Exploring the British Columbian Archipelago’s Most Remote Sacred Site By Marc Cappelletti I am walking in the footsteps of chiefs and carvers, warriors and weavers, shamans and slaves; people as connected to the land as the very trees from which they once made their homes. The ground is soft. It is sacred. And it lies at the edge of the world—Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. We are at the ancient village of SGang Gwaay Llnagaay, formerly known as Nan sdins or Ninstints, on the eastern edge of SGang Gwaay (Anthony Island).
When we, as Canadians, talk about our whole country, we say “from coast to coast to coast.” The three coasts feel very different underfoot. In the west, deep moss makes a trail that feels like walking over sofa cushions; in the east, long grasses swish and slap against your boots; and up north rocks and rivulets form tiled patterns over the permafrost. It was the west coast that convinced me to start working at sea.
Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park is one of the few places where you can walk on the Earth’s mantle and also cruise glacially carved freshwater fjords.
In this episode of Expedition Spotlight, join Cultural Specialist Susan Flanagan as she reveals what discoveries are in store on our Canadian Maritimes and Newfoundland expedition.
National Geographic Resolution sailed south across the Drake Passage overnight. Seas were calm, but morning found us shrouded in fog as we made our way towards our first destination of the trip. As we grew nearer to Booth Island and Port Charcot, the fog began to lift and visibility improved. Things were looking promising by lunch time. Icebergs began appearing out of the mist and soon the Antarctic Peninsula came into view. As we steamed toward the French Passage, we began seeing humpback whales, first as blows a mile or more from the ship, but soon much closer. We spent the afternoon hiking among chinstrap and gentoo penguins, but the ice was the real star of today’s show. Towering icebergs in a dizzying array of shapes glowed in the sun as we watched whales surfacing and diving and occasionally breaching among them. There is something simply awe-inspiring about an animal that is more than 50 feet long throwing itself almost completely out of the water before crashing down to make an enormous splash. Why do they do it? Because they can. This is a storied part of the Antarctic Peninsula, with names like Gerlache and Shackleton and Charcot dotting the map. But today, nature stole the show as she so often does. The day simply could not have been more perfect.
We had a relaxing day cruising toward Fiji, enjoying a late start after last night’s festivities. Brunch was a feast of fresh fruits, pastries, and coffee, setting the tone for a leisurely morning. We toured the galley, where the crew shared their culinary expertise, then spent time on the bow, watching for wildlife. Cultural Specialist Kura Happ gave an insightful demonstration on opening coconuts at different life stages, teaching us about their cultural significance in the Pacific Islands. As we neared Suva, Fiji’s capital, we caught our first glimpse of land and prepared to clear customs. With Taveuni ahead, we ended the day with a fun trivia night, capping off another memorable day at sea.
The day started with low clouds, intermittent mist and snow, no wind, and flat seas…perfect for the morning ops of kayaking and cruising. Kayakers paddled widely, encountering a few humpback whales, but appreciating most the near-absolute silence. One could occasionally hear penguins calling from distant locations and ice cracking and popping. Cruisers went a bit farther to see a distant pair of whales and penguins jumping on and off ice floes. After returning, the majority of us participated in the traditional polar plunge. Facial expressions before and after the plunge were quite different, as were the descriptive words uttered (screamed?) after emerging from the really cold water! But just after the plunge, the clouds parted and the wind remained minimal, thereby creating an absolutely perfect afternoon and evening. Under these conditions, the voyage to Danco Island was beyond stunning. The bright sunlight illuminated the snow-covered mountains with floating brash ice resembling sparking diamonds. A leopard seal was spotted on an ice floe and a mom-calf humpback pair briefly appeared off our bow. The island experience gave us another opportunity to view penguins and burned their delightful antics deep in our memory. In all, the day deserved a standing ovation!
We arrived right before sunrise to Rio Seco, a former cattle ranching farm and our morning destination. Now it hosts a beautiful tropical garden and a dense secondary growth rainforest. We spent the morning exploring the garden and the trails that lead to the forest. We enjoyed good wildlife sightings, including colorful scarlet macaws, different species of birds, and a very active troop of squirrel monkeys that ignored our presence while foraging. During lunch, we repositioned National Geographic Quest to the dock in Golfito. We explored the mangrove estuaries by kayak and Zodiac cruises. Our guests returned to the ship with happy faces to share their experiences of all that Mother Nature had shared while they explored. It was our last day exploring the wonders of Costa Rica. Now we cast off the dock and start navigating to our next destination, Coiba National Park in Panama.
Today we explored two small islands full of wildlife and radiant colors. In the morning, we explored North Seymour, a 0.73 sq mi island that hosts a colony of frigatebirds. As soon as we landed, we observed swallow-tailed gulls nesting. These photogenic birds are endemic to the Galapagos. They nest all year on the islands, so it’s quite common to find nests, chicks, and eggs along the rocky shores. We observed land iguanas, which are not native to North Seymour. They were introduced by an American captain named Allan Hancock in the 1930s. Although the island is dry, the iguanas survive and reproduce here today. It was a great day spent exploring the islands!
