Jun 11, 2018 - Nuuk

Today we are docked in Nuuk, the capital and largest city in Greenland (pop. 17,300). We began the day in dense fog with a bus tour of the town, ending at the museum. The exhibits included Inuit clothing, tools, etc. The highlight was an exhibit of Inuit mummies from northern Greenland, three women and two children if I remember correctly. It was the climate that mummified them, not their families. Not a happy highlight. We also had some shopping opportunities. Back on board for lunch, followed by a zodiac tour up the Nuuk fjord. Not...

Jun 9, 2018 - Ilulissat

Overnight, we traveled to Ilulissat, arriving about 1 am. I woke up a few times during the night to see the sun shining on the icebergs. Ilulissat lies at the mouth of the Kangia ice fjord. Icebergs float down the 40 km fjord and ground at the entrance, at depths of 250-300 meters. These are huge icebergs. Shirley went on a long hike to Sermermiut, a UNESCO world heritage site, where we could view boats and kayaks in the ice fjord. Along the way we passed the sled dog area, where there were a few puppies. Larry took a shorter trip into...

Jun 7, 2018 - Sisimiut

Our trip began with a tour of Sisimiut, the second-largest town in Greenland, with 5600 residents (i.e., about Clinton, NY, size). It feels like a small fishing village. It is about 40 km above the Arctic Circle, and is the northernmost year-round ice-free port. Passengers were divided into groups based on language. Our guide to Sisimiut was Evie, a young woman from the town. Evie pointed out an artists’ workshop near the pier, then led us up the hill, through a whale-jawbone arch to the old town, which is now a museum, with a church...

Aug 13, 2011 - Day trip to Kulusuk Greenland

OK, so Greenland. I had no idea at all what to expect. Would you? I was up early for breakfast and decided to walk 45 min to the airport and take advantage of being able to see a bit more of the city. Flying out of Reyjkavik in daylight it was more apparent how stark some of the landscape is with the dark lava fields. Nearing Greenland we began to see small icebergs and huge ice fields (floes). Is Greenland green? Not so much. It's craggy & desolate with snow-covered mountains & glaciers (which are melting). Where Iceland has very few...

Sep 11, 2010 - Qaqortoq

Greenland and Iceland should have their names reversed. Thanks to the Humboldt Current, Iceland’s climate is quite mild for its latitude and the parts that are not covered with recent lava fields and glaciers are green and fertile. The Vikings that first came to Greenland named it so in an effort to attract their countrymen to come live there. Madison Avenue had nothing on these guys! To be fair there is considerable evidence that the climate in Greenland was much warmer 1,000 years ago. Corn used to be grown here then, but now 78% of the...

Sep 12, 2007 - Scenic Cruising in Prins Christian Sund, Greenland

Wednesday, September 12, 2007, Scenic Cruising in Prins Christian Sund, Greenland. As had been announced we entered the eastern end of Prins Christian Sund on the southern end of Greenland at 8:00 AM. Prins Christian Sund is a channel between the mainland of Greenland and the island Sanmisoq. The Greenlandic name is Ikerasassuaq meaning the long channel. There are many islands, large and small, in this area with a complex network of narrow channels and fjords. From a handout ©Jon Vidar Sigurdsson 2007 provided on the ship: "The southern tip...

Sep 8, 2007 - Nuuk, Greeland

Today we arrived in Nuuk, Greenland. The day before arriving Nuuk had been experiencing hurrican force winds. When we arrived the winds have died down a lot, but the sea was still quite rough. The ship was not able to dock thus we used the ship's tenders to go ashore during the day. The missionary Hans Egede founded Nuuk in 1728 as the very first town in Greenland. Nuuk has a very rich and varied history and the oldest settlements date back 4,200 years. The Nuuk municipality has two remaining settlements apart from the main town of Nuuk....