Iceland and Greenland

Preface:  Unlike other trips, this one posting is for the whole trip, so take your time.  I don't want to bore you to tears!

Secondly, this keyboard has none of the extreme phonetic markings required for Icelandic or Greenlandic names, so consider this the dummy's guide to the languages.

“Once a journey is designed, equipped and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over.
A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys.
It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness.
A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.
And all plans, safeguards, policing and coercion are fruitless.
We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

John Steinbeck “Travels with Charley”

We have always had an interest in polar travel, and when an opportunity came to go to Greenland this year, we jumped at it.

Iceland

To preface our Greenland trip, we spent 4 days in Reykjavik to get over jetlag.  We had visited there 10 years ago, but some things have definitely changed.

As before, the city has a massive sea wall built along the shore, comprised of large volcanic rocks.  An iconic statue of a Viking ship stands midway.

Since our last trip, a beautiful music hall (Harpa) has been built near one end of the shoreline.  The unique structure and glass sheets were inspired by volcanic basalt, an example of which follows.

Some enterprising individuals built hundreds of Icelandic “inukshuks” near the concert hall.

At one section, all of the seawall rocks had been polished to a satin sheen, and credit was given to the artist that created this effect.

To contrast with the modern parts of the city, the traditional Icelandic buildings are very colourful so you can see them from the sea, and signs on the freeways near our hotel indicated vehicle restrictions.

At least we could understand the picture signs; the road signs were more incomprehensible.

Tourism has increased hugely since our last visit; for example, an Italian cruise ship with 3500 passengers had just landed at the pier while we were there, and we saw a large number of Asian tourists, which wasn't the case in the past.

Downtown is now filled with a zillion tourist trinket shops and restaurants, but prices are very high.  For example, a beer and a glass of wine cost us $30.00 Cdn and one of the passengers we subsequently met on the tour mentioned they had spent $120.00 Cdn for two hamburgers and a glass of beer.  Iceland is no longer for the faint of wallet.

There were a number of interesting things to see in town, including some colourful murals:

A unique artist’s house:

Compelling museums: (and you should have seen the gift shop!)

Quirky businesses:

Last but not least, on the final day, we were wandering downtown and found a crowd gathering…

We weren’t sure what was going on until an organizing committee made some announcements…

It turned out that the street was set up to be painted in honour of a gay pride event.  And they’re off…

After all these heady delights, it was time to go out into the wilderness.

Greenland

Day 1: Wednesday, 8^th August

Quark Greenland Explorer:  Valley and Fjords

Wednesday morning we took a flight from Reykjavik to Akureyri (north part of Iceland) to join the ship, the Ocean Explorer.

We set sail at about 18:30, starting with a pilot boat leading us out the channel to open sea.

Naturally there was a lifeboat drill.

In the literature we were told that the company would provide parkas for our use, but little did we realize that there were brand-new parkas for each of us to keep.  The parkas were bright yellow (and very good quality) and immediately were useful in identifying Quarkies.

Sailing through Eyjafjorour 

Sunrise 2:27, Sunset 00.08

Day 2:  Thursday, 9^th August

At Sea—Denmark Strait (about 200 miles from Iceland to Greenland)

During the day we had lectures on Birds and a Photography Workshop in the presentation lounge where we gathered for all presentations/briefings/trip info (and, oh by the way, the bar was there).

The lectures were extremely educational.  In the lecture on birds we learned about Fulmars, sea birds which love to fly behind ships thinking they may be fishing vessels with tidbits to spare.

In the Photography Workshop, we got suggestions on how to take better photographs, and how to steal ones from others that were better.  The staff encouraged everyone to post photos on a common website for sharing, yielding very good results.

For example, here’s Helen’s picture of a Fulmar…..

Followed by an expert’s picture of a Fulmar.

In the meantime, sea mammals started to make themselves known by blowing, and then breaching the water.  This was a small pod of pilot whales.

As part of the special gear required (which we didn’t have to pack), we were all issued Muk Boots on loan to make wet landings as we went ashore from the Zodiacs.  The suggestion was made to make sure to wear two pairs of heavy socks, but sometimes two pairs were insufficient to give a firm fit.  The small retail store on board did a booming business on sock sales later that day.

