November 03, 2007 - Permalink - 1 comment
Longyearbyen is the administrative capital of Spitsbergen.
The port of Longyearbyen is often the departure point of Nordic expeditions.
It is the world most northern town.
It is mainly a mining center and the administration is done by Norway.
The group name of all the islands is Svalbard or Spitsbergen and the island archipel is divided into different sectors. Russia has one of them. On other islands a lot of international scientific groups are doing research
A lot of inhabitants from Longyearbyen are coming from exotic countries like The Philippines, Indonesia, etc. Why ? because the companies caanot find enough labout in the western countries and only those hard working people where courageous enough to go there. It is a hard way to survive. Only the summer months the weather is acceptable, the rest of the year, freezing temperatures and a lot of snow are isolating this part of the world.
Main economic activity is coal mining.
Tags: 
Coal mining, 
Longyearbyen, North pole, Norway, Philippine workers, Russia, Scientific exploration, Spitsbergen, Svalbard
Rating: 2.5/5 (10 ratings, 1701 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 21, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
During our Arctica trip with Oceanwide Expeditions and their expedition ship, the Aleksey Marishev, we first went to
Spitsbergen, next we crossed the Atlantic Ocean and finally we went to Greenland and made a cruise in the Scoresby Sound..
The top of the bill in Greenland was our cruising of the Scoresby Sund (also
called Scoresby Inlet).
Amazingly beautiful.
One year before i was in Antarctica, but this area was as beautiful as
Antarctica, although totally different.
So much nature and so few people (only a bunch of local indians).
The Scoresby sound was fascinatingly beautiful, with icebergs, tens and tens
of glaciers with the lower portion of the ice almost arriving in the salt sea
water.
And as top of the bill we saw the last night 'the northern light' - a laser
show all over the sky for almost 30 minutes ! Unfortunately my camera was not good enough to take a picture from it.
What an extraordinary experience!!
We stayed for 3 days in the Scoresby inlet. It is so deep with so many arms
that one could be in the sound for more than a week without seeing the same
things.
Very negative point on this ecologic adventure is the hunting drive of the inuit people. They shoot on everything what moves. Result : if an animal sees a human being he is braking olympic records to get away.
Younger inuit people are seeing the benefits of ecologic tourism and try to change the habbit (in earlier times they need the hunting for food, but these days they have food enough trough other sources).
This cruise is only possible for 4 to 8 weeks a year (from August to September if weather permits). The rest of the year this area is frozen.
Link to part 1
Link to part 2
Link to part 3
Link to part 4
Link to part 5
Tags: Aleksey marishev, Cruiship, Denmark, Expedition ship, Greenland, Oceanwide expeditions, Scoresby inler, Scoresby sound
Rating: 2.42857142857/5 (7 ratings, 1715 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 20, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
During our Arctica trip with Oceanwide Expeditions and their expedition ship, the Aleksey Marishev, we first went to
Spitsbergen, next we crossed the Atlantic Ocean and finally we went to Greenland and made a cruise in the Scoresby Sound..
The top of the bill in Greenland was our cruising of the Scoresby Sund (also
called Scoresby Inlet).
Amazingly beautiful.
One year before i was in Antarctica, but this area was as beautiful as
Antarctica, although totally different.
So much nature and so few people (only a bunch of local indians).
The Scoresby sound was fascinatingly beautiful, with icebergs, tens and tens
of glaciers with the lower portion of the ice almost arriving in the salt sea
water.
And as top of the bill we saw the last night 'the northern light' - a laser
show all over the sky for almost 30 minutes ! Unfortunately my camera was not good enough to take a picture from it.
What an extraordinary experience!!
We stayed for 3 days in the Scoresby inlet. It is so deep with so many arms
that one could be in the sound for more than a week without seeing the same
things.
Very negative point on this ecologic adventure is the hunting drive
of the inuit people. They shoot on everything what moves. Result : if
an animal sees a human being he is braking olympic records to get away.
Younger inuit people are seeing the benefits of ecologic tourism and
try to change the habbit (in earlier times they need the hunting for
food, but these days they have food enough trough other sources).
This cruise is only possible for 4 to 8 weeks a year (from August to
September if weather permits). The rest of the year this area is frozen.
Link to part 1
Link to part 2
Link to part 3
Link to part 4
Link to part 6
Tags: Aleksey maryshev, Greenland, Russian expedition cruiseship, Scoresby sound, Sea lions
Rating: 2.85714285714/5 (7 ratings, 1672 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 20, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
During our Arctica trip with Oceanwide Expeditions and their expedition ship, the Aleksey Marishev, we first went to
Spitsbergen, next we crossed the Atlantic Ocean and finally we went to Greenland and made a cruise in the Scoresby Sound..
