These graves bear testimony to the dangers encountered by the fjord's earliest visitors. It is a difficult area for navigation, and many vessels have found themselves held by the drifting pack inside the fjord for longer than anticipated. Interestingly, this is also the site of what is likely to be the northernmost naval engagement in history, fought during the Nine Years’ War. In 1693 two French frigates patrolled the ice looking for enemies - Dutch, English or Hamburg (at that time a free imperial city) whaling vessels to sink or capture. They caught approximately 40 vessels inside Sorgfjorden and took 13 in total by the time the battle was done. The French were outnumbered in gun and sailors, but the whalers tired faster. Two of the Dutch vessels were burnt on site. A Dutch battery which fired some of the earliest shots was placed on the hill next to the gravesite pictured.

We spent the morning exploring the area on foot. You can also find some more seldom seen birds such as the red-throated diver, various waders and sometimes the grey phalarope here. We were also scanning the pack ice in the bay as there were many bear tracks along the shoreline, but there wasn't any bear in sight. 

Mongolia is truly one of the most beautiful places one can visit, and this year we also had the opportunity to attend at the annual Naadam festival. After a little bit of research, I found out that traditional competitions in horse racing and wrestling were arranged on our way to Ik nart. As I had promised the guests a surprise, we turned off the road and out onto the steppe about halfway to Ik nart. The first thing we see ahead of us is a cloud of dust in the horizon, but as we approach, we see people riding and on camel carts.

There are people everywhere and everyone are dressed in their traditional clothes. We are the only tourists here, and the Mongolians are just as curious about us as we are of them. We stay for over three hours and everyone are thrilled afterwards. Some of the guests talk about how they have been invited to the regional board's ger (tents) for airag (traditional horse milk), while others have ended up in sponsor tents and are quite giddy after a few glasses of the local vodka. The cameras have gone off warm and we all agree that this will be a memory of a lifetime.

We boarded Quest after a visit at the museum where we learned about Svalbard’s history and nature. M/S Quest left the harbour at 17.00 and after dinner we already had an encounter with the largest animal of the planet - the blue whale. Two adults and a calf gave us a good show. The whales were so close that we could hear them blowing out the air. We saw the big blows, the flukes, the feeding and even some breaching! They were around the ship for at least 45 minutes.

After this excitement most of us went to bed, but in front of Poolepynten one of the guests saw a polar bear in front of the walruses that hauled out on the beach. We decided to go out with the Zodiacs to check out the polar bear. The bear walked along the beach to the North, and we all got a very good view of the King of the Arctic. After a while we decided to go back to the ship and at that moment the bear laid down, looked at us and it seemed like he also needed a sleep.

In the morning, while a lot of us were taking a shower before breakfast, there was the lovely voice of our expedition leader again with more wildlife news. Belugas on the southern shore of Kongsfjorden, a new species just before breakfast! Next stop, Ny-Ålesund and there we saw reindeer, lots of birds and got to hear a lot about history and science in Ny-Ålesund. In the afternoon we had a nice walk on Ossian Sarsfjellet, where we saw more reindeers and we also spotted some Arctic foxes.

We were very lucky to have experienced all this within 24 hours!

My watch says it is just before midnight when Max who is traveling with us as a photographer says that really, really I have to go out to admire the beautiful surroundings. Honestly, I first hesitate, thinking that then I have to dress warmer, at least bring a beanie because my hair is still wet after the shower I recently took. But once I get out on deck I regret nothing but that I did not do it earlier - the sea is calm and looks just like a mirror, and for a brief moment it is too difficult to decide what is up and down. The horizon is nearly invisible as the sky and sea are seamlessly woven together, and the mountain peaks are almost perfectly reflected on the water surface.

Time passes midnight and even 1 AM while we stay on deck. The wind, which only slightly increases, as we slowly reach a little further into the fjord, is somewhat chilly, but the sun is still high up and it warms us enough to stay up a bit longer. Someone is joking, saying that it is soon time to eat again, breakfast is just a few hours away, and around 1:30 AM, I sit down on the aft deck with the computer in my knee - I just have to write about this! I want everyone to see what I see! And besides, I'm not tired at all. The day-bright summer nights makes it easy to stay awake many more hours than I am used to back at home. Maybe I'll be tired tomorrow, but I don't really care about that now. Even time freeze up here, and I am pretty sure that the planned visit to the pack ice tomorrow morning will keep me awake after all. Because when you think that it can not be much more beautiful or more exciting, Svalbard's snow-covered mountain peaks, sparkling fjords and unique wildlife always manage to surprise over again.

It was windy this afternoon, but with the wind, the clouds also got blown away and we went out in blue sky and sunshine to Bjonahamna. It was our first tundra hike on this voyage and we admired the steep cliffs, where the northern fulmars nested high up. A bit further down, reindeers were grazing on purple saxifrage and we saw a ptarmigan couple flying in. As we proceeded with our walk, our guides told us to keep our eyes peeled for fossils, and look -  we discovered more and more petrified shells and fossilized corals, but also eider down, lichens, reindeer hair and even fox fur! It was a lovely stroll and we all chitchated and got to know each other better. As we looked behind us, we noticed, that two reindeer followed us along the beach, constantly in a twenty meter distance. They were obviously very curious. When we stopped they stopped as well, when we walked on, they proceeded with us, it was hilarious!

Back onboard we gathered in the cozy lounge on Sjøveien where we had our first "recap“. Therese and Mattias presented us tomorrow's plans and we got to learn more about the beluga whales, which we have seen earlier this morning in Adolfbukta. Who would have thought that they are called the "canaries of the sea“? Or that they are born actually grey, not white? And just as we finished speaking about their diet, our Chef Thomas and his crew invited us to the big table, where he presented us what he had created for dinner tonight. And we could figure out directly, that he is one of these chefs, who cooks with his heart and soul and he would surprise us during the coming week with many more of his amazing creations.