One sat on the lifeboat outside the bridge. I took this pic through the window, so it's a bit fuzzy, but I love the red on the inside of the bill and the red tongue.

Meanwhile, on the canopy of the rear deck, the seargeant major was getting the troops revved up.

We boarded the zodiac in thick fog and headed into the gloom. We landed on the beach in a small cove and climbed up onto the tundra. The view was restricted by the fog, but the calls of seabirds were evident somewhere up above us. We walked across wet boggy ground, stopping briefly to photograph some Yellow Marsh Saxifrage.


Out of the gloom, some shapes were made out up ahead. They turned out to be Svalbard Reindeer once we got close enough to see more clearly through the gloom.


There was one male with several females and a fawn. They were incredibly tame and allowed us to take photographs without being spooked by our presence.



Movving on up the slope, Mats told us that there were usually Arctic Foxes here, but we could not find them in their usual spot. We climbed up above the cliffs and were being told a story by Mats when out of the gloom we saw this.

As we moved down to where this Fox had disappeared from view, another was seen jumping over the rocks.

We moved downslope in anticipation of a closer look. The next half hour or so would be one of the most magical experiences I've ever had with animals in the wild.........