Svalbard 2015-3: July 2nd ~ Fair Isle, puffins, & Swim 2

Day 4 Part 1: July 2nd ~ Fair Isle & Swim 2

Due to the water entering through the open porthole during the night, the seat got wet too, as Lyndall found out next morning when she sat down.
I woke at 0700 & there was no sight of land, but once dressed & up on the bridge I could see Fair Isle in the distance to port.

The entrance to North Haven was round the rock

It also turned out we'd got there about midnight & that's when I woke when the engines stopped. Apparently we'd been sailing to & fro since.

Our 1st Zodiac trip with Elena driving

After breakfast, it wasn't long before the tannoy announced our departure for land & we all congregated by the ladder & got into the zodiacs for our transfer to North Haven.

Carol leaning backwards with Fair Isle ahead

North Haven breakwater

Lovely beach dead ahead

Sailing boats at North Haven

On the way in I spotted a possible swim-spot, but the weather didn't look too promising at that point, & was defo a tad dreary when we all piled out of the zodiac. 

Disembarking the Zodiac

Jimmy & his minibus

Doffing our life-jackets, Margaret, Jenny, Warren & I climbed into Jimmy's minibus for a jaunt across the island to South Haven.

Fair Isle's main road

South Haven's holey rocks

After a look at the Haven, Jimmy took us to the little kirk. 

It doesn't seem to be dedicated to a particular saint, but it's very cute.

It also has some unusual stained glass windows, which google says were dedicated to Agnes Stout - a Fair Islander.

Polar Pioneers looking at the colourful
kirk windows

'Awaiting the going down of the sun' window

'In remembrance of Agnes Stout 
Beloved wife of Jerome Stout'

Back at North Haven, Jimmy dropped Warren & I off at the Visitor Centre / Bird Observatory.
You had to take your boots off if you wanted to use the loo, so I wandered about in my socks while I looked at the exhibition & bought a Fair Isle pen for my cat sitter.
Most passengers had gone up to the cliffs to the east ~ where most of the puffins were, but I went out through the back of the building & up the opposite cliff & got some great pics.

North Haven beach from the western cliffs

Steep cliffs!

Vertiginous cliffs! But puffinless

The east end of North Haven beach

By now, the sun had come out, so it was time to be very patient & get some puffins on film, so I made my way back down the western cliffs, walked across the isthmus ~ where the beach was, & up onto Buness, the eastern promontory.
On the way there I met a couple from Stoke who'd flown in for the day! 
Er? 
Where was the airport?????

I was quite excited, as I'd never seen puffins in the wild ~ only on telly.

Camopuffin! ;-)

The sun was now out & it had turned into a lovely day. 


That was a good job, as I spent a long time sitting or lying on the grass trying the get THE puffin pic.

This would've been great, but I cut his/her legs off :-(

Very zoomed!

Pleased I caught this one having a chat :-)

Andy's were much better!

Thanks, Andy, for sharing your wonderful Puffin Pics :-D

The view from the puffin cliffs to the south

Before I got wet I went back to the Observatory building & found a volunteer becoming acquainted with a couple of lambs.

Why have a car like that with single-track roads? Uh?

The Swim2 beach. You can just make
my footprints coming up from the water

I'd dressed to swim - kinda.

I had a pair of leggings & a crop-top underneath the trackie, so I was in the water in no time.

It was lovely, & Much warmer than Kirkwall's had been :-)

Was that an old path up the cliff?

I'd nearly dried off by the time I got back to the zodiacs & found Elena waiting.

She said she'd join me next time.

The Aus families showed up & the lads seemed not to know whether I was mad, or whether to leap in themselves!
But see Jarlshof later that day.

Michael, the Aurora photographer, & GF

Life-jackets back on we sped back to the PP as the sun made its way westward

It was great we were so far north: days were nice & long, enabling Aurora to allow us 2 more expeditions that day.

The PP awaits us

I'd enjoyed Fair Isle, & note the Puffin Post told us that "in the Heroic era of polar exploration, several Antarctic expeditions were kitted out with Fair Isle jerseys to ward off the cold of the ice".

Awesome!

Shame I can't afford one in cashmere. I can't wear sheep wool. It makes me itch something chronic :-/

Back aboard, we headed north to Shetland, passing Fair Isle's northern lighthouse before the 30 mile crossing to Sumburgh.

Fair Isle North lighthouse

On our way there we had a late-ish lunch, & Robyn showed me to my new cabin afterwards.
It was great - ensuite & everything. 
No more climbing down from the top bunk in the night ~ sorted :-D
And no £ or $ were mentioned, so I got a bargain :-)))
It did take me 5 trips up & down the stairs, tho. Never mind - it helped to offset the calories consumed in all the lovely food.

My new cabin ~ 1 deck up from the old one

My en-suite

As I said above, we were to visit Jarlshof near Sumburgh that afternoon, & were also to have a 3rd stop that day:  Mousa Broch ~ on Mousa, an island to the east of Shetland mainland.

On the way, most of my fellow passengers seemed to be having a kip, but I got a John Mortimer book out or the little library & read a few pages before following them into zzz-land!

Approaching Jarlshof

Jarlshof & Mousa Broch are on the next blog along, so for now ~
OAO