Daily Expedition Reports

Klaipeda, Lithuania

Situated on the Danė River at the northern tip of the Curonian Spit, Klaipeda serves as the major port and is the third largest city in this Baltic nation of over three million people. Like many of the nations of the region Lithuania has a complex and diverse history. Linked historically to the Hanseatic League of the 12^th-15^th centuries Klaipeda, formally called Memel, has been a key area of trade and shipping even today. Today we would have the chance to experience many facets of this Baltic community from past to present.

One outing headed off towards the city of Palanga and an old neoclassical palace and Amber Museum.

May 23, 2013 National Geographic Explorer in Baltics

Gdansk, Poland

As a special guest, ex-President Lech Walesa arrived early this morning to deliver a talk in the lounge. He was pivotal in organising shipyard workers into a cohesive force in the 1980s and establishing the now famous Solidarity Movement as an effective political party. He became President of Poland in 1995 and was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Charming and effervescent, his hour-long talk was a captivating personal insight. Following questions and photos we boarded our coaches and headed into Old Town Gdansk, passing on the way the Solidarity Monument which is sited near Gate 2 of the shipyards. This commemorates some forty workers who were killed in strikes and riots in 1970. It has become a place of pilgrimage and numerous bouquets of flowers add splashes of colour to the dark metal and concrete of the memorial. Close by is the Roads to Freedom Museum which charts and details the turbulent rise of the shipyard workers against the erstwhile Communist regime.

Visiting Old Town Gadansk today one finds it difficult to believe that the city was almost entirely levelled by bombing towards the end of the Second World War.

May 22, 2013 National Geographic Explorer in Baltics

Piraña Caño & Puerto Miguel & Cedeño Caño

This morning was cool and refreshing, and the entire landscape was inviting us to discover the secrets of the Amazon. We made our early visit to one of the small tributaries of the Ucayali River, the Piraña Caño. The water was black, soaking with tannic acid, as it has been collecting dead leaves and the level of the water has been dropping. More and more land is exposed, as rain fades away, and many trees are showing the high watermark of some weeks ago, other are falling and blocking navigation. We also saw a blue-and-yellow macaw along the riverside.

The goal of our breakfastless outing was to find the pigmy marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world, while riding our skiff boats for about one and a half hours.

May 22, 2013 Delfin II in Amazon

Kelp Bay and Chatham Strait VIDEO

“Good morning everyone, it is 6:45a.m., it’s a sunny morning, and we have killer whales in front of the ship! Please come join us on deck to view these magnificent animals.” This was our start to the day – sunshine, and the top predator in the sea swimming along with National Geographic Sea Lion as we entered Kelp Bay. Kelp Bay is the largest inlet on the east side of Baranof Island, with access from Chatham Strait, and a special place for our morning’s activities!

Breakfast was delayed a few minutes so we could continue to enjoy our traveling companions, but eventually we headed to our anchorage, and breakfast, thinking we had left the orca behind.

May 21, 2013 National Geographic Sea Lion in Alaska

Delos

This morning we sailed to the small island of Delos, situated in the center of the Cycladic Islands. We took the tender over to the island first thing in the morning in order to avoid the big crowds that visit midday!

Delos was the birthplace of Apollo—the god of music, prophesy, harmony, and light, and Artemis—the goddess of hunting.

May 21, 2013 Sea Cloud in Mediterranean

Amazon Natural Park and Nauta Caño, Upper Amazon

As the morning light broke through the sky early today, it revealed the calm waters of the Marañon River and its dense forest in the distance. We are currently visiting the northern limits of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, taking advantage of one of the very few places available for hiking. This place is known as the Amazon Natural Park, though it could not be further from the concept of what a “park” means to us.

As we disembarked, we found ourselves immersed in pristine, primary forest and surrounded by giant trees.

May 21, 2013 Delfin II in Amazon

Ideal Cove & Petersburg, Alaska

Webster’s Dictionary has five definitions for ideal. Let’s focus on the first one: “something in its absolute perfection.” Yep, that does it. That was our morning landing in Ideal Cove. The sky was an endless blue, not a cloud on the horizon. The forest gave us every imaginable shade of green. The rippling sounds of the nearby stream were soothing to the soul and splashes of color from the spring flowers made for a lovely contrast. It couldn’t have been a nicer morning in the forest of Southeast Alaska.

At midday we repositioned to Petersburg, a real working fishing town, not a tourist destination.

May 21, 2013 National Geographic Sea Bird in Alaska

Isabela & Fernandina Island

What a wonderful day we had today.

Early in the morning we woke up navigating toward the largest island in the archipelago, Isabela Island.

May 21, 2013 National Geographic Islander in Galápagos

Christiansø and Bornholm Islands, Denmark

It’s official; the guide books always list the two Danish islands of Christiansø and northern Bornholm as the two sunniest parts of Denmark. Here they sit, lying out in the Baltic, 200 long km from Copenhagen, its capital city. Sometimes they are right; after all this is the only place in Denmark where you can grow figs. Still the destination where all the Danes like to come for their long six-week summer holiday to tan their bodies and lower their stress levels. Statistics boast over 600,000 visitors year-round. The Danes fantasize all winter long about coming here to sit in the sun, drink beer, and eat smoked herring (røget sild), very often in the converted smokehouse restaurants located on the northern coast near Gudhjem.

Instead, for our arrival to Christiansø, we are greeted with mist, fog, light rain, and a cool westerly ocean breeze.

May 21, 2013 National Geographic Explorer in Baltics

LeConte Bay and Petersburg

This morning we bundled up and boarded the expedition landing craft to cruise among icebergs near the mouth of LeConte Bay. The giant ice sculptures had floated nine miles down the winding fjord from LeConte Glacier. Some icebergs had caves, or large round holes, or carried rocks in their sides. There was ice with textured stripes and ice with beautiful shades of bright blue; it was a natural art gallery that changed with every shift of light and temperature. Small brown seabirds called marbled murrelets (small puffin relatives), bobbed on the green water, and in an instant they disappeared beneath the surface.

National Geographic Sea Lion traveled north 25 miles for a visit to the interesting and charming town of Petersburg.

May 20, 2013 National Geographic Sea Lion in Alaska