We were also organized into four groups to facilitate smooth loading of the Zodiacs comprising the Vikings, Fjords, Icebergs and Glaciers.  Brian and I were in the Vikings, which turned out to be most appropriate.

In the evening, we prefaced dinner with Captain’s Cocktail Hour.  Our captain was introduced and libations abounded.  Then we proceeded to enjoy a three-course sit-down dinner (at least 3 selections for each course) in a lovely bright dining room. 

Day 3:  Friday, 10^th August

Welcome to Greenland

Kalaallit Nunaat (Land of the People/Land of the Greenlanders)

Greenland is the world’s largest island, with 4/5 of the land area lying beneath the second largest ice sheet in the world.  Average thickness is 5000 feet, reaching a maximum of about 10,000 feet, and covering more than 700,000 square miles.  Two thirds of the island lies within the Arctic Circle.

Ice-free areas are restricted to the coastal fringes, divided into the low and high arctic tundra.

Greenland’s deeply indented coastline is 24,430 miles long, a distance roughly equivalent to the Earth’s circumference at the Equator.

Geologically it is part of the continent of North America.

Greenland was a Danish colony from 1721 until it became an equal part of Denmark in 1953.  It obtained Home Rule status in 1979 and self-government was established on June 21, 2009.  The population is about 57,000 inhabitants.

This morning, we got a presentation on the geology of Greenland, and learned that the rocks are merely 2.5 billion years old.

We got sightings of first icebergs, which weren’t trivial in size.

The source was glaciers in the fjord calving directly into the sea.

Expedition to Skjoldungen Fjord and Island

Skjoldengun is a coastal island in the southeastern shores of Greenland, located between two fjords (Southern Skjoldungen Fjord and the Northern Skjoldungen Fjord).  The island is a popular destination with tourists on cruise ships owing to its impressive landscapes.

Often you would see great waterfalls cascading down the steep cliffs.

Today was the first time we were able to get off the ship, loading into Zodiacs to make a landing on the Island.

For the most part, greenery was limited to within a few hundred yards of shore, and it was of minimum height.  One of the passengers took an opportunity to get a picture of some cotton grass.

Day 4:  Saturday, 11 August

Sunrise 05:30/Sunset 22:01 Clocks have been turned back one hour.

Southeast Greenland:  King Frederick VI Coast

The KF VI Coast stretches over 370 miles from King Christian IX Land on the north to all the way down Greenland’s southernmost point at Cape Farvel.  It is characterized by a succession of fjords, steep mountains and picturesque strings of small coastal islands and skerries.  There is only a narrow belt of ice-free land between the shore and the Inland Ice Sheet, often interrupted by active glaciers tumbling all the way down to the shore-line.

We got presentations entitled ‘Squabbles, Quarrels and Conflicts:  Geopolitics of the North’ and ‘Vikings:  A Saga of Ransack and Slaughter’.  Regrettably, we learned in the second presentation that Viking hats did NOT have horns, which was a considerable setback to me.

In the meantime, our presentations were interrupted by a number of whale sightings, so numerous in fast that our marine biologist on board described us as being in “whale soup’.

Sightings included orcas breaching….

Sperm whales (before with the blow and after with the tail)….

There were also sightings of fin whales, pilot whales and dolphins.  In the meantime, the fjord featured the standard rugged peaks, glaciated rocks, waterfalls and icebergs.

In the afternoon we went on an expedition/hike in Lindenow Fjord, East Greenland.

This was the first time for stepping on the actual island of Greenland, which necessitated display of the Greenlandic Flag.

When we went on land, a number of the expedition staff fanned out to provide guard at the perimeter against a possible intrusion of a polar bear.

A hiking expedition up a hill quickly provided some good vistas while minimizing the size of our ship.

Plant cover was sufficient to show a variety of wildflowers.  Some we would recognize (buttercups and daisies) while others were new.  It must be noted however that little of this was over 8” tall.

This willow (tree?) lay essentially flat against the ground.

After the presentation on geeopolitics of the North this morning, it was no surprise to see a couple of Danish navy ships doing a sovereignty patrol in the distance.

