I wake up at 6 to take my shift. It's very sunny and Wahlenberg glacier looks awesome. I walk up the hill to enjoy the gorgeous landscape. The tide brought several new icebergs on the shore. There is also a beautiful lake whose waters are so still that they act as a mirror and reflect the majestic mountains surrounding it. Guarding the camp for 2 hours ran very fast once again, and I go to bed around 8 after waking up O.


















































































































Everybody wake up at 10 and have breakfast. There is more ice on the shore than at 8 when I went to bed ! When leaving the camp, it is more cloudy and we have to lift the kayaks over the ice to reach the sea. What a departure :-)
We finally manage to leave the shore and paddle towards the glacier. Facing it closely is very impressive, all the more that several loud calvings occurred !












We exit Wahlenberg bay and paddle close to the shore. We stop just before the cape. We can see remains of a big polar bear, which is quite impressive ! There is still fur on some bones. We then go for a short walk and climb several small hillocks from the top of which we discover Svea bay filled with ice ! A lot of icce has been released by the glacier lately and we can see the flow of ice drifting away.






We get in our kayaks and in the meantime the sun comes back !
We get close to the thick layer of ice covering the sea ("brach" as it is called) and coming from Svea glacier. We could avoid it and paddle around it to reach Svea campground, but it would take much longer time and Benoit, our guide, thinks we can get through it. He leaves first, opening the way. Every kayaks follow him, gently, as a single file. What an amazing experience !! The sea is very calm, the sun is shining, ice is cracking around us... and we manage to find our way through this maze of ice.



















When getting out of the brach, we make a raft from the kayaks bonded to each other, and we have a tea break. A young seal even comes and says hi !
We finally paddle towards the shore. We come close to several gigantic and blue icebergs on the way.






We reach the shore. Several campgrounds are settled here as it is a basecamp for several other groups. Francois's group is gone for a walk so we decide to have lunch on his camp, close to the fire !
After lunch, as weather is still fine, we decide to go and see Svea glacier closer. We get in our kayaks. The sea is as calm as a lake, and the glacier looks gorgeous with dimming light.
























































































In the meantime, a boat from Longyearbyen entered the bay. The group of Francois is leaving and an other one arrives. While people are disembarking, we paddle to the shore and get our food supplies for next week : five large plastic containers and 2 large bags. As every front team member, I get out of the kayak, put a plastic container at my place, and walk on the beach towards our camp 300 meters away. Kayaks are following us. When everybody reached the camp, we empty the bags and the containers, and check that everything that was ordered is here.
While counting all the boxes, the group that had arrived 2 hours earlier stopped by to say hello. What a surprise to discover that Thomas, who was with us in Iceland, was part of this group ! They will stay in Svea for a week, kayaking and walking.
Dinner and bed for a good night sleep, without guarding the camp :-)
































































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FIGURES OF THE DAY : 18,9km of kayak in 4h41