At the beginning of September, summer is really over on Spitsbergen. The flowers are gone, the ‘trees’ have turned yellow, orange and red and are now brown, almost all birds have gone, the sun is setting at night, and the first snow falls again on the mountains. Time for me to leave the archipelago and head somewhere else. 

It’s nice to be here each summer. When I arrive, usually at the start of June, some fjords are still frozen, the birds have just started breeding (or will begin soon), and the first flowers peek through the melting snow. In those three months, all the birds and plants and some of the mammals have to complete their reproductive cycle and get ready for another harsh winter (or for their migration to milder climates). 

For me, it’s now also time to head on. In this case not that much south, but mainly west. Next stop: North East Greenland!