Day 5:  Sunday, 12 August

Southern Greenland, Transiting East to West

Sunrise:  04:58/Sunset 20:59 Clocks have been turned back one hour again.

Expedition:  Herjolfsnes, West Greenland

A Norse settlement was located approximately 50 km northwest of Cape Farewell, the southernmost point of Greenland.  The settlement was established in the late 10^th century, and is believed to have lasted approximately 500 years.  The fate of the colony is still unknown.

Disembarkation groups:  Viking, Fjord, Iceberg and Glacier

The Quarkies really stand out with the yellow jackets.

Our hike was over typical Greenland rugged terrain.

There were no artifacts left from the settlement so we just got to explore the area, seeing much the same as yesterday.  However (and much to our surprise), the bugs were horrendous.  A few lucky people had bug nets, but the rest spent a lot of time waving their arms around to discourage the fauna.

The wildflower photographers wasted no time in trying to get some good shots.

Every day we have been reminded of the vastness and the desolation of Greenland.

This was not necessarily a sign that we were the only ones there.  While out on our hike, some curious locals came by in a motorboat and came up to shore to chat.

    

They invited the expedition staff to come back to their homes for tea, but instead the staff offered to bring them on board the ship where they were regaled with pastries and beverages.  We were told that the children would remember the excitement of the visit forever.

Day 6:  Monday, 13 August

Hvalsey and Uunartoq:  Vikings and Hot Springs

Sunrise:  05:09/Sunset: 21:06

Expedition Morning at Hvalsey, Southwestern Greenland

Greenland’s largest and best-preserved Norse ruins are located at Qaqortukulooq (Whale Island) including a well-preserved church and the remains of a quite sizeable farm with a grand house large enough to entertain people.  According to the Iceland Book of Settlements, the farmstead was established by Eric the Red’s cousin, Thorkell Farserkur in 985 AD.  It is believed the church was first erected in the early 12^th century by Scots-Norse stonemasons.

Although these buildings were not necessarily large by our standards, they were considered generous for the time, and the stonework was such that much of the buildings was still intact.

Naturally, an engineering assessment had to be made.

Some passengers found the hike exhilarating while others just got tired.

Expedition Afternoon at Uunartoq Island

Passengers were given the options of having Zodiac cruises to check out the icebergs as well as stopping on the island for a dip in the Uunartoq Hot Springs, with usual temperatures between 34 and 38 degrees Celsius.

The cruises afforded some great images of icebergs, which are getting bigger every day.

For a size perspective, you can just see the Zodiac through the arch in the middle of the iceberg.

The hot springs seemed to generate some enthusiasm in the passengers, although that may have been partly aided by the fact that they were served champagne to celebrate the event.

Day 7:  Tuesday 14 August

Expedition Morning in Ivittuut

Sunrise 05:18/Sunset 21:28

Ivittut is an abandoned mining town near Cape Desolation in SW Greenland.  It is located near the ruins of the former Norse “Middle Settlement".  Cryolite was discovered in 1799 and it became important first as a source of aluminum.  Later Cryolite was used in the electrolytic processing of bauxite to extract aluminum.  Due to its rarity, it is possibly the only mineral on earth to be mined to commercial extinction.

The town was abandoned in 1987 once the ore was gone, and it looked like everyone just walked away.

Greenland (like Iceland) reminds me of Newfoundland because the houses are so colourful:  when you are approaching by sea you can distinguish which house is yours.

For a rock fan, Cryolite is a great rock.  Colours range from colourless, white, grey, reddish brown and brownish black.

For those not interested in rocks, the town had a fascinating old graveyard for sailors, with aged gravestones.

And for those who wished to see the fauna (not the buggy kind), we set off on a grand trek up a hill to see some Muskox grazing (far, far away).  Reminder to self:  thank goodness for the experts’ photos.

Day 8:  Wednesday 15 August

Nuuk

Sunrise 05:17/Sunset 21:42

There’s a Humpback whale out there!

Morning started with a presentation by Tukummingiaq Olsen, a Greenland Inuit born and raised in the northern community of Qannaq in Greenland.  She is an advocate for indigenous and Greenlandic rights and educates others about Inuit culture.

