One of our objectives for Svalbard was to get within photographic distance of walrus. This fellow, and his mates, hang out at Princepynten Point in the Forland Sundet. The bottom shelves steeply, from 300 feet (90m) to 50 feet (15m) close to shore. Using our sonar we worked back and forth to get within camera range in light winds and a calm sea (we would not have done this in other than ideal conditions.

The walrus must be used to this because they barely raised a tusk in inquiry.

They have a lovely backdrop for their siestas.

This fellow decided to check us out.

We’re guessing that these are teenagers, out having some fun while the elders rest.

We’ve been blessed with clear weather so far.

There has been some fog offshore, but the fjords have been clear. As we were bidding goodbye to our new friends the fog started to fill in. Not a lot, but enough to get our attention.

We headed north for another hour. But when the fog began to thicken we decided to backtrack 20 miles to a secure anchorage clear of ice.

The local glacier has retreated leaving a protected anchorage with fox, walrus, and reindeer on shore.

We also have an interesting neighbor, now fog enshrouded. Jonathan had recently spent eight months locked in the Svalbard ice with her owner, family, and dogs for polar bear watch.

We don’t mind cruising in fog, nor does ice particularly bother us. But cruising with fog and ice is a high stress and high risk endeavor which we prefer to avoid, so we stay put and have a quiet evening.