June 30, 2023

Ny-Alesund, Svalbard

Temp: 34-35°F, cloudy, 24-hour Midnight Sun

The "Amundsen mast."

Dedicated to Roald Amundsen

Ny-Alesund is the starting point for many famous polar expeditions, including Roald Amundsen's and Umberto Nobile's journey to the North Pole. Today, it is home to an international research community during the summer months.

It is also a radio-silent settlement, where wireless equipment, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, are not allowed within a 20 km circumference due to their interference with the frequencies needed for scientific instruments.

Ny-Alesund is also home to the Northernmost Post Office. This time I arrived with my credit card ready and, unlike my previous experience in Port Lockroy, Antarctica, with the Southernmost Post Office, purchased a stamp for my postcard. 

Molting reindeer.

This place was so silent we could hear the reindeer snorting and consuming lichen. 

Our rifle-toting female expedition members kept us safe from the polar bears. 

But our biggest threat was the momma Arctic tern dive-bombing us when we ventured too close to her nest alongside the road.