The presentation gave me a hugely different perspective on a lot of things.  First of all, consider looking at a globe from the angle of staring down the North Pole.  Countries are fairly crowded up there, and there are Inuit in Canada, US (Alaska), Russia and a bit on the northernmost Scandinavian countries.

Global warming is having a big impact in the Artic, affecting human activities in a number of ways.

First, the sea ice, which used to be 3 meters thick 3 decades ago is now only 0.7 meters thick.  The Inuit were used to dogsledding across the ice to visit their relatives in all polar areas.  With the thinning of the ice, they are feeling more isolated from other Inuit.

Second, with the thinning of the sea ice, countries are all pushing to maintain sovereignty over waters, primarily on speculation that there may be great mineral resources uncovered as the ice recedes.  The Inuit are not used to the limitations of international boundaries.

Thirdly, with warming of the waters, there is concern about traditional hunting and fishing populations.  (There used to be no mosquitoes in Greenland.  Now, as we were made painfully aware, there are more bugs.)

All of these factors are forcing change in the lifestyle of the Inuit, and they are trying to adapt to the land’s changes at the same time they are trying to adapt to human changes being forced on them by their respective countries.

If I had to choose the one presentation on the voyage that had the greatest impact on me, this one would have stood out.

After this education, we all went out to see Nuuk, the capital and largest city of Greenland, with a population over 17,300 (about 20% of Greenland’s total population.  We were divided into groups and each given a native guide.  Our guide had some facial tattoos like traditional Inuit women; the tattoos were used to indicate how many of the women’s skills had been learned.

Nuuk had tons of highlights.

The town itself had wonderful art displayed throughout.

We were given a tour of city hall, a modern building with both new age and traditional features.

Again, the art was fascinating.

The council chambers had impressive tapestries around the walls, a big polar bear skin rug on the floor and a narwhal tusk as part of the decorations.

The city itself had modern and traditional elements.

This attractive building was a city center including a large shopping plaza.

Mementoes of the whaling industry were evident.

The kayak club was big thing here; you got started by building your own kayak.

This seemingly innocuous set of ropes are used to train on how to roll your kayak—not as simple as it looks.

For daily living, one always thinks of food.

Dining out had some interesting options—we saw signs for Thai food in more places than we expected.

Shopping for home seemed a bit more normal until we found the open-air meat market featuring seals and reindeer.

After this somewhat startling introduction to local food, we toddled back to the ship for an ice cream party on the rear deck.  Note that at the rear of the deck there are 2 hot tubs to keep us warm.  Even when eating ice cream.

Day 9:  Thursday 16 August

Eternity Fjord, West Greenland

Sunrise 05:15/Sunset 21:52

Zodiac Cruise of the of the Fjord

The fjord is 75 km long and 700 meters deep, with mountains near the middle part of the fjord rising up to 2,000 meters (6,600 feet).  The head is formed by two tributaries.  Qingua Kujalleq, the southern arm, is an abrupt and stunning ice fjord.  Qingua Avannarieq, the northern arm, is more vast and almost entirely blocked at the end by glacier outflow from the Maniitsoq Ice Cap which is now separated from the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Our activity of the day was going out in the gloom for a Zodiac cruise to check out the glaciers, icebergs and cliffs.  The ride was quite bumpy due to the large number of “bergey bits” floating around in the water.

There was another vessel, a commercial whale-watching boat, out on the water and we ended up playing tag with them.  Our marine biologist was adept at seeing whales, but as soon as the cruise saw all the Zodiacs going off in one direction, it would follow suit to ensure nothing was missed.

We did see a sea beast—a little jellyfish.  (How does it live in these cold waters?)

The ice cap was generating all the ice bergs, and it was indeed vast.

To get a sense of scale, look at the Zodiacs and kayakers checking out the ice.

The Zodiac drivers never ventured too close, because if an iceberg calved nearby, it could create a mini-tsunami.  One surprising aspect was the noise of the glacier—you could hear sharp cracks, groans and sounds of thunder as the ice moved.

The southern arm of the fjord featured massive cliffs, home to thousands of Glaucous Gulls and Kittiwakes.  The cliffs were so steep it was hard to imagine the birds even having footholds, never mind nests.

