It is hard to explain to my friends what I go through every time I land on the Svalbard archipelago. These islands, located in the Arctic Ocean, are halfway between Norway and the North Pole.
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit on several occasions, and the beauty of its unpredictable and unknown landscapes only intensifies each time. This time I come in March, on assignment on behalf of the Norwegian Tourist Board. The temperature is low (-20 degrees Celsius), so is the sun on the horizon.
We leave Longyearbyen and drive across the Advent valley on a snowmobile. There are no roads, we follow the instructions of our guide to stay in a line. I keep looking around, astonished by the sheer beauty and vastness of the landscapes.
We stop by Fredheim beach. I have a mix feeling of fear and contentment, this is bear land, and we need to be alert! It is here that I feel inspired by the ever changing landscape; ice pancakes float around, constantly reshaping the scenery. I look for patterns, texture and colours.
As night falls, there’s only one more thing I am hoping to see. After a few hours, standing in the cold of a polar night, finally I see a faded light appearing in the sky. As my eyes adjust to the dark, the Northern Lights appear more and more intense.
We camp for the night, inside the safety of a “bear proof” fence around the tents. If touched, it would trigger fireworks that supposedly will scare off unwanted visitors. The only one to trigger it is our host, by accident. I look at the sky. The appearance of the Milky Way completes my wish list for the day. I take a few more images before I retire into the warmth of my tent.
