Sisimiut

The sun broke out of the clouds this morning to welcome us to the small harbour in Sisimiut. The air was fresh and brisk today with new snow on the mountain tops and hillsides. The warming rays of the sun were most welcome.

Sisimiut is the second largest city in Greenland with almost 6,000 people. This region has been inhabited for approximately 4,500 years. It is also 75km north of the Arctic Circle making Sisimiut part of "the real Greenland" according to some local Greenlanders.

It was a beautiful day to go on a boat excursion or on one of the historic hikes on offer from the Fram. In the second photo you can see grassy hummocks which are the remains of habitations from 1650 to approximately 1800.

In the third photo the pile of rocks in the lower left corner are an ancient grave. It was possible to look between the rocks and see old human bones inside the grave.



Immediately outside of the dock there was a group of five or six Greenlanders selling whale meat on the side of the road. It was another reminder of the importance of subsistence hunting and fishing for the local population.

Itilleq

We arrived at our last port of call in our amazing journey of West Greenland around 1pm. Once on shore we were invited into people's homes for kaffemik - a chance to have coffee and cakes and to socialze with the locals. This afforded us a great opportunity to talk to the people of Itilleq and gain insight as to what life in an isolated Greenlandic community is really like.

Many of us wandered by the cemetery and to a scenic lookout where we could see the entire village and the Fram anchored nearby.

The weekly soccer game of Itilleq versus Team Fram was an extra spirited match today. Not only did Team Fram lose once again but we suffered a couple of injuries with our players hobbling back to the ship!

We said goodbye to Itilleq at about 17:00 and set our course for Kangerlusuuaq. As we got under way a very heavy sea fog set in. During the Captain's dinner visibility was reduced to less than 100 metres. But the fog didn't last and we ended our day with a beautiful scenic cruise up Kangerlusuuaq Fjord

Uummannaq and Ukkusissat

We're glad to be in Uummannaq right now. In June. It's daylight. At home we take daytime and nighttime for granted. Not so here. From May until July there is 24 hours of daylight. The sun doesn't dip below the horizon for 2 months of every year. Come back in December and you won't see the sun until February. Well, not only is it daylight but it is another warm sunny day.
A perfect day to go to The Desert. The boat ride to the desert was magical. We slalomed around hundreds of icebergs on glass calm water. The sea cast near perfect reflections of the ice and landscape creating photo opportunities not to be missed.
The desert is an incredible region. Minerals high in sulphur and iron create a rocky landscape rich in red and yellow tones providing more stellar photo ops.

In Uummannaq there were plenty of things for us to do; a trip to the small but excellent museum, earthen huts, a unique church, lunch at hotel Uummannaq, a short walk up to a scenic lookout in mid-town and a challenging hike to Santa's house with great views of Hjertefjeldet mountain and surrounding landscape.
Phew! And that was only half of our day! At 16:30 we weighed anchor and turned the bow towards Ukkusissat. The village is small but the people are big in heart. Once again we welcomed the people from Ukkusissat on board the Fram. In the Observation lounge we were entertained with songs and dances. Afterwards we all went on shore and explored Ukkusissat on a near perfect summer evening. It wasn't until 23:30 that we were all back on board the Fram and heading towards our next adventure:
Eqip Sermia.

Qeqertarsuaq

It is always really wonderful to see our first icebergs as we approach Qeqertarsuaq. Shortly before 9am we were anchored and ready to begin Polar Cirkle boat operations. Once whaling was the number one source of income. Indeed - one must walk under two giant jaw bones from a bowhead whale as you leave the dock to go on shore.

As we set out on our hike through town to the Valley of the Winds, the skies were dull and overcast, threatening rain. On the outskirts of town lies a beautiful beach with a magnificent view of hundreds of icebergs. The dark sandy beach was covered in lots of brash ice and bergy bits providing really amazing photo opportunities.

The rolling landscape of the Valley of the winds was covered in wild flowers. Some of the flowers from last week were starting to fade and new varieties were appearing. Upon arrival at the beautiful waterfall there was a light mist falling but we could see in the distance that blue skies were on the way.
As you can see in the photos, the hike ended in glorious sunshine!

Back on the ship we attended informative lectures from Axel, Andy, Jean Louis and Anne.

Ilulissat

Ilulissat means icebergs in Greenlandic. Today Ilulissat lived up to its name. It became clear very early that our Polar Cirkle boats were not going to be able to reliably operate in the very dense icepack that stretched all the way from the ship to the town of Ilulissat. At first we couldn't get enough ice and now we have too much ice!

The excursions to Holmsbakke and the boat trips to Ice Fjord were able to depart fairly close to schedule as we relied on our much larger tour operator's boats. We also hired a sturdy local boat and skipper to act as a tender from the Fram to shore. The tender trip took about 40 minutes one way.

The tender ride from the ship to the harbour of Ilulissat was fantastic as we weaved through thousands of icebergs and ice floes. Once again we were lucky with the weather - blue sunny skies all day long!Eventually everyone got into Ilulissat and the hike to Sermermiut set off shortly after 3pm.
The hike to Sermermiut terminated with an incredible view of densely packed icebergs as far as the eye could see.