Latrabjarg & Flatey, Breidafjord, Iceland
At 7am the National Geographic Endeavour motored along the base of the impressively high Latrabjarg cliffs, a renowned seabird site on the north western coast of Iceland. The 14 km long cliffs are home to a wide variety of bird species including an estimated 40% of the world population of razorbills. These birds find the basalt ledges ideal nesting sites and we watched serried lines of birds skim just above the waves as they ventured out to, or were returning from, feeding locations lying further offshore. This is an area famous for egg collecting, the men were tied to ropes and lowered down onto the ledges. Amazingly as many as 40,000 eggs in addition to tens of thousands of birds were taken each year in the not too distant past. This activity has been immortalized in a rich tradition of storytelling.
Following breakfast we loaded the Zodiacs and cruised along the dramatic coastline of Raudasandur. In the vicinity of a sandy lagoon there were a sizeable number of harbor seals. These naturally inquisitive sea mammals swam to within only a short distance of us. The coastal cliffs here are rich in seabirds. Perched atop a tall sea stack were a number of puffins standing just outside of their burrows. Lower down on the wall was a colony of kittiwakes, their plaintive calls readily discernible among the loud babble of the other seabird species. A single shag, sporting characteristic mating plumage, sat sentinel in a rocky nook. Down beside the water's edge two male and a female harlequin ducks were spotted. The male of this species has particularly attractive plumage.
The afternoon was spent on the island of Flatey. This was a trading centre of great economic importance to the large number of islands in the Breidafiord area in medieval times, as well as in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The church is famous for the wonderfully composed and skillfully executed mural by the Spanish artist Baltasar who painted it in 1998. Depicted here are scenes relating to the traditional activities of the island's inhabitants including puffin catching, eider down collecting, seal hunting and boat building as well as the arrival and survival of Christianity. The island has now only four full-time residents. To cap off the day's activities a small offshore island which boasts large numbers of seabirds was circumnavigated by Zodiac before heading back to the ship.
At 7am the National Geographic Endeavour motored along the base of the impressively high Latrabjarg cliffs, a renowned seabird site on the north western coast of Iceland. The 14 km long cliffs are home to a wide variety of bird species including an estimated 40% of the world population of razorbills. These birds find the basalt ledges ideal nesting sites and we watched serried lines of birds skim just above the waves as they ventured out to, or were returning from, feeding locations lying further offshore. This is an area famous for egg collecting, the men were tied to ropes and lowered down onto the ledges. Amazingly as many as 40,000 eggs in addition to tens of thousands of birds were taken each year in the not too distant past. This activity has been immortalized in a rich tradition of storytelling.
Following breakfast we loaded the Zodiacs and cruised along the dramatic coastline of Raudasandur. In the vicinity of a sandy lagoon there were a sizeable number of harbor seals. These naturally inquisitive sea mammals swam to within only a short distance of us. The coastal cliffs here are rich in seabirds. Perched atop a tall sea stack were a number of puffins standing just outside of their burrows. Lower down on the wall was a colony of kittiwakes, their plaintive calls readily discernible among the loud babble of the other seabird species. A single shag, sporting characteristic mating plumage, sat sentinel in a rocky nook. Down beside the water's edge two male and a female harlequin ducks were spotted. The male of this species has particularly attractive plumage.
The afternoon was spent on the island of Flatey. This was a trading centre of great economic importance to the large number of islands in the Breidafiord area in medieval times, as well as in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The church is famous for the wonderfully composed and skillfully executed mural by the Spanish artist Baltasar who painted it in 1998. Depicted here are scenes relating to the traditional activities of the island's inhabitants including puffin catching, eider down collecting, seal hunting and boat building as well as the arrival and survival of Christianity. The island has now only four full-time residents. To cap off the day's activities a small offshore island which boasts large numbers of seabirds was circumnavigated by Zodiac before heading back to the ship.
