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.
6/30/2024
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National Geographic Explorer
Aberdeen, North Sea, and Bass Rock
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.
