Foula and Mousa Isles, 6/28/2022, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Europe & British Isles
Today we got to visit two very special places in the Shetland Islands, Foula and Mousa. On Foula, a small group of people live a bucolic lifestyle. They are isolated from the world and dependent on the ferry or a small airplane to provide them with the necessities of life that they cannot grow, raise, or fish for themselves. The second Island, Mousa, is the site of a Neolithic broch used in the Iron Age and dated at 300 BC. Brochs are found only in Scotland, and this is the best-preserved broch in the country.
Steve Morello has had a long and colorful career in the natural history world. Born in New Jersey, he was lucky to be able to summer on the shores of Cape Cod. Whether it was exploring the tidal pools, snorkeling along the beach, or hiking in the dun...
We navigated towards the picturesque island of Iona in mirror calm conditions as the sun rose, uncovering harbor porpoises and minke whales. After breakfast we made our way ashore to explore this island. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and the local birds narrated our journey to the historical abbey as they sang their hearts out whilst basking in the sun. After lunch, we made our way towards the Isle of Lunga via a ship’s cruise of Staffa and Fingal’s columnar basalt cave. At Lunga we chose between landing or Zodiac cruising, and all had amazing encounters with wildflowers and more notably, puffins.
Today’s journey took us to one of the oldest stone monuments of the British Isles. Formed from some of the oldest rock in the world, the Standing Stones of Calanais is located on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Our morning began with a thrilling presentation by National Geographic Photographer and Filmmaker David Wright who answered our questions about his career filming wildlife across the globe and told stories of awe-inspiring encounters with nature and his many gripping near-death experiences. Following this, I gave an introduction to the history of Neolithic monuments and the significance of Calanais, helping us imagine the world of its builders some 5,000 years ago. After lunch, we went ashore to walk among the iconic and towering stones themselves, which sparked lively discussion and reflection on the beliefs and practices of Neolithic peoples. Some guests ventured beyond the main circle to explore the broader ritual landscape of Calanais, hiking through the peat and heather to visit other nearby megaliths that dot the surrounding fields. It was a moving day, one that connected us with our ancestors and the enduring mysteries of the ancient past.
The natural harbor of Scapa Flow has been the site of historical importance that far outweighs the size of these sleepy little islands in the North Sea. With the closing of WWI, the German High Seas fleet was interred by the British Navy in Scapa Flow and rather than allow their captured ships to be used by their enemies, the German Navy decided to purposefully sink their cruisers, battleships, and other military vessels. What has been left is an incredible number of large shipwrecks which are fairly easy to access. While guests visited the museum of Scapa Flow to learn more about this strategically important embayment and its storied history, the undersea team went for dives to explore the wrecks up close. After being sunk in 1919, the fleet became one of the largest artificial reefs in all of Europe and are a magnet for marine life. The wrecks are covered in soft corals called dead man’s fingers and are home to countless invertebrates, like sea slugs and even huge lobsters. The wrecks are a testament to the scale of military engineering and the power of natural regeneration.
