3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 63

The town of Longyearbyen being
located on the Bay of Adventfjorden,
one can reach there by boat.
Fortunate as we were to have a
local lady guiding us on a strip of
land in the Arctic, we ventured to a
place called Isfjord Radio, which
in the days of yore used to be a
transmission hub and the panoramic
views of the Arctic Ocean is
absolutely stupendous.
Ny-Alesund is another interesting
place to visit and you will be amazed
by not just the stark icy landscape,
but also its state-of-the-art Research
Institutes where scientists from
more than ten countries carry out
cutting edge research. Unbelievably,
the town has a population of just 35
denizens and in the summer months
its slightly more. I just couldn’t help
marvelling the spirit of enterprise of
the Norwegian government, who in
spite of the hazardous topography
and terrain, have managed to build
an airport, a Rocket Range as well as
a fully operational port.
Not all visitors to Svalbard are
adventure freaks. You can opt for
Vol 4 | Issue 1 |Jan - Feb 2019
less daunting but fun filled trips like
the “Be like the Locals” - an initiative
of Svalbard Tourism authority, that
allows visitors to have a firsthand
feel of life in Planet Earth’s northern-
most humanly habituated place.
You also have the option of choosing
the “Polar City Break”, which offers
visitors to spend quality time with
locals along with the very best of
Nordic gastronomic delights.
What can be more astonishing
than the fact that in Svalbard the
Polar Bear population outnumbers
the humans beings - In Svalbard it is
Polar Bears: 3000 and Humans: 2667
The polar bear is unique to the
Arctic and thrives on the icy
contours of this region. The best
place to spot them are to the east
of Spitsbergen, but its very likely
that you might encounter them in
Svalbard proper. The female of the
species conceive cubs in snow
covered caves, and its a sight to
behold to see the mother tending
to the cubs so tenderly that only a
mother can.
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