Chapter 639 Arrival in Greenland
In order to save space, the stairs on the ship are generally very steep, the room height is only two meters, and pipes, cables and insulating materials must be laid on the top.
After putting the bed, cabinets, tables and chairs in place, the room is basically full.
Bifang walked across the chairs and wooden table and sat beside the bed. The bed was a standard single bed, and even narrower.
There is a reason why the bed is small. When sailing on the sea, the bed should be narrow enough to just fit your body.
Experienced crew members would stuff pillows and blankets at the head of the bed early on, so that if a storm occurred, they could hold on to the edge of the bed with both hands and push against the wall at the foot of the bed with their feet to avoid being thrown to the ground.
Outside the room, the corridors on the ship barely meet the minimum standard stipulated by international conventions - 0.7 meters.
The two met opposite each other in the corridor, and one of them had to lean sideways against the wall so that the other could pass.
As for entertainment, there are almost no public places except restaurants.
No wonder the ticket price is so cheap for a cruise ship.
Bifang sighed inwardly, this was the only condition for converting a fishing boat into a cruise ship.
If it were before, the crew would have to stay on the ship in such an environment for a full two or three years. Now it is much easier to change it to a cruise ship, and the income is relatively stable.
Most people imagine life at sea as a long vacation: eating sashimi, enjoying the sea breeze, sunbathing, and feeling like being in Hawaii every day.
This is indeed true for the first few points, and is also the biggest selling point of this "cruise ship". As a converted fishing boat, the cruise ship still retains some fishing functions.
In the Arctic Ocean, there is almost no industrial pollution. You can catch fresh seafood and eat the best sashimi, which is soft, sticky and sweet without any seasoning.
Not long after getting on the boat, Bifang had an unprecedented big harvest - 120 kilograms of fish.
He had never eaten such delicious Arctic shrimp sashimi, which melted in his mouth and had a sweet and sticky taste.
But once you eat this three times a day for years...
Thinking about it this way, the captain who decided to convert the ship was indeed quite courageous. Now that it has been transformed into a cruise ship, all that can be enjoyed is the beauty.
Bifang took out his backpack, took out two certificates from the innermost compartment, and looked at them over and over again.
He produced two certificates.
One was a hunting allotment for polar bears, and the other was a hunting permit for seals.
This was given to him by the scientific researchers at the Yellow River Station.
Bifang recalled that the night before, the front desk clerk at the hotel suddenly called him and said someone was looking for him. At that time, Bifang was curious about who would come to such a remote city to look for him.
It turned out that they were fellow countrymen from the Yellow River Station.
The purpose of coming to him was to deliver the two permit certificates in front of him.
Just from the literal meaning, it is very simple. Bifang can hunt polar bears and seals, and it is a formal and legal way.
Greenland is also one of the bases of polar bears, and Bifang is very likely to encounter them. This is an animal with a very strong curiosity, especially in the autumn when it tries to accumulate fat.
Once a conflict breaks out, no one can predict the outcome.
The same is true for seals. A seal may save a life at a critical moment. Whether it is its warm fur or the fat seal meat, the calories and help it provides are extremely huge.
Don't underestimate humanity's determination to protect the North and South Poles. Their determination is so strong that it is even shocking.
There is such a provision in the Antarctic Treaty.
“If you did not obtain permission to kill a seal before you went to Antarctica, then if you were stranded and starving, could you kill a seal to satisfy your hunger?” The answer—certainly to everyone’s surprise: “You cannot kill a seal to satisfy your hunger.”
Incredible?
Yes, anyone would find it incredible.
The regulations have become so detailed. Do you still think that humanity’s determination to protect the Antarctic ecology is a joke?
If you feel that these contents are as empty as strange advice from a distant planet, it may be because your world has not yet expanded to the end of the earth.
Of course, that is the Antarctic Treaty, and Bifang is going to the Arctic now. Even though the Arctic Treaty is already being formulated, at least there are no such strict regulations at present, and it only prohibits ordinary people from hunting.
Apart from Canada, the only ones who can obtain hunting permits are various research centers and the local indigenous Inuit.
Hunting polar bears and seals is the means of survival for the Inuit and is part of the natural food chain, just like polar bears hunting seals. It is natural and no one will stop it. Even so, the annual quota is fixed.
Regardless of how the polar bear dies, the quota will be consumed.
This time it was the Yellow River Station, which gave Bifang a quota of one polar bear and three seals, as a helping hand.
All in all, it was a great help.
Bifang solemnly put the two certificates into the interlayer of his backpack. This was a favor to a great man, and although he might not use it, he kept it in mind.
As expected, when you go out, you still have to rely on your own people.
In the next few days, Bi Fang stayed on the boat, getting closer and closer to Greenland.
After the initial novelty wore off, the tourists on the boat began to treat Bifang’s daily live broadcast of several hours as a regular program activity.
At about the same time every day, they would all appear on the deck to listen to Bifang's explanation of human history and anecdotes of Arctic explorers of all ages.
Everyone seemed to be back in the classroom of their youth, except that this class was more interesting and beautiful.
During the days on the boat, probably the thing that left the most profound impression on Bifang was going to the toilet.
When I walked into the bathroom, the boat was shaking and I couldn't even squat steadily.
Finally, Bifang concluded that one should choose a calm day to go to the toilet, otherwise constipation is very likely.
After crossing the Fram Strait, the effect of the North Atlantic warm current has become negligible, and the temperature is dropping almost every day. This is not because winter is approaching, but simply because of the change in geographical location.
From around zero degrees on Svalbard to minus twenty degrees in the strait, it has now dropped to minus thirty degrees.
Bifang had no doubt that the temperature would drop below 35 degrees after landing on the island, and by the end of the eternal night, it might even reach an ultra-low temperature below 60 degrees.
After several days of sailing, that morning, the captain sent a sailor to knock on Bifang's door to inform him.
We have arrived at the northernmost tip of Greenland.
Bifang stood up and looked out the dark porthole.
Although it was only the normal morning, the sky was still dark. There was a deep aqua-green ribbon in the sky, floating slowly like a dream bubble.
It's the Aurora.
Today is a good day for the arrival of the aurora. Although daybreak will not come for another two hours, the icebergs that have been silent in the darkness have already welcomed the first rays of natural light, and the entire sky is reflected in an indelible aqua green.
"It looks like a good day to go to the island."
