| Hiking on the island When hiking is the outdoor activity they give us 3 options: Small, Medium and Large. I chose to do the medium hike/walk again today - Mostly because it was so fun yesterday. I'm glad I did too, because we saw so many things: arctic foxes eating birds. These foxes were in transition between spring and summer, which means their coats were transitioning between white and black. One of the foxes looked like a reverse skunk. We were able to get fairly close because the one was busy eating. Then we walked towards the mountainside where all of the birds were flying around doing courtship flights. On our way we were stopped by 3 reindeer meandering by eating the vegetation. Then they laid comfortably in the snow. We passed another group up to the mountainside to sit and watch the birds, scenery and the foxes. I wasn't I would get a chance to see a fox because they (the staff) always said that they were fast and hard to see. We got lucky because we ended up seeing 2 foxes eating birds and playing. They were each very distinct with their changing fur. They were each distinct because their fur colors were so different. It was really amazing. I also got to try out the GoPro and the Theta 360 degree Camera. I'm getting ideas for the virtual field trip. After lunch I went for another walk/hike, we saw lots of birds and reindeer. It was really nice to breathe in the clean air and standing on stable ground. I've decided that I do not want to ever go on a cruise. I think I can officially say that I have motion sickness. Most of my time on the ship has been spent trying not to feel too nauseous. With all of that said, this is an incredible experience. I feel so blessed and lucky to be here. The scenery is incredible and it is amazing to see these rare sights in person.  The view of the National Geographic Explorer from land. Photo by Merinda Davis | Fun Facts from the Natralists- Only females can wear neck tags because male polar bears have thick necks and small heads to they fall off. |
The Arctic Foxes had a skunk look to them because of the changing seasons. Transitioning from the white of winter to the black/brown of summer. Photo by Christine Ikenaga
Trying out the Theta 360 Camera was fun. It gave me some trouble because it has to wirelessly connect to a phone or another device. The full 360 view can be seen through the link to Google+ Photo by Merinda Davis
Theta 360 Panorama -- The Tundra of Forsbladodden, Bellsund. Photo by Merinda Davis
Theta 360 Panorama --- The group watching the arctic foxes as they eat and play. Photo by Merinda Davis
I love walking on the tundra. It is like walking on a sponge. Thanks to Ship to Shore for letting borrow boots and water proof pants, they helped make the experience even more enjoyable. Photo by Merinda Davis
 The reindeer walked very close to us, it is probably because they do not have any natural predators -- except for I would guess the occasional starving polar bear. Photo by Merinda Davis  Purple Saxifrage is one of the most abundant flowers that I saw in the Arctic. Photo by Merinda Davis |  I thought this was a reindeer, but the more I look at it -- it looks like a moose. I need to double check with the naturalists on this one. Photo by Merinda Davis  Purple Saxifrage is a beautiful tundra flower, the blooms are about the size of my fingernail. Photo by Merinda Davis |
Akselsundet, Bellsund -- Another part of the archipelago in Svalbard. This one covered in rocks rather than soft spongy tundra. Photo by Merinda Davis
Jenny Kingsley, Naturalist -- The inuit saying from Canada about Polar Bears -- So true and so interesting. This is why all of the guides had to be equipped for protection just in case any rocks turned into Polar Bears.
Rich 'Mad Dog' Kirchner, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor. He was our guide on the hike of Akselsundet, Bellsund. His nickname came from when he was on a ship and his name -Rich- kept getting mixed up with the Bridge through the walkie-talkies. There's more to the story, but he tells it much better than I. He was so great and welcoming, gave some really great information as well. Photo by Merinda Davis
 Hikers on a hill in Bellsund on Svalbard. The perspective of how far and big everything is emphasized in this. Photo by Merinda Davis  The geology here is really interesting. There are many examples of tectonic plate movement. In this case you can see the vertical push of the rocks. Photo by Merinda Davis  Kent Kobersteen is the National Geographic photographer on board for this expedition. He also doubled as the life vest collector on shore during our hikes. The bin next to him also doubled as a trash bin as we collected trash from around the island on our hike. Photo by Merinda Davis |  Perspective is everything. These cliffs don't look that big, but if you notice at the top there are some people who look really small standing on the lower of the two. Photo by Merinda Davis  Clear examples of the vertical pushing of the tectonic plates. I know my vocabulary isn't scientific, but please correct me in the comments. Photo by Merinda Davis  Trash collected during our hike, you can see how much we found by comparing to the size of the bin in the picture to the left. Photo by Merinda Davis  Much of the trash collected washed ashore from the ocean, most of it came from fisherman. Photo by Merinda Davis |
Barnacle Geese hanging out on the tundra before continuing their migration. Photo by Merinda Davis
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