On Top of the World:
The 2008 North Pole And Solar Eclipse Voyage
on the Nuclear Icebreaker I/B “Yamal”
The 2008 North Pole And Solar Eclipse Voyage
on the Nuclear Icebreaker I/B “Yamal”
Back to Murmansk, Moscow and home
The last two days of our voyage, Aug 2nd & 3rd were crossing the ocean and heading back to Murmansk. During this time we kept a look out for whales, watched sea birds, held several more lectures (including a quick tour round the Solar System by me) and finished the various ships tours and Captains Cocktail parties. There was also the more mundane things like passengers paying final bills and making sure we’d all posted our souvenir postcards (none of mine have turned up yet!). The Sun slowly got lower in the north at night making for some superb images and on the final evening Christine held a special slide show of our trip accompanied by live ‘Polar improvisation’ music from Alexander and Eugene in the conference hall. Our final evening meal was special as it was a traditional Russian meal with a specially baked cake of the Yamal and certificates were handed out to those hardy souls who had swum at the North Pole. We all also received a special certificate commemorating our visit to the North Pole aboard the I/B Yamal and with PAV.
The next morning (Aug 4th) we awoke to find ourselves docked alongside the sister ship ‘Fifty Years of Victory’ and after breakfast we had to cross over to the FYV and disembark to our waiting coaches for a whistle stop tour of Murmansk before heading off to the airport and back to the Baltschug Kempinski hotel in Moscow. After one final night in Moscow and a quick tour round Red Square again in the morning rain it was on to our various flights for the trip home and all too soon our grand adventure was over as Phil and I touched down at Kirmington (Humberside) Airport, UK on Aug 5th. We had a great crew, marvellous Expedition Team and I can only hope that we all can get together again for another amazing expedition, eclipse or no eclipse!