When looking at the bare rocks, you could see interesting geological features such as a big vein of another material.

When we had exhausted all of these highlights, most of the Zodiacs scooted round picking up souvenirs of glacial ice to be used back in the bar.

Much to Brian’s content, the staff featured some polar beer tasting for a pre-dinner splash.

Although the day started out gloomy, it made up for things with a spectacular sunset.

Day 10:  Friday 17 August

Ilulissat (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Sunrise 04:40/Sunset 22:13

Jakobshavn Glacier (Greenlandic:  Sermeq Kujalleq) is a large outlet glacier near the town of Ilulissat.  It is one of the few glaciers through which the Greenland ice cap meets the sea.  Upon reaching the sea, the glacier’s ice mass continues flowing outwards into the fjord, a floating glacier tongue.  With the tide and currents eroding the ice tongue, sections break off and drift away, and icebergs are born.  The Jacobshavn Glacier drains approx. 6.5 % of the Greenland Ice Sheet and produces about 10% of all Greenlandic icebergs.  Approximately 18-20 meters of ice calve off this glacier every day!  The glacier has an annual flow rate of 7km.  Nearly all North Atlantic icebergs originate from the Greenland Ice Sheet and have been observed as far as 3,200 km away. 

During the day, our ship passed the Arctic Circle, and a lot of passengers were quite excited about that.  (And no, we didn't feel the bump...)

The town of Ilulissat (Kalaallisut word for “Icebergs) is approximately 350 km north of the Arctic Circle with a population of over 4500. The sled dog population is larger than the human one, by far. 

While we were at breakfast, we could see the size of the icebergs through the dining room windows.

First we had to take a Zodiac cruise around to check out some of the bergs, and yes, there was a Humpback whale.

To give you a sense of the size of these chunks, compare the Zodiacs to the ice.

Icebergs quickly become their own works of architecture as they move and roll in the water.

One of the bergs had a huge fissure in it and a veritable waterfall was pouring down the side.

After surveying the icebergs, we came into town through a very crowded harbour.

The Zodiacs were docked just where the guy in red was waving his arms, and we got our first view of normal life here.  On the other side of our dock was a whaling boat that had returned with a catch of a Minke whale.  The whale was being cut up in the boat, loaded into buckets on shore, which were then taken off in the back of pickup trucks to be delivered to their destinations.

Once in town, we headed off on a boardwalk to see the mouth of the fjord.  Specific warnings were issued to (a) avoid sled dogs (who were chained up), and to (b) ignore puppies (who were on the loose) since they would become working dogs.  Then we got warnings about hiking.

Despite this, we bravely headed out.

The boardwalk protected the most vulnerable terrain from the majority of visitors, but a longer trail was available (The Blue Trail).  The terrain was rocky and slippery, but not overwhelming.

As we climbed, we got spectacular views of the sea of ice, and then ultimately the glacier as we went further in along the fjord.

The trail back to Ilulissat had a steep ascent, followed by a steep descent which continued down towards the town and its colourful buildings.

This is where things got a little more exciting than we had planned for.

Very near the end of the trail, there were a lot of sled dogs chained out and we were forced to take a bit of a detour to avoid them.  The terrain was rocky, muddy and slippery and I suspect I was keeping my eye on the dogs more than the trail.  That was a mistake.

I slipped and fell (not good), breaking my ankle (in two places!) as I went down (really not good).

Despite this, there was still an inordinate amount of good luck that happened here, believe it or not.  There were about 8 in our party, including the ship’s doctor (Dr. Kim, an emergency room physician from Toronto), her fiancé Martin (a Danish Cardiac surgeon), and Colin, one of the expedition staff.  Dr. Kim was able to assess the ankle on the spot (yes, it was broken), and I was only about 50 feet from pavement, so they were able to carry me to some stairs while calling for help.

Now, here is where the story becomes farce.  It was about 5 pm on a Friday afternoon, and the town was essentially shutting up for the day.  Martin used a cell phone to call for an ambulance (thank goodness he spoke Danish).  When the call went through, the dispatcher suggested it was probably better to call a taxi. (Oh.....)  Martin, who was nothing but enterprising, somehow found a local with a commercial van, and this good Samaritan drove us all to the little hospital.

