A thick cover of fog made this a mysterious day in the Greenland Sea, where we were searching for ice. We found it! But fog made it almost impossible for the bridge team to navigate the dense pack ice. Presentations by naturalists and Global Perspective Speaker Andrew Evans were offered in the lounge all day. In the afternoon, the sky cleared up, and the show began! The bridge team did exactly what we all had been waiting for, navigating us through the very dense pack ice. We were blessed with lovely bird and seal sightings. As we heard the ice-strengthened hull pushing through the multiple year ice floes, it really felt like a true Arctic expedition.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 07 Jul 2019
Searching for Ice in the Greenland Sea, 7/7/2019, National Geographic Explorer
- Aboard the National Geographic Explorer
- Arctic
Andreas Madsen, Naturalist
Andreas was born in the village of Ebeltoft on the central east coast of Denmark and has spent his childhood years with the sea and open fields as neighbours. For a child of the North, fishing, bicycling, skiing, and hiking come along with your first...
Read MoreJamie Coleman, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Jamie is from England. He grew up in Oxford, about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, yet somehow decided he would work in marine biology and conservation. Ever since he reached his teens, he has dedicated time to this passion, working and...
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Svalbard, Iceland and Greenland's East Coast
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National Geographic Resolution
Westfjords, Iceland
During breakfast we arrived at Isafjörður, the capital of the Westfjords. It was an overcast and slightly windy morning but nevertheless pleasant! National Geographic Resolution lay at the pier and we could choose between spending time on our own, strolling through town on a guided walk with beer and food tasting, or exploring the surrounding fjords and valleys on a bus tour to the small fishing village of Flateyri where a small concert awaited us in the local church. Just after lunch we spotted humpback whales again, this time in the fjord outside Isafjörður. Some of them were really close to the ship and their huge white pectoral flippers could clearly be seen whilst they swam. Tonight’s recap was a special highlight as Hotel Manager Laura had arranged a "bathrobe party". Nearly every guest arrived in their white bathrobes. It was hilarious! After dinner we landed at a small island called Vigur in the fjord Ísafjarðardjúp. Here, a small museum with information about eider down collection awaited us...and there was homemade cake! Those who dared could go on a guided hike over the island, which was interesting as we passed a colony of breeding Arctic terns. A wildlife encounter that will be hard to forget!
7/2/2024
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National Geographic Resolution
Husavik to Grimsey
National Geographic Resolution sailed from Husavik at 0800 under clear skies and calm winds. The sea was glassy and the unlimited visibility was perfect for finding whales. “Blows ahead!” rang out on the PA system and soon we were getting close views of a group of humpback whales. Flukes, fins, and spouts seemed to surround the ship. Camera shutters clicked constantly from the outer decks as each whale surfaced and tossed their flukes up for all to see. The afternoon was a birding extravaganza as we explored the cliffs of Grimsey Island, a prime nesting spot for Atlantic puffin, fulmars, gulls, terns, and razorbills. A hike along the top of the bluffs produced fine photos of puffins around their boroughs, while those in flight where trickier to get in the frame. Behind us in the grass we saw redshanks, Arctic terns, phalaropes, and a few very shy snipes.