Kayaking out on Adventfjorden

My last activity in Longyearbyen during my first visit was a kayak tour over Adventfjorden. This is a small fjord which separates Longyearbyen and the coast on which lies the iconic Hiorthfjellet mountain.

This excursion was a sudden one, as the planned one (a boat ride among the icebergs) was suddenly canceled due to the lack of participants in the peak of covid hysteria, and I did not want to leave the morning slot empty before the flight back to the norwegian mainland. The provider picked us up and brought us to the headquarters, in which we were packed in dry suits, as the arctic waters are everything but gentle and forgiving. We were shown how to paddle and navigate in kayaks; I am not particularly experienced and super knowledgeable but I adore doing that and rarely refuse to join such activity.

Kayaking is a very relaxing activity, and it feels particularly enjoyable when you do it in such an environment – to have the opportunity to do it a bit over 1 000 km from the North pole feels like something which came out of my dreams. We did a 8 km long tour, the sea was very calm and at some point it started to snow.

What most of the people do not understand is the power of the arctic weather and the effect it has on some humans. I am not the only person, but I can only speak of myself. I love doing these types of activities while the sun is shining, but the rain, snow or snowstorm do not displease me. On the contrary; I will be very happy because I get the opportunity to experience an activity in a different light. I have managed to learn to accept every weather and find the beauty in it, and accepting the extremes and/or the weather prone to changes just made me love it more.