Isles of Staffa and Ioana, Inner Hebrides, 6/14/2024, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Europe & British Isles
Today, guests onboard National Geographic Explorer explored two small islands to the west of the island of Mull. In the morning, we enjoyed a visit to the island of Staffa with its amazing columns of basalt lava and featuring the mythical Fingal’s Cave. It’s an amazing geological site found on the west coast of Scotland and reasonable ocean conditions allowed for both a Zodiac cruise of the spectacular coastline as well as a landing to stretch the legs. Over lunch we made a short ship transit to allow for another landing on the island of Iona with a short walk to the historic Benedictine Iona Abbey for an informative tour with local guides followed by some free time to wander in and out of the small gift shops and local galleries and studios.
Andrew was born in Adelaide, South Australia and (mis)spent his youth surfing and kayaking in the ocean, as is the case for many Aussies! After graduating from medical school, he spent a year working as a surgical resident in Santa Barbara, Californi...
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Calm seas and gray skies accompanied us into Aberdeen Harbor. Along the way, the bridge over the River Don could be clearly seen and on either side, the lovely sandy beaches so characteristic of the coastline here. Today there were three options for us which included a visit to the beautiful Pitmedden Gardens with their lovely expansive flower beds laden with lots of vivid colors, a chance to visit the Aberdeenshire Highland Beef Farm where we were treated to the sights of sheep, Highland cattle (including the Duchess), and draught horses, and a visit to the Gordon Highlanders Museum. This regiment was founded a long time ago and they have been awarded more Victoria Crosses than any other regiment in the United Kingdom. We also saw a reconstructed First World War trench where it was quickly evident what hell trench warfare was and continues to be. During lunch, we set sail for our last port of call, Edinburgh. The seas were very kind to us and along the way we passed some large offshore windfarms. The icing on the cake on this last day was the circumnavigation of Bass Rock, home to a huge Northern gannet colony.
Disembarking at Kirkwall, guests on National Geographic Explorer had the opportunity to select a number of activities that included a town walk (during which Arctic explorer John Rae’s grave site was viewed), a visit to several Orkney treasures (notably the Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae), and a visit to Scapa Flow that consisted of Ness Battery, the Churchill Barriers, and the Italian Chapel. Our visit to Scapa Flow provided an educational, yet sobering experience that afforded us the chance to view the anchorage that was used by the UK Admiralty for its fleet during World War I and World War II. It is the location where over 70 ships belonging to the German High Fleet were deliberately scuttled by the German Navy at the end of World War I to avoid them being taken into the hands of allied forces. Scapa Flow is also the location of the four Churchill Barriers that were constructed to prevent penetration by German U-Boats during both world wars, and on our tour, we were able to cross each barrier. Our visit also included the opportunity to enter the Italian Chapel, a small and beautiful structure that was built by Italian prisoners of war who were relocated to Orkney from North Africa. Before dinner all on board National Geographic Explorer enjoyed a whisky tasting that was hosted by Highland Park Distillery. Highland Park’s operations are based in Kirkwall. Following dinner, Saltfishforty!, a local duo from Orkney, entertained us with beautiful traditional music that was played on an assortment of instruments. The melodic tunes were accompanied by the soft, warm, and mellow voices of the two performers. It was a very special day in a very special location.
Our morning began at Mousa, a small island now inhabited only by sheep. Mousa is known for its European storm petrel breeding colony, in addition to having the best preserved and tallest broch in Scotland. A broch is a circular stone tower unique to Scotland, and this one was built around 300 BC. After exploring the broch, we raised our anchor and sailed onward to Lerwick, the capital of Shetland with roughly 7,000 residents. We were greeted by wind and rain, but that didn’t stop us from making the most of our day here! We split into several groups to enjoy various aspects of Shetland, including meeting Shetland ponies, the Shetland Museum, a talk from a local fisherman, a walking tour of Lerwick and watching puffins at Sumburgh Head. Tonight, we say goodbye to Shetland and sail to Orkney for more adventures.