The top of the bill in Greenland was our cruising of the Scoresby Sund (also
called Scoresby Inlet).
Amazingly beautiful.
One year before i was in Antarctica, but this area was as beautiful as
Antarctica, although totally different.
So much nature and so few people (only a bunch of local indians).
The Scoresby sound was fascinatingly beautiful, with icebergs, tens and tens
of glaciers with the lower portion of the ice almost arriving in the salt sea
water.
And as top of the bill we saw the last night 'the northern light' - a laser
show all over the sky for almost 30 minutes ! Unfortunately my camera was not good enough to take a picture from it.
What an extraordinary experience!!
We stayed for 3 days in the Scoresby inlet. It is so deep with so many arms
that one could be in the sound for more than a week without seeing the same
things.
Very negative point on this ecologic adventure is the hunting drive
of the inuit people. They shoot on everything what moves. Result : if
an animal sees a human being he is braking olympic records to get away.
Younger inuit people are seeing the benefits of ecologic tourism and
try to change the habbit (in earlier times they need the hunting for
food, but these days they have food enough trough other sources).
This cruise is only possible for 4 to 8 weeks a year (from August to
September if weather permits). The rest of the year this area is frozen.
Link to part 1
Link to part 2
Link to part 3
Link to part 5
Link to part 6
Tags: Greenland, Greenland glaciers, Greenland nature, Inuit, Scoresby sound
Rating: 3.11111111111/5 (9 ratings, 1746 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 20, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
During our Arctica trip with Oceanwide Expeditions and their expedition ship, the Aleksey Marishev, we first went to
Spitsbergen, next we crossed the Atlantic Ocean and finally we went to Greenland and made a cruise in the Scoresby Sound..
The top of the bill in Greenland was our cruising of the Scoresby Sund (also
called Scoresby Inlet).
Amazingly beautiful.
One year before i was in Antarctica, but this area was as beautiful as
Antarctica, although totally different.
So much nature and so few people (only a bunch of local indians).
The Scoresby sound was fascinatingly beautiful, with icebergs, tens and tens
of glaciers with the lower portion of the ice almost arriving in the salt sea
water.
And as top of the bill we saw the last night 'the northern light' - a laser
show all over the sky for almost 30 minutes ! Unfortunately my camera was not good enough to take a picture from it.
What an extraordinary experience!!
We stayed for 3 days in the Scoresby inlet. It is so deep with so many arms
that one could be in the sound for more than a week without seeing the same
things.
Very negative point on this ecologic adventure is the hunting drive
of the inuit people. They shoot on everything what moves. Result : if
an animal sees a human being he is braking olympic records to get away.
Younger inuit people are seeing the benefits of ecologic tourism and
try to change the habbit (in earlier times they need the hunting for
food, but these days they have food enough trough other sources).
This cruise is only possible for 4 to 8 weeks a year (from August to
September if weather permits). The rest of the year this area is frozen.
Link to part 1
Link to part 2
Link to part 4
Link to part 5
Link to part 6
Tags: Greenland, Greenlanders, Hunting inuit, Scoresby inlet, Scoresby sound, Scoresby sund, Virgin valleys
Rating: 3.125/5 (8 ratings, 1639 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 20, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
During our Arctica trip with Oceanwide Expeditions and their expedition ship, the Aleksey Marishev, we first went to
Spitsbergen, next we crossed the Atlantic Ocean and finally we went to Greenland and made a cruise in the Scoresby Sound..
The top of the bill in Greenland was our cruising of the Scoresby Sund (also
called Scoresby Inlet).
Amazingly beautiful.
One year before i was in Antarctica, but this area was as beautiful as
Antarctica, although totally different.
So much nature and so few people (only a bunch of local indians).
The Scoresby sound was fascinatingly beautiful, with icebergs, tens and tens
of glaciers with the lower portion of the ice almost arriving in the salt sea
water.
And as top of the bill we saw the last night 'the northern light' - a laser
show all over the sky for almost 30 minutes ! Unfortunately my camera was not good enough to take a picture from it.
What an extraordinary experience!!
We stayed for 3 days in the Scoresby inlet. It is so deep with so many arms
that one could be in the sound for more than a week without seeing the same
things.
Very negative point on this ecologic adventure is the hunting drive
of the inuit people. They shoot on everything what moves. Result : if
an animal sees a human being he is braking olympic records to get away.
