2014 Bjornoya

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	Bjornoya, or "Bear Island" is roughly half way from the Norwegian mainland to Spitzbergen. There was mining and whaling activity in the past, but today the only inhabitants are nine staff from the Norwegian Meteorological office.  They live and work there in 6-month shifts Bjornoya is notoriously hidden in fog.  We saw it from 45 miles off, but as we approached it started to disappear, and we finally came into the anchorage by radar. (Double click any picture to see full size, then use the back button on your browser to return here)
The southerly anchorage in Bjornoya is quite beautiful, but we could not get off the beach due to the cliffs. Next day we moved to a nearby anchorage that let us get ashore
	We had a good hike up the hills above Kvalrossbukta, an old whaling station. There is still an old steam boiler and remains of a winch used to haul whales up on shore for flensing. An old cauldron probably used for boiling blubber is still there too. The photos show Kvitebjorn, a Norwegian friend's boat, along with Milvina.
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