This week, our field staff sent back amazing photos of a stunning performance in Indonesia, Norway's fjords, and one of the rarest birds in the Galápagos.
This week's photos from the field celebrate animals: wildlife in Alaska, the Arctic, and the Galapagos Islands; and not-so-wildlife in the Scottish Highlands.
This week's photos from the field included rare wildlife in the Peruvian Amazon, majestic landscapes in Alaska and Norway, and a spectacular sunset in Indonesia.
This week's photos included wildlife in the Galápagos Islands and the Peruvian Amazon; landscapes in Norway and Indonesia; and the northern lights in Alaska.
Today we visited North Seymour Island, a small, 1.7-square-km uplifted landmass. The island is home to various species of marine birds, including the frigates and blue-footed boobies nesting in the area. The Galapagos National Park has put forth significant effort to control the number of introduced species. We admired the results of their successful conservation efforts. On Rabida, we spent the afternoon on the beach. We enjoyed our first snorkeling opportunity of the expedition. We observed groups of playful Galapagos sea lions, sea turtles, and a large variety of colorful fish. After snorkeling, we went on a walk along the beach, where we encountered a group of American flamingos nesting by a coastal brackish water lagoon. What an amazing adventure exploring the Galapagos!
Today was a very busy day in the east fjords of Iceland. All enthusiastically made the most of the perfect weather to explore the region’s hiking, biking, and wildlife viewing opportunities. A hardy group of guests rode e-mountain bikes deeper into the back country for a new perspective of the region. While guests were ogling the thousands of puffins along the shoreline, the undersea team went for a dive near the steep cliffs of Borgarfjörður. They found a vibrant kelp forest below the calm surface waters. Tall Laminaria kelp was the primary player in this kelp forest with sea stars, comb jellies, flat fish, and many other creatures filmed for the guest recap later in the evening.
We spent our last full day inside of a crater in the northern hemisphere. Early in the morning, we enjoyed kayaking before we headed back on board for breakfast. We then took a one-mile walk to search for wildlife, including red-footed boobies, frigatebirds, seagulls, sea lions, and more. Afterward, we snorkeled from the beach and in the deep water. We returned on board for an impressive Ecuadorian lunch, and our Global Explorers enjoyed Zodiac driving lessons. Soon after, we took a walk to search for red-footed boobies and the elusive short-eared owl. Some of us opted for a Zodiac ride along the coast. We returned to the ship for the farewell dinner. What an impressive, once-in-a-lifetime expedition in the Galapagos Islands!
The Inian Islands are located between the open waters of the Gulf of Alaska and the protected waters of the Inside Passage. Marine life is abundant in this area of strong currents and upwelling, and countless salmon swim through here as they return from the ocean to spawn. We saw many Steller sea lions, sea otters, and seabirds around the islands. Later in the day, we visited George Island for walks ashore and kayaking…and a few hardy souls went swimming! Our day’s wildlife sightings continued after dinner as we watched humpback whales.
Despite lumpy conditions, we utilized the full potential of National Geographic Endurance’s Azipod dynamic positioning system to get the ship as close as possible to the island for a short Zodiac ride to Grimsey Island. Ashore, guests enjoyed fantastic looks at the most iconic of Icelandic animals: the Atlantic puffin. The island is home to over 40,000 puffins and many thousands of other species of seabirds, making it a wonderful wildlife spectacle.