How can be a day be anything but fantastic when your wake-up call is accompanied by the announcement that there are humpback whales at the bow of the boat? The day is only minutes old and already we are having incredible wildlife viewing as a humpback whale keeps surfacing only yards away from our ship. We linger as long as we can, but we have puffins to visit.
This morning we disembark onto the island of Vigur, a tiny little island in Isafjord. Puffins, Arctic terns, and guillemots swirl overhead as our Zodiacs pull alongside the dock. We are greeted by local guides; all are family members of the one family that resides here on the island. We’re told our guides’ family has existed on the island for three generations and that they earn their living now by the harvesting of eider down from the thousands of nests that are on the island. It’s interesting but hard to concentrate on the orientation when just behind the guide a dozen or so puffins are standing on a rock. We are given sticks to keep above our head, when terns swoop down in an effort to ward us away from their nests; it is highly likely that they will hit our heads and may draw blood. The sticks are held high and serve as a target for the birds to hit instead of our heads; they go for the highest part of our beings.
The island is home to thousands of seabirds and there is a constant noise of camera shutters as we all document every bird we can. Admittedly, the terns and eider ducks seem to play second fiddle to the colorful puffins. In between taking photos of birds, we listen enough to learn about the fascinating history of this idyllic island. On a day filled with sunshine, a mild breeze, and a spectacular view of this beautiful coastal setting, it is easy to imagine a carefree life of hard work and simple living but then someone reminds us about winter and how this land of the midnight sun also (in winter) is a land of midday darkness. Back to reality. At the end of our walk we are treated to a warm cup of tea and some homemade donuts and rhubarb tart. Tea and cake with the puffins, does it get any better?
National Geographic Explorer is all about exploration, and so it stands to reason that we have times on our expedition to go to new places, discover new things. This afternoon we did what is called an exploration departure. Basically the expedition leader and the captain look at charts and weather and pick a spot. Sometimes it brings us new wildlife, but this time it was the general beauty of Iceland. We stopped at a spot that was filled with waterfalls and fields of wildflowers that seem to go on forever. Some of the guests took walks with the naturalist, some with the photo team, and some choose to explore on their own. All were pleased with whichever choice they made. It truly was a place of beauty and tranquility.
