Last week the National Geographic Explorer ventured miles into the fjords near Nordfjord, Norway. Our on-board Video Chronicler shot some of the stunning waterfalls, but nothing really gives you an idea for just how deep these waterways are than seeing the ship moored mere feet from the shore. Watch the video, or take a look at our Norway cruise itinerary.

The New York Times reviews Cairo Time, a film about an American woman awaiting her U.N.-diplomat-husband in Egypt, spending her days working through the sites and city. While the film has received a tepid response from critics, the stunning vistas – including The Pyramids of Giza, hovering where the modern metropolis meets the desert, have heard only acclaim. Cinematographer Luc Montpellier takes home some of the credit, but much of it belongs to the incredible sites surrounding Cairo. If you’ve see Cairo Time and feel inspired to see some of The Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Luxor and much more, make sure to check out our Egypt expedition, which includes a Nile cruise.  

A new video was recently sent back from staff aboard our Amazon cruise, which voyages through Peru’s Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. The footage gives you an idea of just how rich this landscape is in birdlife. The video was shot from the front of one of the motorized skiffs that we use to venture up the rarely visited tributaries deep in the reserve.

The Lindblad Expeditions Photos of the Week are shot by guests, staff and our onboard National Geographic Photographers, including Cotton Coulson who’s currently on our Alaska cruise.

This photo came in with a Daily Expedition Report sent from National Geographic Sea Bird on our Alaskan cruise this week. It seems the rotting humpback whale carcass that washed ashore has become something of a pacifier among all the coastal brown bears. The group of three would normally never share a meal – and even more shocking is that they shared it with a single gray wolf. Read the full expedition report online or take a look at our Alaska cruises.

The New York Times today covered something that often goes over looked in the spectacular shadows of Machu Picchu – birding. When guests stand at the Sun Gate and admire the spectacular view of the ancient ruins, it’s easy to miss the endemic birds flying past. If the New York Times article inspires you to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu and explore the ruins and see the wildlife, check out our 8-day, Exploring Peru: Land of the Inca.

A video chronicler aboard National Geographic Sea Bird on our Alaska cruise joined a few guests for a flightseeing trip in Petersburg. The seaplane flights are available on some of our Alaskan cruises, and they offer another vantage point on where the glaciers meet the sea.

The Photos of the Week come from staff and guests on our Arctic cruise who had ample photos ops with walruses, polar bears and pure blue icebergs. Our Galápagos cruise photographers were witness to all the new life that arrives this time of year. See some of the top photos from our adventure cruises this week, and check out our Photo Expeditions if you’re interested in learning from top photographers in some of the wildest places on earth.  

 

Every day at least six Daily Expedition Reports come across our desks. These reports are filed in the field, detailing some of what our guests are seeing and doing on their expeditions. National Geographic Photographer Kim Heacox, currently on our Alaska cruise near Le Conte Inlet, Petersburg sent this particularly poetic DER.

We awoke to bluebird skies and dappled waters of glacier ice as we approached the entrance to Le Conte Inlet. Not a cloud above, a ripple below. The sea was a mirror, the air a prism, the light like ambrosia as the sun climbed over the coast range and softened itself on our warming faces. “Good morning,” we whispered to each other, as if our voices, spoken any louder, would break the spell. Loons called. A bald eagle flew by. Somebody said something about paradise.

A couple hours later found us in our Zodiacs, cruising through constellations of artfully shaped blue ice – icebergs, growlers and bergy bits – calved from the Le Conte Glacier (the southernmost tidewater glacier in North America) and stranded on the shallow bar, melting into summer, each a mandala, a testimony to impermanence. We watched them break apart, roll over, and drip into the sea. Altogether fitting, in a way. It’s the processes that last forever, not their players. That’s what makes geology so timeless.

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Read the rest of Kim Heacox’s DER.