Colesbukta II

Here comes Chapter II in the exciting saga about our adventure to Colesbukta. Starting with a photo of Thomas in charge of the boat. He´s a natural.

A couple of you might remember that we had some anxieties about the boat, as we´d heard it wasn´t quite safe. No worries, it behaved really well. At first, we couldn´t figure out how to go full speed, but eventually we got that right too.

Anyway, the first leg of our journey back towards Longyearbyen went straight across the bay, to a Russian settlement that was abandoned in 1967. Underneath are photos from the harbour area Coles Bay, connected by railway to Grumantbyen some kilometers away. The coal was mined in Grumantbyen, brought here through a tunnel and then shipped away.


Inside one of the houses it looked like this:



Old interesting rubbish inside, and plenty more outside.


The railway could be seen from the sea, as we continued towards Adventfjorden.


Underneath are photos from Grumantbyen - at the opposite end of the railway. We disembarked here as well, and it was obvious why the Russians placed the dock elsewhere, as it was a lot harder to land here.

But we made a bonfire and had a look around, in golden afternoon light.

No doubt as to who reigned here!


Going in Adventfjorden to Longyearbyen , this is the view across Isfjorden.


There´s another abandoned Russian settlement on Svalbard more widely known, and larger, than Grumantbyen. It´s Pyramiden, of course, and it´s the strangest place. You can trust me on this, as, incidentally, we went and had a look at it yesterday. On an organized trip, in a much bigger boat.

But I have barely begun unloading the (almost full) camera, therefore the tale about that trip will have to wait. And from the number of pictures we took, I fear there will be chapters, again.

So bye for now.