Westmann Islands, 7/12/2022, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Arctic
National Geographic Explorer took us past the steaming Reykjanes Peninsula in the wee hours of the morning to Heimaey, where we climbed Eldfell. This volcano was formed during a recent eruption (1973), and we experienced the warmth that still emerges from the ground there. The afternoon was filled with marine wildlife encounters, including killer whales and nesting gannets. We also had a close look at Surtsey, Iceland’s youngest island.
For as long as he can remember, Conor has always been preoccupied with the natural world, from the whales to the fungi. For most of his life he has been an islander: growing up in Cobh, Ireland and settling down in Tobermory in the Hebrides, Scotland...
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We started the day with beautiful weather and a gorgeous sail into Heimaey. An adventurous group from National Geographic Explorer hiked up the volcano that threatened the city in 1973, and others took a panoramic tour of the area. The grand finale for everyone was a visit to the Volcano Museum, which is built around a house that was partially destroyed in the eruption. In the distance, we could see steam and gases from a new volcanic eruption. After leaving Heimaey, we sailed around several of the Westman Islands, where the only ‘residents’ are seabirds nesting on the cliffs. Gannets, northern fulmars, puffins, black guillemots, and red-necked phalaropes were prolific. We found a large group of gannets diving into the water to catch fish. Several minke whales were spotted briefly before we headed off for our visit to Surtsey, which we circumnavigated. After the guest slideshow and the Captain’s Farewell, our ship sailed by National Geographic Resolution as we passed the newly erupting Litli-Hrutur.
The steep cliffs of Latrabjarg were shrouded in mystery and fog this morning that cleared just as we started our navigation along this place of avian plentitude. Literally millions of birds gather at these cliffs in the spring to lay an egg, incubate it, hatch it, and hopefully fledge a chick. Some of the adaptations for this are a bit dramatic, such as the 15-day-old common murre chick engaging in cliff-jumping escapades. Apparently, it is an adaptation that works, and we had the privilege of seeing an adult male paddling alongside its still fluffy chick. The clarity and calm state of the sea allowed us to watch murres aquatically fly away underwater with a stream of air bubbles marking their pathway to the depths. Terrestrially, we walked the quiet dirt roads of Flatey Island for a different viewpoint of the sea and land birds this afternoon. Donning rubber boots for our landing on the small sandy beach and copious amounts of sunscreen to keep us from burning on this warm and sunny day, we meandered amongst screeching terns, peeping phalaropes, and, at the cliff edge, the sound of chainsaws in unison with a cow’s moo: the call of the puffin!
The morning announcement came a bit earlier than advertised. A special sighting of a magnificent size drew many people to the outer decks and up to the bridge before 7:00 a.m. A large iceberg – later determined by glaciologist Andreas Alexander to have broken off from one of three tidewater glaciers of Greenland – arrived in Icelandic waters by means of ocean currents. We continued sailing to Isafjordur for an exciting afternoon of activities, including hikes, culture walks, and a bike tour. As we pulled into the bustling port in Isafjordur, the first group set off for the bike tour. The spectacular scenery did not disappoint as we peddled through fields of blooming purple lupine. The scent of flowers and the sound of cliffside waterfalls made for a truly sensory experience. We rode through tunnels and around fallen boulders from landslides along the seaside cliffs until we arrived at the Heritage Museum where we learned about the age-old tradition of shark fishing in the waters between Iceland and Greenland. On other tours, guests enjoyed a hike to a waterfall that ended at a local brewery near the ship, flower garden tours, and a tasting tour. We boarded the ship once again to make it to Vigur, a special island with only three year-round inhabitants and a huge number of nesting seabirds in the spring and summer months. We ended the day with cake prepared with fresh rhubarb from the garden, and it was a truly sweet ending to a spectacular day.
