Down by the harbour in Longyearbyen, the crew of the Polargirl prepared for the day’s voyage, a round trip across the fjord to the Russian coal-mining settlement of Barentsburg on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.
One would-be traveller, her suitcase set down in the snow, explained that she planned to spend the night in Barentsburg and return the next day before Masha, the Russian guide, shook her head sadly.