The arrival at the hospital merely added to the farce.  A nurse and doctor were present, both of whom were on a one-month rotation from Copenhagan.  Neither spoke more than a sprinkling of English.  (Did I say thank goodness that Martin spoke Danish?)  The nurse didn’t seem sure what to do, but she kindly offered me some ibuprofen for the pain.  (Dr. Kim says, “No, morphine!)  By the way, the doctor was a neurologist, and really didn’t know what to do.  They had to call in the X-ray tech, who was a diminutive cute Inuit.  She came in wearing a parka, with her purse over her shoulder, took two x-rays without divesting herself of this apparel, and then left.  In the meantime, the nurse tried to get my name, etc, for paperwork, and I became “Helen Mellow” (not!)

Due to the uncertainty of the local staff, Drs. Kim and Martin took over at this point.  Martin started searching through all the drawers and shelves of the clinic to find what he could, while Kim scolded him the whole time about how he shouldn't be doing that.  Nonetheless, they came up with all the stuff necessary to put on a cast, and after a brief discussion about who should do what, put a very good cast on me.  We cleaned up after ourselves and then had to lock the clinic door as we went out, because everyone else had gone home, except the good Samaritan who kindly drove us back to the pier for us to return to the ship.

And the best news was that we got back to the ship before dinner was served, and all was well.

I must add that everyone from staff to passengers were more than kind and generous in their support.  We could have asked for nothing more.  The staff were exemplary.  Even our cabin steward, Mark, gave Brian a handfull of the nightime pillow chocolates to tide us through.

Special mention goes to this lovely couple, Michael and Terry.  Michael is a retired Ear, Nose and Throat specialist while Terry worked in pain management.

When Michael found out what had happened, he came right over and said, “Oh, Helen, I am sorry this happened to you.  If there is any way I can help, please ask…..could I take out your tonsils for you?”

Now, how can you ignore such kindness?!!

Day 11:  Saturday 18 August

Equip Sermia, Disko Bay

Sunrise 04:34/Sunset 22:11

Zodiac Cruise along the calving front of Equip Sermia Glacier (a very active tidewater glacier in the Disco Bay Area, approximately 5 km wide)

Disko Bay has been an important hunting ground for thousands of years, starting with the Paleo Inuit from as early as 2400 to 900 BC.  Eric the Red’s Norsemen visited the bay for their summer hunting expeditions.

I think most of us expect icebergs to be that clear special blue colour, and many are.  However, some are very dirty as well.  Dirty icebergs come from the top of the glacier, where runoff has carried sediments (and stones) onto ice that subsequently breaks away.

Today was an exceptionally exciting day for some of the passengers who opted for the “Arctic Plunge”.

Lunch was a special barbeque on the deck, featuring some local provisions such as reindeer.

Since I wasn’t gadding about on any of these activities today, this is probably a good as time as any to tell you about the dining arrangements on the ship.

It appears that a major concern of the kitchen staff was that we would waste away to nothing during this trip.  They made rigorous efforts to overcome that danger.

At 6:30 am, pastries were set out in the general lounge, where coffee, teas, hot chocolate and cookies were available 24 hours a day.

At 7:00/7:30 the main dining room opened for breakfast, consisting of large cold and hot buffets, including cereals, breads, cheeses, fruit, yoghurt, cold cuts, European fish (like herring), an omelette bar, a oatmeal cauldron, and about 8 hot entrees served cafeteria style.  (Eggs benedict were not uncommon.)

This needed to last you until noon, when the main dining room opened for lunch, consisting again of  large cold and hot buffets, including salads, cold cuts, cheeses, fish, a carvery, soup, about 8 hot entrees, and a couple of desserts.

At 4 pm, an English “high tea” was served, including sandwiches, several cakes, and scones with clotted cream and jam.

Often we had a briefing before dinner in the general lounge, where the bar featured daily specials and the serving staff would bring out hot hors d’oeuvres or snacks .

