In Idabukta, Liefdefjorden’s most distant bay, in the north of Spitsbergen, the slow cracking of the glaciers – including the stunning Monaco glacier - is the only measurement of time. Before you, there lies a pristine landscape full of contrasts: snow-topped summits and seracs play an opaline score, while the moraine and the pebble beaches attempt to compete with the darkness of the fjord’s unfathomable waters. There are whales and bird colonies here, and polar bears sometimes roam this remote region, attracted by its peacefulness of the site and the gentleness of the neighbouring Gulf Stream.