Dodemandsbugten, 9/15/2023, National Geographic Endurance
Aboard the
National Geographic Endurance
Arctic
We woke up around 0700 local time to the sight of East Greenland’s lovely icebergs and a mountain on the horizon.
A visiting Portuguese scientist shared a presentation on the correlation between climate change and the health of kelp around the world.
At 1045, I gave a presentation about the different cultures that make up the cultural landscape of the Artic.
After the presentation, we had lunch and prepared for a landing at Dodemandsbugten.
We disembarked at around 1400 and were greeted with evidence of the Thule culture, including remnants of old munitions cartridges and kitchen utensils from the Second World War. Around thirty guests took a medium hike tour of Dodemandsbugten with Eva and Eduardo. We saw multiple peat houses. Eva and Eduardo talked about the general plant life and geography of the area, while I talked about the Thule culture’s peat houses and customs. We continued uphill, where we spotted artic hares and some summer tent rings, probably from the Thule culture.
On the way back to the landing site, we spotted cairns that seem to be graves from the Thule culture, and we talked about burial customs of the Thule people. We continued hiking with a group of guests who wanted to spot wildlife footprints.
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Reine is one of the most beautiful places in Norway with her stunning granite peaks and colorful fishing village. It was a pleasure to spend the whole day here
exploring from the mountaintops to the undersea.
This morning we woke up at Hellemobotn at the inner end of Tysfjorden. This is a roadless and truly scenic fjord in northern Norway. The weather was rainy but cleared up just as our guests were set ashore. After breakfast, most of our guests chose to go hiking into a beautiful pine forest. The hikers followed a marked trail that reaches into Sweden. The medium hikers got up to a splashing waterfall, whereas the “long-long” hikers fought to an elevation of more than a thousand feet, reaching above the treeline. We saw lots of mushrooms and various wild berries along the trail: blueberries, bog bilberries, crowberries, and cloudberries. Our photo specialists gave useful advice to those who wanted to improve their photographic skills in the field. Hellemobotn is a tiny Sámi village that was permanently inhabited by Sámis until 1967. Sámis are an Indigenous group of people from Norway, through Sweden and Finland, and into the western part of Siberia in Russia. Families that originally came from a settlement of reindeer herders further east of Tysfjorden made their living in Hellemobotn as sea Sámis, combining salmon fishing, hunting, and small scale farming. Today, the houses and cabins in Hellemobotn are used by the descendants for leisure purposes only. During World War II, Norway was occupied by German Nazis, and many Norwegians had to flee to Sweden. Northern Norway is narrow, and many fleeing Norwegians got help from locals to find a safe route to the Swedish border. In the late afternoon, we entered into Trollfjorden, a scenic fjord with an extremely narrow entrance. Captain Oliver Krüss and his team gently maneuvered National Geographic Endurance through the narrow opening and turned around in this little fjord in a very impressive way! The day was rounded with the Captain’s delightful welcome dinner. What an incredible day of exploration in the fjords of northern Norway!
Early, as the day brightened, National Geographic Endurance was found under dark skies and choppy waters. A few juvenile gulls and shags were spotted as the ship made her way into the beautiful Norwegian fjords. By breakfast, we had reached our destination, the charming little village of Torsken. Soon enough, there was an announcement telling us about the outside conditions and sharing orders for disembarkation. As always, excitement for the first activity of the expedition was palpable. After everyone made it ashore, which involved a short ride in the ever trusty Zodiacs, we gathered around our guides for a hike up the valley behind the village or a walk around the village. Before the walk, we were invited to a charming wooden house from the mid 1930s for a sampling of local foods and beer. There was a local waffle with a typical cheese and jam, a piece of flatbread with a delicious spread of salmon, roe, and herbs, and, last of all, a piece of dried cod that paired beautifully with the local beer. Once finished with the sampling, we headed for the charming little church and small gravesite. Inside, we were met by two very helpful people who shared the history of the church. From there, we proceeded to investigate this spot; along the way, we observed the salmon farm. Every day, the farm sends off an amazing one hundred tons of fish to be consumed elsewhere. We saw rowan trees heavy with red berries, roadside plants in flower, and an occasional clump of mushrooms. Lunch was spent on board as the ship changed its location for afternoon adventures. Immediately after our meal, we had the opportunity to meet the field staff and scientists in the Ice Lounge. The afternoon was so different than what we had experienced during the morning. Winds had picked up and blew at 25 knots with gusts considerably over that, which made Zodiac rides to and from the beach landing quite an affair. But, of course, that was no deterrent for us expeditioners. We headed into the elements, spotting some harbor seals and many terns along the way. The flat area around the landing, just beyond a small, sandy beach, was a verdant green with the surrounding mountains rising steeply in the background. The tops of the mountains were covered by dark, swirling gray clouds, giving the whole place a very atmospheric feel. It was stunningly beautiful. The weather led us all to return to the ship a little earlier than scheduled, which allowed us to fit in the first of the recaps, an opportunity to highlight aspects from the day and answer any queries that may have arisen whilst enjoying delicious cocktails prepared by our wonderful bar staff. This day has been most enjoyable, and it was a great introduction to our expedition.
