See you were all missing me and where have I been? On top of the world! Literally. . . .
Due to some very good connections I was given the chance of a short-notice expedition to the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen. Just what is a person to do when something as exciting as that falls in their lap - no option but to go obviously, and what a brilliant decision that was.
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| Norwegian Ringlet |
However, first we had to get there, and the trip began with a SAS flight from Heathrow to Oslo on Monday afternoon. Relieved that we had arrived with our luggage intact there was time for a short walk around the hotel, which was next to the airport, for some birds and flowers. My first bird was a hooded crow from the aeroplane, and I soon added house martin, jackdaw, white wagtail, crossbill, siskin, magpie and the alltime favourite, feral pigeon. I also saw a ringlet and a micro moth, possibly one of the veneers or agriphila?
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| White Mallow |
As prices in the hotel restaurant ran at about £50 for a main course and pizza was about £25, we decided to dine in style in the cafe at the airport - coke was £6.50, but the brie, bacon and cranberry was gorgeous. Tiredness is always an odd sensation when you have 24 hour daylight, and luckily there were black-out curtains. Sleep was patchy as excitement over the next day's journey stopped my brain from switching off.
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