#arcticnatureguide

 “There are those who stay at home and those who go away, and it has always been so. Everyone can choose for himself, but he must choose while there is still time and never change his mind.” ― Tove Jansson, Moominvalley in November

In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it is wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices. (Elizabeth Gilbert)

Returning home from a trip can be difficult; there is, inevitably, a sense of anti-climax. Many people fill the hole left by a past adventure by planning another trip or seeking the next escape. I’m wary of doing the same, worried that it could become a negative spiral, that I would become so intent on adventure that I would lose the ability to be content at home. Instead, I am determined that the two big pulls on my life, adventure and home, should provide me with balance rather than conflict. I cannot envision a future for myself without travel and adventure but expeditions also teach me to value the pleasures of everyday life. When tempted to moan about the annoyances of a crowded supermarket, I remind myself of how incredible the thought of wandering around a place stocked with every food imaginable appeared to me when tucking into repetitive rations in a tent. If I find myself less than enthusiastic about travelling to a family event, I reminisce about how much I would have given for such a pleasure when in the wilderness. The same process works in reverse; when feeling sorry for myself in a cold tent I made sure to recollect that I was living my dream. I believe the two halves of my life can complement each other and work in harmony; expeditions teach me to appreciate the blessings of home; and home reinforces the value of adventures. (Felicity Aston. Alone in Antarctica.)

Oqaatsut. village of 25 inhabitans, including 5 childen. 69°20'40N 51°00'10" W. slowly we fade.

"It must have been towards the end of our journey when the manager of the telegraph station at Advent Anchorage, an elderly gentelman who seemed completely weather-proff, said to me in a fatherly and benevolent tone: "Madam, if you want to get through the winter well, you must rememebr three things. - He spoke a broken Norwegian-German, slowly and with great emphasis - You must take a walk every day, even in the winter night and storms. Thatis as important as eating and drinking. Always good temer. Never take things seriously. Never worry. Then it will be fine. I've known Spitsbergen for twenty-five years" (Christiane Ritter, A Woman in the Polar Night)

polar bear guards on duty.