Six of the best

Morning misty and dull. The morning was taken up with paying bills and a guided tour of the ship and engine room.
In the afternoon the weather changed to warm and sunny and we landed to walk at Alkhornet. There are huge cliffs here of 100m high upon which kittiwakes and guillemots nest and breed. When the chicks are ready, they climb out of their nest and bounce down the cliffs. Then they walk the 2-300m to the sea, swim to Greenland with their Dad and grow up en route. An amazing tale.
However, what they don't realise, and neither did I, that there is a family of Arctic foxes esconced in the rocks between them and the sea. At first I thought that there were three. Eventually it became clear that there were six of them, sleeping and playing in the sun. An adult came past and called to them. S/he passed a couple of metres in front of me and was curious but not phased by our presence. The cubs came down of their rock plateau and started doing all the play things you would expect of your favourite young pets. Then we had to go.

It's the last real day.We have seen 20 polar bears, 40+ walruses, 7 Arctic foxes, birds too numerous to mention and travelled 997 nautical miles. It's been a fantastic holiday.

If you want to see more photos of this amazing trip go to
http://gallery.me.com/lizziebea#100161