Exploring Europe's High Arctic Wilderness

On any expedition cruise, a visit to “the bridge” — the nerve centre of the ship — is a highlight. On this command deck, you can talk with the hardworking mariners navigating some of the world’s wildest waters, while taking in 270-degree views off the bow, the horizon stretching on forever.

- TIM JOHNSON

An arctic fox walks past several cuddled-up walruses.

It’s memorable even if the actual information imparted during these visits can be, well, a tiny bit boring — say, stats about knot speed and radar, or questions from the guests to the crew about draft and hydraulics and desalination plants. Here, on the graceful S.H. Diana, one of Swan Hellenic’s boutique vessels, I’m listening with one ear, but my eyes are trained on the sea, and on Bear Island, a barren, beautiful rise off to one side.

And then, just as the third mate shares our speed (exactly 10.7 knots) and starts into a rather involved talk about bow thrusters, we spot them: whales. Dozens of them, all around the ship. Their movements are mesmerizing, especially from this angle, up on deck eight. Their mighty forms are visible, even under the water.

On this safari by sea, whale spotting from the expedition ship is just the start.

It’s like a ballet: flukes raising up and then disappearing to the depths, pectoral fins splashing, big white puffs in every direction, near and far. “There’s a zillion of them!” someone cries out. I spot humpbacks and, later, the world’s second-largest mammal, the fin whale. A second later, the captain emerges, a long-lens camera in hand. A veteran officer, this man has seen most things you’ll find in polar waters — but even he’s snapping away at this almost unbelievable display of wildlife, which, truth be told, happens regularly in this part of the world.

I’m cruising off the coast of Svalbard, the northernmost inhabited islands on Earth and part of the Kingdom of Norway. Longyearbyen (population: around 2,400) is the administrative centre and unofficial capital, and sits on the island of Spitsbergen at a latitude of 78 degrees north. That places the town about halfway between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole (the latter is about 1,300 kilometres away — or just next door, in polar terms).