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Through the North Atlantic - from Scotland to Svalbard

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Through the North Atlantic - from Scotland to Svalbard THROUGH THE NORTH ATLANTIC - FROM SCOTLAND TO SVALBARD There are few wilder, more magnificent and untouched places than the Arctic Islands of the North Atlantic! And no ships more suited than Ocean Atlantic for such a voyage. Join us for an early summer's cruise from Aberdeen to the lush green Shetland isles, the Faroe Islands small capital Tórshavn and the North Atlantic to the Arctic islands of Jan Mayen and Svalbard. We will travel north along with the migrating birds, and hopefully spot the polar bears hunting from the sea ice in the 24-hour daylight. The cruise starts in Aberdeen on the Scottish East Coast. Here we embark Albatros Expedition's vessel, the comfortable Ocean Atlantic, which is our home for the next 11 days. Our first stop is Smeerenburg and hopefully as far as Yttre Norskøya in the far cozy Lerwick on “main” Shetland, then we venture further north North west corner of Spitsbergen Island. Weather and ice to Tórshavn on the Faroe Islands. After a day at sea spotting for conditions will often dictate the course, but each landing with seabirds and whales we reach the enigmatic and isolated island Zodiac-boats will still be unique and adventurous. of Jan Mayen with its looming 2,200-meter high volcano of Beerenberg. We travel north with the spring and 24-hour The cruise does not have any special requirements for you as a daylight until we reach the snow-covered mountains of participant, but it is assumed that you are in good shape, agile Svalbard. Sea ice will still cover many fjords, but with an ice and good on your legs. Some landings will be made with the class of 1B we are safe on board Ocean Atlantic. From the ship's Zodiac rubber boats, and this requires some agility to get panorama deck we hope to spot the iconic polar bear on the ice in and out of. The journey takes place in the mild spring and and feel the Arctic nature close to us as we cruise in our smaller early summer, and we expect calm sea, sun and temperatures Zodiac vessels. We venture further north into Kongsfjorden and of 10 to 15 degrees. Ny Ålesund, to After 11 fantastic days we will disembark in Longyearbyen for your homebound flight. ITINERARY DAY 1 BOARDING IN ABERDEEN 01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com Our journey begins in Aberdeen in North East Scotland, where We arrive after breakfast at Tórshavn, possibly the smallest MV Ocean Atlantic is located by a dock in the Dee River. capital in the world, ruling the scattered 18 island that make up Boarding is in the afternoon, where the cabins are designated. the Faroes. Centred around the charming grass-roofed After the mandatory security review and drill, we sail out through Parliament on Tinganes, Tórshavn is now an almost bustling the mouth of the Dee River towards the North Sea. modern city with shops, cafés and even three traffic lights! By midmorning you can participate in an optional bus excursion DAY 2 SHETLAND ISLANDS WITH THE HARBOUR AND FISHING VILLAGE OF where we will try to look a bit back in history. We drive out of LERWICK the capital and over the mountains to the south. As the climate Ocean Atlantic approaches Lerwick near the "Main Land" of on the Faroe Island is ‘stable unstable’ it is not unlikely that we Shetlands in the morning. The island of Shetland consists of will drive through the cloud base and experience some fog on more than 100 islands and shores, of which only 15 are the way. But if you wait a moment, it also not unlikely that it will inhabited year-round. The islands form the northernmost part of clear up. We arrive in Kirkjubøur, the most important historical the British kingdom, located approximately 300 km north of the site on the islands. Kirkjubøur was in medieval times the mainland of Scotland. This "central" location in the North Episcopal centre of the Faroe Islands, and also its undisputed Atlantic has through the ages led many to the islands, and the cultural centre. We visit the ruins of the impressive Magnus Scandinavian heritage still shines through dialects, folklore and Cathedral that perhaps never was completed, and the St. Olav place names. Once securely docked at the port, we depart church – the only remaining medieval church on the Faroe through Lerwick towards Scalloway for a short scenic drive. Islands. Upon our return to ‘Havn’ – as Tórshavn is often just From the elevated position we can enjoy the view of the called – you can go for a leisurely stroll through the old citadel charming village and the imposing Scalloway Castle. After a near the harbour. A visit to the Art museum and the Nordic short photo stop, we continue eastwards through the area that House is also very recommendable. (The excursion is part of the is locally known as the “Black Gates” – an area where peat is excursion package and is not included in the price of the trip). still cut to use as fuel. Following the road northwards our main The sailing northwards towards Jan Mayen will probably go destination of Clickimin Broch is only a short drive. There will be through Vestmanna Sound, along the west-facing shore of free time to discover this well preserved and restored Broch and Streymoy and the south side of Mykines. But the route depends learn more about life in the Iron Age. (The excursion is part of on winds, sea and comfort. We spend day number 6 at sea and the excursion package and is not included in the price of the enjoy the ship’s many facilities. trip). Afterwards, we will return to Lerwick and the ship in the middle of the day. The rest of the day is for enjoying at leisure DAY 4 ON THE SEA TOWARDS JAN MAYEN LOOKING FOR SEABIRDS, before departing in the early afternoon. DOLPHINS AND WHALES Listen to a lecture from our experienced expedition staff, see a DAY 3 FAROE ISLANDS TÓRSHAVN AND THE NORTH ATLANTIC film about Arctic nature – or go out on deck to catch glimpses of migrating birds and hopefully some whales. 01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com DAY 5 JAN MAYEN WITH LANDING IN ZODIACS the ship will sail north along the coast of Spitsbergen. Approximately in the middle of the North Atlantic lies the enigmatic volcanic island of Jan Mayen. And if not exactly in the DAY 8 NY ÅLESUND, KONGSFJORDEN AND BLOMSTRANDHALVØYA middle, at least it is located precisely on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, During the ‘night’ (what is night, when the sun never sets?), we the reason for its volcanic existence. And enigmatic it is not only have passed Prins Karls Forland and have arrived in the because of its isolation but also due to the almost perpetual magnificent Kongsfjord. Our visit to Svalbard is in the early clouds and fog that hovers above it. Jan Mayen belongs to summer and this is both the challenge and gift of this special Norway, and the mountain Beerenberg is one of the higher of voyage. Winter ice will possibly block the inner waters of many Norways 300 summits above 2.000 meter. The island is fjords, but this will give us the best opportunities to observe the habited by only 18 persons, running the meteorological station omnipresent – but still elusive – polar bear, hunting for seals in and the Norwegian Defence. We will try to go ashore at the its prime habitat. At this time of the year, the migrating birds narrowest part of the island, from either south or north, have just arrived. They are all eager to settle and feed to get the depending on the prevailing wind and surf. The volcanic origin is best start for the coming hectic summer months. Our first visible all over with cinder cones, lava flows and the Mount Fuji landing will be at Ny Ålesund. This settlement is in fact further like appearance of Beerenberg looming above. After a pleasant north than Longyearbyen, making it THE northernmost town. stroll on the narrow isthmus we board the Zodiacs and Ocean But… is a group of scientific stations, a post office and a single Atlantic to continue our voyage north. shop open for a few hours a real town? You will have to judge for yourself. The setting is nice, the scientific projects are very DAY 6 ON THE SEA TOWARDS SVALBARD interesting, and so is the town history. The Captain will try to get Lectures, movies or maybe a game are some of the activities alongside, so we can enjoy an easy walk through the area. and this sea day. Continuing our exploration of Kongsfjorden, Ocean Atlantic will anchor behind Blomstrand Peninsula. As we will immediately DAY 7 KONGSFJORDEN, NY ÅLESUND see, the name is a bit misleading. Blomstrand is now an island We are getting closer towards the islands of Svalbard, and it - the Blomstrand Glacier has receded, revealing a shallow water should be possible to spot the largest island, Spitsbergen strait. We will cruise through this on our Zodiacs and make a during the afternoon. Our route for this day and next are much landing on the island. depending on conditions. Not least the pack ice coming from Arctic Sea as well as from calving glaciers, and also solid winter DAY 9 FORMER WHALING STATION AT SMEERENBURG AND YTRE NORSKØYA sea ice. Our vessel has an ice class of 1B and the Captain We have now entered North West Svalbard, which was declared should be able to safely approach the edge of the ice to give us a national park in 1973.
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