This would last until 7:30, when main dinner was served.  Because we were generally weakened by then, and unable to walk, we were served a sit-down meal with a choice of 3 starters, 3 entrees, and generally 3 desserts.  It the entrees were not to your liking, you could always order salmon, steak or chicken, or even a hamburger to tide you over until something more acceptable came along.

I showed a picture of the dining room at the beginning, but I should make mention of the special arrangements for chairs.  Ostensibly these arrangements were to make us steadier during active seas, but I think they were really meant to prevent us from rolling out of our chairs due to rapid weight gain.

Then there were special events like the ice cream social, today’s barbeque, and hot chocolate with Baileys after a cold Zodiac ride…..

We very quickly got used to this onerous regime, and would start asking one another, “When are we going to eat next?  It has been at least 2 hours………..”

Day 12:  Sunday 19 August

Itelleq and Sondre Stromford

Visit to the village community of Itelleq

Itelleq is such a little village that you can only find little about it from Google, but Quark has had a tradition of visiting the village to let passengers experience an Inuit lifestyle more directly.  Passengers were invited into local homes to be served tea and coffee.

Here was a typical house; see the meat hanging outside.

After the refreshments, tradition dictates that there be a soccer match between Quarkies and villagers, all enthusiastically defending their honour.  All ages participated.

Passengers got to try activities like netting for fish, and bringing in seal.

When everyone got back to their cabins they found the cabins had been invaded by Quark Bunnies.

Day 13:  Monday 20 August

Sondre Stromfjord

Greenland Ice Sheet Tour by bus from Kangellussuaq (Greenlandic for “Big Fjord”) Pier.

Regrettably, this was the last day of the trip.  All of our luggage had to be out of our cabins at 8:00 am, and then we had to be processed by Immigration officers before leaving the ship for the last time.

We disembarked in Kangellusuaq, Greenland’s main air transport hub and the site of Greenland’s largest commercial airport. 

By bus, we took longest road in Greenland towards the Greenlandic Ice Sheet, which stretches 2500 km North to South and 1000 km from East to West at the widest part of the country.

The trip was an adventure in itself, because the road was gravel or sand, and the buses had minimal shock absorbers.  Apparently the road had been partly developed by Volkswagen for enduring testing of their automobiles.  (No kidding.)

At the mouth of the fjord was a huge alluvial plain, which we followed inland, becoming rockier as we got closer to the glacier.

A hunt camp was set up by a small lake.

Muskox were grazing in the flats.

Two regional rivers originate from the Russel Glacier, and join closer to the mouth of the fjord.  Here is where I heard the fascinating name: “The Stupid Mountain in the Middle”.  I don’t know how to spell it in Greenlandic, but that is what it is called.  Obviously it’s a nuisance between the two rivers!

The Russel Glacier looks innocent at first until you get a better sense of the scale.

We stopped for lunch at the edge of the ice sheet. (Yes, they were still feeding us.)

Silty glacial meltwater was pouring off into the alluvial plain.

All good things must come to an end, so we returned to Kangelussuaq.  An incoming flight bringing the next tour discharged their passengers, and then we boarded at 6 pm to arrive in Keflavik at 22:10.  What an adventure!

Afterthoughts

It took a lot longer than I expected to put together this blog because of the number of experiences we had in such a short time, and because there was a huge number of fantastic photos to choose from.

There is a website where you can see the original material I used, and it includes a couple of slide shows.  The one on the Arctic Plunge is hilarious.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ai7ua2ozf38s1ft/AACMifw6UfnTyruPGU5xN3Qla?dl=0

Quark Expeditions provided us with a superior experience.  All of the staff made huge efforts to ensure we were provided as much excitement and as many experiences as could be possible.  The briefings were fascinating. This expedition was more on the luxury end of polar experiences, but it was well worthwhile.  An extra advantage is that the passengers attracted to a trip like this are well-educated and sophisticated travellers, making our interactions interesting and funny while giving us a whole new neat set of people to be in contact with.

As for Greenland itself, I can honestly say I thought I had no preconceived notions of what to expect, and then was quite surprised at much of it.  Greenland is vast, rugged, and wild, and the Inuit people who inhabit it are to be admired for their intrepid and generous natures.

It was a great trip.  Thanks for reading this.