Qeqertarsuaq

Walking around Qeqertarsuaq one of the first things you notice are the bright colours of the houses and various other buildings. The official government buildings are actually colour coded. Water and electricity buildings are always blue. Hospitals are yellow. Administrative buildings (including schools) are red. And the houses? The houses seem to be just about every colour in the rainbow!
Once again our morning started off cloudy but the skies turned to brilliant sunshine by noon. Weatherwise, today was a carbon copy of our visit here one week ago. A perfect day for a hike in the The Valley of the Winds.

By 16:00 everyone was back on the ship. We lifted anchor and headed into the sheltered waters of Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko Bay in English).

Many people headed to the lecture halls for informative talks by Axel, Jean Louis and Andy in German, French and English respectively. Later, in the early evening it was time to bask in the glorious sunshine and join the Expedition Team on the bow deck to look for wildlife and admire the hundreds of icebergs. At times it seemed there was a conveyor belt of ice going by the ship.

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.

Kangerlussuaq

Kangerlussuaq the town, has the same name as Kangerlussuaq the fjord, upon which it is situated. The name is almost as long as the 185km long fjord.
Our plane touched down at 15:30 at the former American military base built during WWII and which was known as Bluie West Eight. Now the base belongs to Denmark and is a fairly busy international airport.
After a short 15 minute bus ride we arrived at the head of the fjord where the MS Fram lay at anchor. After a quick introduction to donning life jackets and Polar Cirkle boat procedures, we were whisked to the ship.
At 20:30 we had a compulsory safety drill which was followed by an introduction to the Captain and other officers of the ship and the Expediton Team.
It was a long day for us but sailing out Kangerlussuaq Fjord on calm seas was a spectacular way to end our day and to begin our journey in Greenland.

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

Ilulissat

In Ilulissat there is something for everyone. Restaurants, gift shops, cafes, helicopter excursions to the glacier Sermeq Kujalleq, boat trips to Ice Fjord and hikes to Sermermiut.
Despite the rain that fell around mid-day everyone got out on their excursions.

The views at Sermermiut were spectacular. A river of ice stretched as far as the eye could see. Sermec Kujalleq glaciar moves 19 metres a day. Witnessing all of the ice at Sermermiut it seemed more like the glaciar had moved 19 kilometres!

By 6:30 we were all back aboard the Fram. There were still lots of activities planned on board the ship. A charity auction and the crew show.
Tomorrow’s destination: Itilleq

Equip Sermia

What are some of your favourite things to do? Cruising by miles of icebergs on perfectly calm seas certainly ranks high on my list. That was much of our day today as we sailed towards Eqip Sermia.

When we weren't outside "oo-ing" and "ah-h-ing" over the ice, we were inside attending lectures and presentations running throughout the day in French, English, German and Danish.

At last we arrived at Eqip Sermia. Whoa. It is a beautiful, heavily serraced, blue glacier that calves on a regular basis. We quickly deployed the polar Cirkle boats and soon everyone was on shore. Some people chose to hike up the mountain. Others chose to just sit and comtemplate the ice. Rumbling white thunder - the sounds of a moving, cracking, calving glaciar are a constant background to our shoreside activities. Brash ice is abundant where Eqip Sermia meets the sea and yet we see no falling ice. The sound waves wander over to us too slowly. If you search for the calving ice after you hear it - you're bound to have already missed the action.

Back on the ship there was a truly delicious barbeque waiting for us. An excellent way to finish a wonderful day.

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.

Sisimiut

Our day started at 3:30... sort of. Winds had been forecast for a Force 10 storm. At 3:30 in the morning we left the shelter of Kangerlussuaq Fjord and entered open water. Suddenly things began to go bump in the night and what was on the desk top was now under the desk, under the bed and generally well distributed about the floor of the cabin. After about an hour of rocking about, the Fram's course changed enabling us to take the seas in a much more favourable fashion and to be rocked gently back to sleep.
Later on, our morning was filled with AECO (The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators) presentations regarding the guidelines for visitors to the Arctic.

We arrived at Sisimiut at 11am. The winds had abated inside the sheltered harbour but were still blowing strong just off shore. Unfortunately this meant that the seas were too rough for our optional boat excursions to the abandoned town of Assaqutaq. Still, there were lots of things to do in town such as visiting the excellent museum, and spending our money in the various shops including the excellent craft workshop by the harbour.

Many of us joined the historical walking tour to Tele Island. The weather was excellent for hiking – cool and overcast. One of the very interesting highlights of the tour was two very old graves. The dead were often positioned sitting overlooking the sea and then covered over with stones. It was an eerie feeling to peer between the stones and see human remains.

Walking around the harbour and in town it was plain to see that whale hunting is still very much an important part of the Greenlandic culture and lifestyle. Many of the larger boats have high-powered harpoons mounted on the bow. In the photo you can see the harpoon loosely wrapped in canvas of the boat G.7-190. In the shops there are many crafts made of baleen and narwhal tusks. In the grocery stores and meat/fish markets you can purchase fresh whale meat.

