Rafael Swietoniowski
Rafael is our cool and steady guide, with extensive experience and knowledge on the Arctic. He handles most expeditions, and has, among other things, led countless dog sled trips from Barneo Camp to the North Pole with his two dog teams. In addition, he guides snowmobile expeditions in the winter, and takes guests on sea safaris in the summer.
Rafael has been with us in Basecamp Explorer Spitsbergen for an “eternity”, and many of us are happy that he divides his time between Svalbard and his native Poland. When he is not at work, we often find him in, under or around his favorite car: the Land Rover. He has several of those! And no one who has been with Rafael for more than a few minutes has avoided seeing him with a pipe in the corner of his mouth. It is always there, in both storm and calm.
In Basecamp Explorer Spitsbergen, we have a Rafael quote that is brought up when we face challenges: We keep go!
According to the story, Rafael said this to a group that had a bit of bad weather on a snowmobile trip to the Isfjord Radio Adventure Hotel. At the wilderness hotel, the head chef was waiting with ready dinner, the trip had been long and Rafael was confident that the weather would not be an obstacle. Rafael is not a man of many words, and why make a command complicated?
We keep go!