Crossfjorden, 6/3/2022, National Geographic Resolution
Aboard the
National Geographic Resolution
Arctic
National Geographic Resolution continued its exploration of the Svalbard archipelago, entering a new fjord to explore the glacier-carved landscape. Ashore, our guests explored the historical weather station and had Arctic fox sightings, while others cut loose in Zodiacs to witness the birdlife, seals upon the ice, and reindeer grazing along the shore. In the afternoon, our galley prepared an outdoor barbeque that was enjoyed in view of a glacier that stretched for miles along the shoreline.
Paul North is the founder of the educational nonprofit Meet the Ocean and host of its online podcast. As a polar diver with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic, he tours the remote underwater landscapes of Antarctica and other sub-zero destinati...
After a bumpy night, guests awoke to find that National Geographic Resolution had navigated the stunning coastal waters of Northern Norway towards our morning destination of Senja Island. The morning’s activities included medium and long hikes as well as Zodiac cruises of the bays surrounding the island. For the long hikers, they were led by naturalist Mike Jackson through coniferous woodland past a waterfall to a lake, all whilst being serenaded by singing willow warblers. In total, they covered 15 km over tricky terrain, so everyone returned to ship ready for their lunch and eager to relax. The afternoon was spent exploring more of the fjords from the comfort of the ship. Eiders, kittiwakes, and Arctic skuas were enough to satisfy one final wildlife fix before the ship came alongside in Tromso in time for some post dinner exploring.
After one day of navigation southward we reach one of the northernmost islands in Norway: Sørøya! The High Arctic, the one we have known during the past week, is now a beautiful memory. We are now immersed in the stunning and welcoming nature of continental Europe. As we wake up and during breakfast, the sky is overcast but we are all in great spirits, excited for the day in front of us. This morning we are going to hike and explore by Zodiacs, beginning at a nice little bay with the name of Mefjord. While most of us go on land for a wonderful hike, others enjoy the views of the fjord from the water while riding on the Zodiacs. Sometime midmorning, the clouds depart and leave us with wonderful sunshine. The hikes, both long and medium length, are a true delight. We can now fully enjoy the gorgeous views and the amazing colors of the crystalline waters. We think of our divers and undersea specialists, Paul North and Anne Hedlund, who are exploring and photographing the amazing living creatures at the bottom of the sea. Later tonight, they will delight us with a summary of their amazing experiences. And now it’s time to be back on National Geographic Resolution for a lovely lunch and a long reposition, which will get us at the opposite side of Sørøya. The plan for the afternoon is to explore by Zodiac the bird nesting cliffs towering above the waters of Finnkonvika! As we approach the area by ship, the clouds are already back above us. Nevertheless, we fully appreciate the stunning nature of this magical place. Meanwhile, a good swell has picked up, which will make our afternoon’s adventure even more exciting. We lower the Zodiacs and off we go to get a closer look at the cliffs. Thousands of kittiwakes, cormorants, gunnets, and many other species of birds fly above our heads. Their numbers are impressive as we perceive the magnitude of their presence on every area of these imposing cliffs. While negotiating a swell, which is still increasing in height and power, we are impressed by what we see. We come to an area where the waters are a bit calmer and, surprise surprise, we are offered a lovely tea by our hotel director Laura and her team. Just what was needed! We keep on with our exploration. The wind picks up; it hails and rains. Back onboard the ship, some of us enjoy a well-deserved hot sauna. After a great recap, we enjoy a lovely dinner. We are heading south tonight. The swell is still there, but the air is warm. Svalbard is behind us now, but we remain well north of the Arctic Circle—yet another day where night will never come.
Fog! After half a day’s cruise leaving beautiful Svalbard behind, we arrived to Bear Island. The entire island was covered in fog so dense that we could not see the island itself even though we were only a couple of ship lengths away. We made a brave attempt to launch Zodiacs to go on a cruise, passing the amazing bird cliffs with thousands and thousands of birds starting to nest for this season. Unfortunately, the wind and swells coming in from the south altered our plans. Bear Island is an isolated island situated between Svalbard and Norway, although belonging to Svalbard geographically. The island attracts numerous amounts of seabirds with cliffs ideal for nesting and almost no predators. There is also a weather station on the north side of the island that is manned all year. We changed our plans and filled the afternoon with knowledge and talks instead. Our enthusiastic, bird-loving guests got their fair share, as we had lots of seabirds around the ship for the entire trip towards the northern part of Norway. Our ice-loving captain Martin Graser talked about the making of National Geographic Resolution and the wonders of this ship, which was very much appreciated. In the passage, we also encountered several whales in a feeding frenzy, as well as dolphins out hunting. It is always worth keeping an eye to the sea. There are a lot of things happening there that we do not want to miss!