Just before departing the key we were treated to an extraordianry display of kayaking prowess. Kungunnguaq, a former kayaking champion of Greenland, could even paddle with his kayak upside down!

Kangerlussuaq

Greenland! We finally made it. Our plane touched down at the Kangerlussuaq airport at 15:30. We were warmly greeted by the Expedition Team and shown to the buses. A short but very scenic fifteen minute ride through the rocky landscape of the fjord brought us to the dock. And there before us floated our new home for the next week, the MV Fram.

On the bus ride we learned that Kangerlussuaq started out as an American military base in 1941. It was later sold to Denmark, as is, for the sum total of one dollar. Today Kangerlussuaq’s raison d’être is the airport and a growing tourism industry. The Greenlandic translation of Kangerlussuaq is "Long Fjord". At 170km it is the longest fjord in Greenland.

Our first challenge of the trip was trying to figure out the straps on the life jackets whilst dodging hungry mosquitoes. Before long we boarded the Polar Cirkle boats and had a short exhilarating ride to the ship. Upon arrival to the Fram we were checked in and escorted to our cabins.

At 20:30 we were directed to our muster stations for a compulsory safety drill. At 21:00 in the Observation Lounge on deck seven we were welcomed to the Fram by the Captain and introduced to the other officers and the Expedition Team.

Our first challenge of the trip was trying to figure out the life jackets whilst dodging hungry mosquitoes. Soon enough though, we were safely on the ship and escorted to the comfort of our cabins.

At 20:30 we were directed to our muster stations for a compulsory safety drill and then at 21:00 we were welcomed to the Fram by the Captain and introduced to the other officers and the Expedition Team.

Itilleq

We've become a bit spoiled. We have had near perfect weather all week. Perhaps unusual for this time of year in West Greenland. This morning it was a change to wake up to grey skies and rolling seas as we headed to our final destination - the small community of Itilleq.

While Itilleq is small in size with only 123 inhabitants, they are big in hospitality. We were all invited right into their homes for coffee and cake. The coffee was the ubiquitous "Greenlandic Arabic" and the cake was delicious with about the same specific gravity as lead. It was a nice intimate experience with very gracious and hospitable people.

After coffee we headed to the soccer pitch for our weekly match of Team Fram VS Itilleq. To start the game the Fram team was comprised of the Expedition Staff and a few passengers. Twenty minutes into the very spirited game Team Fram had many "substitutes" on the field - with no one going off! It seemed like each team had about twenty players a side. What fun!

No one was keeping close watch on the score but we decided the final outcome was probably Itilleq 6. Team Fram 5.

At 4:30 the last boat left shore in order to get us beack to the ship on time for the Charity Auction and Captain's dinner.

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.

Eqip Sermia

How could we possibly have a better day for scenic cruising on our way to the glaciar Eqip Sermia? Impossible! For much of the day the skies were blue and the sea was like a mirror with near perfect reflections of icebergs and the surrounding majestic mountains.
Throughout the day we enjoyed more informative lectures from Andy Axel and ilja.
At 14:30 we had a surprise visitor. King Neptune showed up to baptise those of us that had crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time. Catrine ended up with the entire bucket of ice water dumped on her head!

Just before 6pm we arrived at the glaciar. The Polar Cirkle boats took many loads of food, dishes, large barbeques - in short everything you need for a barbeque pinic on the beach. Well not quite on the beach as once again we kept to slightly higher ground. There is the everpresent danger of calving glaciars inducing large waves capable of washing high up the beach. Soon everyone was happily munching on steaks, burgers and salads while the mosquitoes were enjoying their own feast.

The scenery was jaw dropping beautiful with ice bergs and bergy bits everywhere. We capped off the day with a fruit and ice carving demonstation in the Observation Lounge.

Uummannaq and Ukkusissat

The first groups off the Fram this morning were those people that chose to go to The Desert, just a short boat ride outside of Uummannaq. The austere beauty of this rocky landscape certainly felt otherworldly.

June 21st is National Day in Greenlandand. It is a holiday in all towns and settlements and cause for a national festival. In the morning it was a treat for us to wander about town and see local people in traditional dress, to listen to morning songs and watch displays of kayaking skills.

After lunch many of us went on a hike to Santa’s Hut. This hike was a little more strenuous than our previous forays into the Greenlandic wilderness. Our efforts were rewarded when we arrived at Santa’s Hut. Waiting for us was our Expedition Leader Anja Erdmann with hot coffee and hot chocolate for everyone! The hot drinks had been delivered by our Polar Cirkle boats.

At 4:30 we weighed anchor and headed to Ukkusissat where we had been invited to the town hall to join in the celebrations for National Day. However it was cold and overcast - threatening rain, so we invited the local people to the Fram where we were treated to a delightful show of singing and dancing in the Observation Lounge.

After the event in the Observation Lounge we went ashore and explored Ukkusissat. There was more music in the town hall and lots of local food for us to sample including halibut soup and seal meat. There was an explosion of colourful fireworks shortly before the last Polar Cirkle boat left shore at 11pm. What a full day. What a great day!!