Ny-Alesund

We saw a lot of sea ice this morning in front of Tinayre glacier and seabirds nesting on high cliffs - puffins, kittiwakes, guillimots and barnacle geese.  There were reindeer grazing on the grassy slopes.  Docked at Ny-Alesund which was a coal mine but is now an important International research station for climate and oceanographic study.  An arctic fox came up to a kitchen window waiting to be fed on scraps; there are more Arctic terns nesting here and they are aggressive if we approach  too close.  In the afternoon we crossed the fjord to Ny-London and walked for two hours exploring the remains of machinery and huts left from the time when marble was quarried.  There were Arctic terns, skuas and a ptarmigan.  Back to the Nordstjernen and sailed south towards Longyearbyen.