Land of the Polar Bears

Fly north. Far north. Way farther north. Farther...

When you run out of places to land and you really think you can't go any further north, you've arrived in Longyearbyen - the northern-most permanently inhabited civilian settlement on earth. You're now in central Spitzbergen, in the archipelago of Svalbard.

In Tromso, Northern Norway, just an hour earlier, the world looked normal - typical summer scenes of green fields, grazing livestock, even sun-worshippers. Flying north from here we first crossed Bear Island - hints of lingering snow on the mountain tops - and as our Braathens flight lumbered ever northward, through the left-hand window I finally caught my first glimpse of Svalbard. Breathtaking!

Huge sheets of ice, gigantic glaciers, snow as far as I could see, majestic mountains. Truly unbelievable - for this is the longest day of the year and the earth here has been warming for months.

Welcome to Svalbard. Things are different here.

During the following two weeks I had the opportunity to examine the remotest parts of these islands up to 81 degrees north; to stand at the tip of land looking out at the North Pole, only 559 miles away; to meet dozens of beautiful polar bears in their own backyard; to watch glaciers calving before our eyes; to examine 150,000 nesting pairs of Guillemots on one gigantic cliff not ten feet away from us; to study murres, terns, ptarmigan, arctic fox, whales, walrus; and, to do so much more.

I'm still in awe!

Hear more at our slide show on October 19th. Miral - who is currently in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland - and I, having just returned from Svalbard - will team up to spend an evening showing you what a journey to these incredible arctic lands is all about.

Please join us. And in the meantime, take a closer look at the pictures at the right. Each picture can be seen in a large format by simply clicking on it.

Thanks for your interest.

Cheers,

Rick

The New Bangkok Airport

Finally, after what seemed like years of waiting, Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi airport (pronounced Souwannapoum) will handle all regular commercial flights in and out of Bangkok from 03h00 on September 28, 2006. This includes all international and domestic flights.

The main terminal at the new airport is the largest building in the world.

Take a look at the short video on the new airport and on Thailand by clicking here.

Our Free Slide Shows start September 28

Two "all-new" slide shows are added to our line-up this fall.

Because of the enormous interest in the Arctic region, we have created a unique presentation which combines images from the Canadian Arctic, Greenland and the amazing Svalbard/Spitzbergen in the Norwegian Arctic.

As well, we introduce a photographic journey on the Silk Road through Uzbekistan.

Back by popular demand are three of our most popular presentations which describe our own Private Journeys in detail for those who may wish to travel with us or who need tips on how to do it themselves in the incredible regions of Southeast Asia, Southern Africa and Northern India.

The demand for these presentations is generally very high and space is limited so please register early for each show you wish to attend by calling us at (613) 789-1900 or click to send us e-mail (please be sure to include your telephone number in case we have changes at the last minute).

Tuk-Tuks, Tamarinds and Temples

Thailand, Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia

Thursday, September 28th @ 7:30pm

Central Asia or Bust!

The Silk Road through Uzbekistan

Thursday, October 5th @ 7:30pm

Wine, Wildlife and Sand Dunes

South Africa & Namibia

Thursday, October 12th @ 7:30pm

Lands of the Polar Bear

The Canadian Arctic, Greenland and Svalbard

Thursday, October 19th @ 7:30pm

A Journey through Northern India

Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Rajasthan

Thursday, October 26th @ 7:30pm

Status of our Private Journeys
 

For those of you still deciding which journey to take with us this year, here's the current booking status...
 

Full details for these journeys can be found on our website or by clicking the journey names above. If you don't yet see what you need please call us for more information.
 

Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter. We sincerely appreciate your interest.

Previous copies of our newsletters can be found on our website.

© TrailFinders 2006
   
307 A Richmond Road
Ottawa ON Canada K1Z6X3

Telephone 613.789.1900
Toll-free 888.765.7662