- Start of trip and Nome, AL
- Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada
- Sea Day, a surprise, and the Smoking Hills, Northwest Territories, Canada
- Ulukhaktok, Northern Territories, Canada
- Murray Island, Nunavut, Northern Canada, Canada
- Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Northern Canada
- Citizen science and Borge Island
- Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, Northern Canada
- A busy day at sea — polar bears, musk ox, and plankton, oh my!
- Prince Leopold Island, Beechey Island, and Radstock Bay, Nunavut, Northern Canada
- Croker Bay and Dundas Harbor, Nunavut, Northern Canada
- Pond Inlet and the Inuit, Nunavut, Northern Canada
- Ilulissat, Greenland
- Sisimiut, Greenland
- Red Bay, Labrador, Canada
- Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada and end of trip
Today we visited Ilulissat, Greenland’s most famous town and the third largest by population with 4500 people. Of course, as long as we are examining population, I should mention that there are also 2500 sled dogs. These dogs are used by fishermen in the winter as they go out on the ice fjord to fish large halibut. Ilulissat is famous for the Ilulissat Ice Fjord which is the first place in Greenland to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The iceberg in the fjord are visible from pretty much anywhere in town. They all come from the Sermon Jujalleq Blacier which is the largest glaciers in the northern hemisphere. It’ also one of the fastest in the world with a speed of 130 feet per day.
Today we ad hoped to experience our first “dry” landing of the cruise which basically means you go to shore on one of the ship’s tenders wearing your street clothes and shoes. This differs from a “wet” landing where we have to wear big rubber boots. Sadly, when the first tender was put in the water, it was bobbing like a cork, meaning it was unsafe to load passengers. Instead we went back to our traditional “wet” land with all our waterproof gear. We landed in the middle of the city’s harbor which is the center of activity early in the morning is this is where the fishing fleet is moored. Just up the hill from the harbor is the local fish market and beyond that a series of arts and crafts shops. But, being that this was a Saturday, nearly everything was closed.
Of course our real goal in the city was to visit the Ice Fjord. We were supposed to go on a boat trip to work our way through the icebergs, but the winds and currents were too strong and they canceled the trip. Luckily, we were still able to walk down to the Iceberg Center and walkway where we still got a great view of the massive formations locked in the fjord. There are two ways to get down to the ice field — the raised walkway and the “blue” trail (that is nothing more than some blue spray paint on the piled rocks that bring you higher and provide a better perspective of the icebergs. Given all the rain, the blue trail was a bit treacherous, but totally worth the rock scrambling. After the walk, we went to the visitor’s center. Of typical Scandinavian design, it was understated and simple, with informative exhibits. What made it quite special though was an enclosed room in the center where they played the sounds of the glacier broadcast from multiple locations under the glacier. They also had an excellent VR program that that took you through the ice coring operations at the Greenland Climate Research Center. It was really well done and I could have stayed to watch the whole thing, but time was marching on.
By the time we got back to town, everything was pretty much shut down, so we headed back to the ship.
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
