We’re now back in Longyearbyen again feeling rather like old hands even though we were here for no more than 48 hours previously.  We’ve just visited two Russian settlements at Barentsburg and Pyramiden and now need to take on fuel, water and food and also do some laundry and grab showers.  Barentsburg is close to the entrance of Isfjorden, which runs deep into central Spitsbergen, whereas Pyramiden is right at the head of the fjord. Longyearbyen is on the south side about half way in.

 

Our visit to Barentsburg was interesting but left us with an overwhelming feeling that we were visiting some sort of Communist gulag that hadn’t moved out of the 1960s.  It’s still an active coal mining community, although much less productive than it has been in the past and its permanent population is significantly smaller than at its peak.  The buildings are a mix of historic wooden houses and office blocks, now all completely derelict, and more recent multistorey accommodation blocks reminiscent of those seen on the outskirts of eastern European and Russian cities as you fly into their airports: ie the bits you don’t normally get to see as a casual visitor.  All very Soviet, with Communist slogans still very much in evidence.  We went into the massive gym complex, large enough to support a small city, to find one person weight training and the massive swimming pool in the middle of a big maintenance programme.  Overall it felt rather grim, the whole experience reinforced by some equally grim weather.  However, the bar in the hotel was open, so morning beers were in order, then we set off again, heading for Pyramiden 46nm away.

 

It was just after 0200 when we eventually moored alongside a Polish ketch on the derelict jetty at Pyramiden.  It had been a fast downwind sail, initially in reasonable weather, but the latter stages were in heavy rain and poor visibility, and it got very cold.  Finding the Poles there was our first stroke of luck as the jetty would have tested our fending skills to the limit.  The second bit of luck was that we’d arrived too late to be met by the Russian guides who escort visitors around the settlement, so we weren’t officially there.  I was woken at 0800 by the sound of marine engines and looked out to find a small flotilla of Zodiacs bringing passengers ashore from a French cruise ship anchored in the bay.  So far we’d managed to evade cruise ships, just seeing them at sea, but its arrival proved to be our third stroke of luck as the few Russian guides were totally absorbed by the cruise ship passengers.  The Poles had arrived earlier than us and had been ‘booked in’ for a tour that afternoon, but we evaded all that and sneaked in during the morning using the French as cover and not only got to see all the buildings of interest – concert hall, restaurant, music rooms, gym and community centre (all no longer in use) – but also managed to climb up to see all the coal handling equipment at the foot of the conveyors leading from the mines to the coal jetty.  Overall it was fascinating and we left feeling we’d experienced a small part of the history here.  Our final call was at the hotel, occupied primarily by the dozen or so Russians who now act as guides, for another morning beer. 

 

Our sail back to Longyearbyen was upwind, but a wonderful sail amidst spectacular stratified mountains and we arrived back to drop anchor here just before midnight.  Our 24 hour existence is clearly catching up with us as we slept in until 1100 this morning!  Tomorrow we’ll be heading south to explore Bellsund and possibly Hornsund also.

 

The attached photos show 4 shots of Barentsburg, then 7 shots of Pyramiden, plus one of the mountains on our passage back to Longyearbyen.