Younger inuit people are seeing the benefits of ecologic tourism and
try to change the habbit (in earlier times they need the hunting for
food, but these days they have food enough trough other sources).
This cruise is only possible for 4 to 8 weeks a year (from August to
September if weather permits). The rest of the year this area is frozen.
Link to part 1
Link to part 3
Link to part 4
Link to part 5
Link to part 6
Tags: Glaciers, Global warming, Greenland, Inlets, Inuit, Muskox, Scoresby inlet, Sea lions
Rating: 2.71428571429/5 (7 ratings, 1634 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 20, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
During our Arctica trip with Oceanwide Expeditions and their expedition ship, the Aleksey Marishev, we first went to
Spitsbergen, next we crossed the Atlantic Ocean and finally we went to Greenland and made a cruise in the Scoresby Sound..
The top of the bill in Greenland was our cruising of the Scoresby Sund (also
called Scoresby Inlet).
Amazingly beautiful.
One year before i was in Antarctica, but this area was as beautiful as
Antarctica, although totally different.
So much nature and so few people (only a bunch of local indians).
The Scoresby sound was fascinatingly beautiful, with icebergs, tens and tens
of glaciers with the lower portion of the ice almost arriving in the salt sea
water.
And as top of the bill we saw the last night 'the northern light' - a laser
show all over the sky for almost 30 minutes ! Unfortunately my camera was not good enough to take a picture from it.
What an extraordinary experience!!
We stayed for 3 days in the Scoresby inlet. It is so deep with so many arms
that one could be in the sound for more than a week without seeing the same
things.
Very negative point on this ecologic adventure is the hunting drive
of the inuit people. They shoot on everything what moves. Result : if
an animal sees a human being he is braking olympic records to get away.
Younger inuit people are seeing the benefits of ecologic tourism and
try to change the habbit (in earlier times they need the hunting for
food, but these days they have food enough trough other sources).
This cruise is only possible for 4 to 8 weeks a year (from August to
September if weather permits). The rest of the year this area is frozen.
Link to part 2
Link to part 3
Link to part 4
Link to part 5
Link to part 6
Tags: Eskimo's, Glaciers, Greenland, Icebergs, Inuit, Muskox, Scoresbi sound, Scoresby sund, Seals
Rating: 2.54545454545/5 (11 ratings, 1699 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 14, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
In a relative short trip with the Trans-Siberian railway from Irkutsk to Beijing, we had to start our Railway trip in Irkutsk. Before we boarded the train, we went for a 2 day visit to the Baikal lake.
The real Russian Siberian atmosphere can be smelled here.While we were at the Baikal lake (in October) the lake was not yet frozen, but the temperature dropped under 0.
Look also at the small but special houses and the immensie forests.
Pictures will follow soon
Tags: Baikal lake, Baikal lake activities, Irkutsk, Russia, Sighseeing baikal lake
Rating: 3.75/5 (8 ratings, 1976 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 04, 2007 - Permalink - No comments
When making a trip from Irkutsk to Beijing, we spend a couple of days in Mongolia.
I was surprised by so much pure nature and colorful culture.
The post Russian era seems like a revival of entreprise and colorful buddhist monasteries.
We also spend a night in a yurt (typical mongolian house) in the mountains.
In Mongolia do also live Yaks, high mountain cows.
Also to mention : In the capital Ulan Bator, i have been seen 'the best cultural show' ever whitnessed. I have forgotten the name, but this show (there is only one) has my ****** ranking.
Supreme quality singing, acrobats, cultural clothes etc
Unfortunately, i have no pictures of the show, but it is a 'no missing' show !
Tags: Buddhist stupas, Buddhist temple, Monasteries, Mongolia, Mongolian people, Ulan baattoor, Ulan bator, Ulanbaatoor
Rating: 3.3/5 (10 ratings, 1723 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
October 04, 2007 - Permalink - 1 comment
In February 2006 I have made a most fascinating trip to Antarctica with the MS Nordnorge from the Hurtigruten Cruise company (Norway).
Although Anatarctica has nothing to offer (only ice !), this continent is so pure that a 7 day Antarctica cruise is the voyage of a lifetime.
And ... the penguins are so cute and lovely. You dont find them nowhere else in so big numbers.
Therefore, this post is an honour for the penguins
Tags: Antarctic peninsula, Antarctica, Nordnorge, Penguins, Pinguins
Rating: 3.125/5 (16 ratings, 2223 views)
If you like this post, add it to:
