Puffins!!

I woke very early this morning to see our approach to Fair Isle at 6:30am – the weather was reasonably clear with a breeze causing a gentle swell.  It was so nice to be out on the bridge deck in the fresh breeze (about 10°C). 

Fair Isle juts suddenly out of the ocean, with its high grassy-topped cliffs, puffin and fulmar nesting in burrows and cracks, and the occasional sheep roaming on the grass.  We saw fulmar and guillemots flying around enjoying the early morning light, and the small port with a few yachts at anchor, was visible between parts of the cliff faces.

It was great to be here after a reasonably busy day yesterday.  Getting organised, finding our way to the port and then onto the ship , all added to a generally long day.  And once we were underway, and out of Aberdeen, we were into the ocean swell.  This is my first sail on the Ocean Adventurer – I’m still learning where everything is, as well as her quirks.  We had some rolling seas last night that gave me a sense of how she behaves, and all is well.  However I did take a Phenergan to help my body adjust to the movement, and it meant a good night’s sleep was had!

My cabin is on Deck 3, and it was a very nice surprise to see just one Quark jacket, one pair of Muck boots, and one name tag - meaning that I had the cabin to myself.  Unfortunately Susanna was not able to come this time.  But it was wonderful to see Annie, Woody and Colin as part of the Quark crew – I’ve sailed with each of them a number of times in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Back to Fair Isle.  We had a short, gentle zodiac cruise to a floating dock.  This meant that we could wear our hiking boots, instead of the Muck boots – always more comfy when walking up gentle rises.  Once on the land, I headed towards a hill dotted with sheep – a few saw us coming and scattered down the hillside.  But it wasn’t the cute woolly sheep we came to see, although the lambs were rather gorgeous, it was the puffins!

The local people had very kindly marked a trail on the grass, making it easy for us to walk up the slope with the cliff dropping down to the ocean to our right.  As I climbed slowly upwards, I gave up dodging sheep droppings, and made a mental note to give my boots a good scrub when I was back on the ship. 

It didn’t take long to see puffins on the edge of the cliff, and flying by as they made a bee-line, or in this case a "puffin-line," for their burrows.  It’s mating season, and so their beaks and faces were at their colourful best (see photo).

I found a nice little lump of grass-covered turf to sit on, and was soon able to concentrate on capturing photos – puffins in flight are hard to get, but those standing still, looking at us with that quizzical and slightly worried look that they have, were fun!  

How many photos can one take of puffins?  Hundreds it seems – although many have already been deleted.

We also had the opportunity to see the other side of the island – I made use of the offer of cars to drive us up and over this very hilly place.  The town had opened their local hall and were selling knitted Fair Isle hats, gloves, scarves and jumpers, as well as other smaller items.  They also provided a delicious cup of tea (or coffee for those that preferred this), as well as freshly baked scones and peat (a bit like a hedgehog & yummy).

Then it was back to the ship for a short nap, followed by lunch, and an afternoon of lectures. 

The swell has been increasing this evening, although the low cloud has lifted.  It will be great to get into bed shortly – sleeping will be nice again tonight as we roll north towards the Faroe Islands, and another early start.

More to come soon.