Blogs from Greenland, North America - page 4

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North America » Greenland » South Greenland July 27th 2018

Greenland checked off a new country visited for both of us. Today, we do some scenic cruising through Prince Christian Sound (ice bergs permitting) and on to Iceland (another new country for me). All of us have pondered the unique relationship between these two islands: How Greenland has more ice than Iceland; and, Iceland has more green than Greenland. The captain had promised some beautiful photo opportunities, provided of course that the weather allows us to navigate the sound; and, there are no rogue icebergs that block our passage. We learned that a sound is a waterway that has two (or more) openings to the open sea. The weather seemed to be threatening fog all night. Duncan had conceded that one of the disadvantages of having a cabin on the Navigation Deck is that you get ... read more
waterfall near beginning of sound
Mountain tops peaking thru the lower layer of fog
Rounded iceberg

North America » Greenland » South Greenland » Qaqortoq July 26th 2018

Today we are blessed with a sunny and clear day in Qaqortoq (cchhah-ka-tocchh). The “Q” is a sound that is supposed to be produced at the back of your throat, not dissimilar to the clicking sound some cultures use in their speech; but, which is foreign to most Americans. I could see the sun filtering in our stateroom window as I worked on the blog. I was enjoying one of my two dark chocolate candies left by our cabin steward. Our steward has been most generous on this leg of our journey, and has left milk chocolate only once. You see, Sharon gets the milk chocolate candies; while, I get the dark chocolate ones. I’m fully expecting Sharon to leave the cabin steward a note, something to the extent, “Please, no more Dark Chocolate.” But she ... read more
Bar with Entertainment at night in Qaqortoq
Some of the colorful houses in Qaqortoq
Rotterdam docked in Qaqortoq

North America » Greenland July 25th 2018

Our crossing towards Greenland took us across stormy icy seas. An iceberg was spotted and reported by the captain on our approach to Paamiut. Actually, the captain noted that this was our second (and final) approach to Paamiut. Initially, we had a spare two hours baked into our schedule due to our earlier than anticipated departure from Labrador. One look out of our stateroom window found the seas dancing unmercifully, and we had felt the ship rolling and yawing throughout the night. At dinner the previous evening it was apparent that the “Early Rush” had turned into a “Tardy Dribble”. One at our table reported that his wife was back in the cabin still trying to get her sea legs under her. Others were also preferring to remain in their cabin and the convenience of immediate ... read more
View in Fjord near Paamiut
Iceberg near Paamiut
View near Paamiut

North America » Greenland » South Greenland September 24th 2017

Next year we will practise havoc, In that green trench. The saws will yammer their nagging dirge, The donkeys will gather the corpses, The land will be hammered to stumps and ruin... Peter Trower, The Ridge Trees. Despite living in a treeless domain, I actually, somewhat like the trees and their branches that diminish the forever-wind and present us with squirrels. The southern tip of Greenland has trees. I’m not talking a daunting claustrophobic jungle that destroys all light that tries to penetrate the canopy, I’m talking a handful of trees, scattered about an otherwise treeless void. There are larches, spruces and pines living among the alders and birches! The landscape is green, the leaves are crisp and shiny, the late blooming flowers stand resplendent in colour, and there are no bears prowling, nor any squirrels ... read more
Drying Fish
Tasermiut Fjord
Diving

North America » Greenland » South Greenland August 31st 2017

Today we arrived at the southern shore of Greenland We entered the Prince Christian Sound about 10AM We will be cruising the sound all day. This is really a fjord that has been formed by glacial sculpting over millenia. The sides of the fjord are huge rock formations that bear the marks of the moving glacier that once filled this whole area. There were many small glaciers visible and waterfalls all along the way. Occasionally you could hear a small bit of ice calve off of the glacier. We passed one large glacier that had a small waterfall right at its edge. We continued on through the fjord and finallly came out at the southern end of Greenland. We sailed through the beautiful islands that are on the southern aspect of Greenland. We are going to ... read more
SEABORN SHIP AHEAD OF US IN THE FJORD
WATERFALL
DIVIDED WATERFALL

