Sarah Pedersen 7th July 2023
We have been a few days in Longyearbyen because we needed to relax, buy food and refuel.
After the abrupt wakening from our anchorage we continued towards Longyearbyen.
We had plenty of places we wanted see and anchor, but we were missing one crucial thing before we could take the dinghy to shore and explore: the rifle.
So when the fog again was ruining the view and the wind made the water flat and easy to motor in, we decided on another 24-hour motoring to Longyearbyen.
We were both a little tired after the crossing from Norway and the abrupt wakening by the anchor alarm but motoring along the coast is not too hard a job.
When entering the fjord towards Longyearbyen we were met by some very annoying waves though. They were banging on the boat and taking the speed out of the it and making the comfort in the boat a lot less comfortable (this didn’t stop Sarah from having a nap in the cockpit though). We considered anchoring in one of the smaller fjords, but as the wind seemed to be building the next day, it looked like we would be stuck in the fjord for a day or two if we decided to do this. So we accepted that the ride would be bumbly and take an extra 3-4 hours.
We arrived at Longyearbyen at 7.30 in the morning and got the last spot for this size boat, but had a lot of wind when parking.
This was the perfect way to start turning day and night upside down as the sun is now constantly shining and moving in a circle above our head.
Longyearbyen is a very different place as you can clearly see the coal mining history and the houses are all built on pillars so the are ready for the snow. Many of the cafes still want you to leave the shoes at the door, which is a left over from the mining times when people were covered in dust. Signs at supermarkets and shops show that you cannot bring your rifles in there, which is because you should bring a rifle anywhere you go outside of the city boundaries: this is because of the risk of meeting a polar bear.
We had some great days in town eating at a local pub and drinking beers from the local brewery, visiting the new art museum and drinking coffee at the Husky cafe.
To our great surprise the supermarket here had a better selection of most things than the supermarkets we had visited in Norway.
After having relaxed, fixed a few things on the boat, rented a rifle and stocking up on food we are now ready to leave civilisation for 3-4 weeks. So we might be hard to get in contact with, but will update the post here.