We are at the halfway mark of our trip.
The weather has been remarkably cooperative so far and I have my fingers crossed that it stays that way.
Aside from some high swells on some nights while sailing, the water has been calm especially where we drop anchor, so seasickness has been minimal.
As for the weather, its cold but the layers and layers of wool and wind-proof, water-proof clothing keeps me warm for the first couple of hours out of doors.
We usually only spend two to three hours on land at a time so by the time I start getting cold, it is time to start heading back to the ship.
Our typical schedule is that we rise at 8 for breakfast, eat and scramble to get all of our gear together. We go onshore for the morning, return to the ship for lunch and then back onto land for the afternoon. I've been able to make several sketches on site so far, using the onsite sketches to make color notes and taking photo references the rest of the time. The colors are amazing. Each day, the day gets shorter while dawn and dusk last longer. Most of the day the skies glow with soft lemon and pink hues. The water is the deepest, clearest turquoise I've ever seen. The only times I was absolutely miserable trying to paint was while it snowed. The snow would stick to the oil paint and turn it into a gummy consistency that was nearly impossible to work with and wouldn’t stick to the panel.
A couple of days ago, we arrived at Moffen Island. We crossed the 80 degree line at night and the second mate rang the emergency bell to mark the occasion. Unfortunately, I was down in the salon with a couple of others when the bell rang and nearly had a heart attack. We started diving for our life jackets when someone said "No life jackets, just meet on deck". On deck, the crew passed out mulled wine and shot flares into the night sky. We toasted and watched the northern lights on the horizon. It felt like a New Year's celebration with the added relief of not being shipwrecked in the Arctic. A couple of hours later, we reached Moffen Island.
On Moffen Island, it snowed most of the time we were there. Unlike Spitsbergen with its jagged mountain peaks, Moffen was flat and seemed endless. It was a resting place for walrus and they were everywhere. We could walk up quite close to them. They lay in heaps resting on the beach and we worked near them without disturbing them. When it was time to leave, we couldn’t find a place for the Zodiac to come ashore without passing the walruses. They are curious and like to poke at rubber boats with their tusks so it was a bit nerve wracking getting into the boat and motoring within ten feet of them on the way to the ship.