North America » Greenland » East Greenland June 27th 2017

Thinking of Greenland most people suppose there is only an ice sheet. Or melting ice at least. But Greenland is greener than that. Specially around Kangerlussuaq in West Greenland, just north of the polar circle. Linda, my son Robin and I made some beautiful hikes around this area this week. Kangerlussuaq Let's face it, Kangerlussuaq is ugly. No houses with Mediterranean colors embellished with pots of geraniums and hanging baskets with fuchsia's, no boutiques with the latest Gucci models, no cosy restaurants with candle light where you can eat your chateaubriands. On the contrary. The former US military basement is nothing more than a hotchpotch of iron utility buildings, containers and some wooden house blocks in bright blue and yellow. Pipes run throughout the settlement, coming from Lake Ferguson and supplying the settlement with water. Not ... read more
Kangerlussuaq
Alluvial quicksands near Kangerlussuaq
Fossil plain

North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat September 15th 2016

"People are not fond of thinking. Only reluctantly do we bother ourselves with what is hard to understand. Perhaps that’s why we know only so little about the beginnings of the sky, the earth, and of most animals. Perhaps or perhaps not. For most difficult of all is to understand how we ourselves came, and where we go on the day we no longer live. Over all beginning and ending, there is darkness." Apakak, in Ostermann 1952. A Few Days in Greenland… Our vessel took us across the raging Baffin Bay to the deeply cut, western shores of Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat as the Greenlanders prefer to call it). Due to unexpected weather earlier in the voyage, we arrived alongside the harbour in Ilulissat during dinner time. This meant we could get off the ship for an ... read more
Ice-choked
Disko Bay
The Icefjord

North America » Greenland » East Greenland October 1st 2015

It was early winter when we returned to Greenland... Haunting reflections filled the freezing bays and fresh snow was all around. It really was a mystical trip, with mysterious light! The newly formed sea ice crunched and cracked beneath the rubber keel as the outboard chewed its way through the frozen fjord. Carnage from collapsed glaciers littered the surface, weird formations floated on the crunchy sea, and topsy-turvy icebergs hovered in silence. This was our monumental platform as we cruised in close proximity to massive chunks of ice in the giant fjords. Being this close to massive chunks of ice is incredible. It's a rush, it's exhilarating and exciting! I love being in the Zodiacs, cruising the fjords and dodging icebergs in the narrow channels. I love the thrill of going into unknown territory in a ... read more
The Calm before the Storm
Like a Mirror
Reflections

North America » Greenland » East Greenland September 18th 2015

“Swans of weird shape pecked at our planks, a gondola steered by a giraffe ran foul of us, which amused a duck sitting on a crocodile’s head... All the strange, fantastic shapes rose and fell in stately cadence with a rustling, whispering sound and hollow echoes to the seas.” Frank Worsley, Captain of ‘Endurance’ - describing icebergs Anywhere in Greenland is 'out of the way', however, on this voyage we got to some very rarely visited places even more out of the way - even by Greenlandic standards! About a hundred and fifty miles from the open ocean, the mighty Daugard-Jensen Glacier spills stadium-sized icebergs into the vanishing depths of Nordvestfjord, a twisty finger of sea, that ends abruptly at Ingmikortilaq (the land that looks like an island). Getting to this part of Scoresby Sund is ... read more
Dryas on Ella Island
Arctic Willow
Botanikerbugt

North America » Greenland » East Greenland » Kulusuk August 21st 2015

The day started with a quick taxi ride to the Reykjavik domestic terminal, which is located very close to the city centre. It was interesting that we departed from the Domestic Terminal although we were changing countries and having to present our passports however as I am on holiday it dosn't pay to think too much about "why" things are the way they are and just go with the flow. The flight was due to depart at 10:15am and we got away on time in a twin propeller aircraft - its been a while since I have been in one of them. The flight was around one hour and forty minutes and as we approached Greenland was when the excitement really started, as looking out the window of the aircraft there were already icebergs floating in ... read more
Taking off over Reykjavik city.
The first signs of icebergs from the aircraft
Then the ice bergs got bigger.




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