Update

Well I am at the Oslo airport now.  I am early for my flight, of course, being me, and not having much else to do this morning. I thought I would use the time to update you on some of the interesting things I feel I have forgotten to mention over the trip (there is only a couple).

 

One that you may have guessed right at the beginning of my trip was the importane of guns on Svalbard.  If you go out and about, whether alone or with friends outside of town or go camping, you must take a gun.  People are attacked by bears each year.  In Svalbard, there is no hunting of polar bears but if it is necessary to save lives, a bear will be killed.  However, it is expected that the persons will do everything reasonable to prevent this from happening, such as leaving the area, and waiting until there is no other option.  Earlier this year a camper was dragged from his tent by a bear, his friend shot and killed the bear saving his life.  This was investigated and they were found to have done the right thing.  However, just recently a researcher shot a bear from a bit of a distance.  He claims it was a warning shot and did not even know he had hit the bear.  However, he did not report it, but later a dead polar bear was found in the region where he was working.  He came forward but was fined, both for shooting it and for not reporting it.  Perhaps if he had reported it, he may not have been shot. Anyways, long story short, guns on Svalbard are part of everyday life.  When we operated in the field, there was at least one gun on the ice with ice, loaded and ready to use.  However we always tried using flare guns and when possible left the ice for the safety of the zodiacs and/or the ship. 

Oh and Norwegian for polar bear is isbjorn (ice bear).  We saw a couple this trip (Fram Strait) and lots on the first cruise.  We also saw some seal remains and the amount of blood is amazing, you could see the drag marks across several floes and then the unfortunate corpse.

 

Other things, such as the fact that Svalbard has a whooping 56km of roads was neat, yes I went on pretty much all of them.  There are different rules regarding backcountry use for people who live on Svalbard, and everyone else, like me or even people from Norway.  These limits include where you can go, stay, and if you can use snowmobiles (called scooters) offroad.

 

Otherwise the thing about Norway that I cannot get past is the cost, cost of living is quite high (but then so are wages).

 

Hmm, I thought I had more to write about but guess not.  I am just excited to get home, excited to see Nicole and Jax and to talk to you all again.

 

Cheers and talk soon