the journey my English was improved.
After breakfast we met the other people. We all sat on a sofa for a briefing. We then left to visit the Svalbard Museum, after loading our luggage for the airport.
Once onboard we were shown to our cabins by a member of the crew. We were given a map of Svalbard and a metal mug as a complimentary gift from the people at the Spitzbergen Travel bureau.
We were briefed on safety procedures. We all had to wear a lifejacket and then tried to find our group.
At 4 pm we reached the port of Barentsburg. Stefano, our Italian guide, briefed us on the history of the town and what to look out for.
I bought the Glacial El Dorado Spistbergen, an illustrated book about Svalbard, written in English and Russian. At the nearby ancient-looking post office, a clerk calculated the prices and postmarked our cards.
At around 6 pm a show was organized for us at the cultural centre. The show was very interesting, especially when three young dancers came in.
We then went to the port to board our boat. After dinner I stayed on the deck to take some pictures. That day we saw a whale, or the at least the ejected air from its blowhole.
I went to sleep thinking of the strong winds and the ever present sun.
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