Monday, October 17th, 2016
Feeling hungry for haggis? Fancy some foie gras? Peckish for poppy seeds? Depending on where you are in the world, your foodie hankering could in fact be illegal. From poppy seeds in Saudi Arabia, to samosas in Al Shabaab-controlled Somalia, a new infographic explores the world’s weirdest banned foods. From kangaroo meat and haggis, to […]
Monday, October 3rd, 2016
The quest for the Northwest Passage was one of the greatest navigational challenges and an international obsession for early mariners. For 500 years explorers, spurred by the promise of wealth or prestige, risked their lives to find a commercial route to the markets of the Orient. Early notions of geography were primitive and sometimes flawed. […]
Monday, October 3rd, 2016
The first voyage to complete a transit of the Northwest Passage, joining the waters of the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean through the Canadian Arctic archipelago and the Arctic Ocean, began in 1903. Commanded by Roald Amundsen sailing in the Norwegian sloop Gjøa, the voyage was completed on 30 August 1906. In 2005 nearly 100 […]
Sunday, October 2nd, 2016
The fact that we got through the NW Passage without really encountering Polar Bears let alone seeing much in the way of ice raises the question is the route going to become a passage as commonly used as the Panama Canal? The economic and ecological consequences of new trade routes opening up as a result […]
Sunday, October 2nd, 2016
She may look a wreck but Maud is an important ship and after years of rotting in an arctic backwater is about to make her final voyage to stardom Maud was built at a shipyard in Asker at Usiofnord, Norway for the explorer Roald Amundsen. He was the first man to successfully navigate the Northwest […]
Sunday, October 2nd, 2016
As part of our onboard amusement, Ocean Endeavour is carrying some accredited and famous Inuit musicians who have entertained us well. As we approached Gjoahaven a hamlet of just 1400 people it was decided that instead of giving the ship board guests a concert we the ship should give a concert ashore for the local […]
Sunday, October 2nd, 2016
While the voyage in itself is exciting for the route it takes, the highlight as got to be finding Polar Bears in their natural habitat. Not finding them would be like visiting London and not getting to see Buckingham Palace or Paris without the Eiffel Tower. We were very fortunate and saw Polar Bears on […]
Tuesday, September 27th, 2016
One of our more unusual sightings was the beluga whale. We were extremely lucky one day to fall into a pod of these lovely white mammals as they came close inshore to scrape off their moulting skins in the sand shallow bay we were motoring in. Time and time again they approached our Zodiac showing […]
Sunday, September 25th, 2016
No one travelling in Ocean Endeavour is in any doubt what so ever regarding the danger a Polar Bear can potentially be. We have been lectured on the subject and it has been explained to us what we must do if ever we are confronted. Adventure Canada clearly take the threat they pose very seriously […]
Sunday, September 25th, 2016
One of the things you have to accept when sailing in an expedition vessel is that the published itinerary is only a guide. Each day we see our expedition staff huddled together pouring over ice distribution charts. Areas of heavy ice are shown coloured red and the charts they are studying look very red to […]
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