SVALBARD 78°19’09.5”N 18°51’35.6”E
MELISSA SCHÄFER
“When I was a child, I believed that one day I would walk with polar bears. I believe they are kind and wise”
when the sun goes down , I sit on the roof of our little cabin, looking for polar bears. I wait for the light to change, and the air to become crisper. I think about the day we just had, sitting on this cabin and thinking about our first night in Mohnbukta. It’s a place like no other, it’s a place for freedom and love, it’s a teacher about the elements and it’s my teacher about myself. I can see the frozen ocean and the blue icebergs growing out of the sea like mountains. Behind every one of those, there could be a story or a face. The cabin I’m sitting on was built by a polar bear hunter in 1928, it contains nothing but a bunk bed, a little stove, and a table. The first time I came here I was in shock, we had to dig our way to the cabin door. It was snowed in over time. The ice crystals were hanging in the air like old memories, and the interior felt dead. Everything was grey and cold. The temperature inside was the same as that outside, and I couldn’t imagine how it was possible to stay here. How to live, and how to feel safe here. Now, sitting here on top of the world and my cabin, I realize how lucky I am to be here and how special this place is. I climb off the roof and go inside. The room smells like warm food, firewood, and gasoline. Fredrik, my partner in crime, in love with everything I am, is sitting by the stove and cooking some food. We had a long drive to get here; over glaciers, sea ice, valleys, and mountains. A beautiful adventure and now we have arrived at the next. I warm my hands and toes on the fire while sitting on the lower bunk bed. I look outside the little window and see how the colors have changed again. The soft light in April is so magical that it screams for us to join.We step out of the cabin, and the cold wind hits my face, telling me to wake up, open my eyes, be present in the now, and not think about tomorrow. The Arctic is alive and, sometimes, when you stand still, you can feel the waves under the ice, the ocean breathing and moving, and the sheer power of the environment. Fredrik looks out over the ice. He seems happy, calm, and in control. This is his element, and he is teaching me how to survive here and embrace the cold and the silence. Back in the cabin, I lie on the upper bunk bed and watch him put another piece of wood into the fire. The place gets warm fast and I feel like I’m in a sauna. We talk until we fall asleep and laugh about the sauna, we are in the middle of the Arctic while polar bears roam around our cabin and attempt to get a glimpse inside. We have come home.
99
MOTHER VOLUME ONE
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease