Svalbard walking

After we had been able to see the Walruses we landed at a different site for a walk above a glacier - lovely to see  the small white Svalbard Reindeer up close - as well as snow bunting, ptarmigan and sheets of Mountain Avens (foliage) and Purple Saxifrage - albeit yet to flower in any number. 

After the Walruses we moved up the fjord. 

Beach Landing.

Ptarmigan.

Svalbard Reindeer.

Purple Saxifrage...we also saw (in bud) Tufted Saxifrage( Saxifraga Caespitosa) and Yellow Arctic Whitlow-grass (Draba Bellii). 

Trapper's hut. 

More or less identical to one that appears in Emma Sibborn's sketch book 'Fire and Ice' ..and it's in Svalbard, so the chances are ....

Give it a month and the flora will be stunning - the Purple Sax is just starting to bloom.

Glacier view. 

Our accompanying Reindeer.