Higher than ever

We all associate North with "Up" and South with "Down", so up we go, as high as many have never been before. Already in the morning we crossed 70 degrees North, that is about 590 kilometers north of the Polar Circle. After spotting two Fin Whales in the morning we dropped anchor under a cloudless sky, a short boat ride away from Uummannaq, the island that features that peculiar mountain with the big dent on top. Certainly a landmark, and hence the name - roughly translated from Greenlandic it means "Live up", reflecting the relief of the ancient paddlers when they came across a known place and thus weren't off track.

The huge fjords were the Inuit's hunting grounds for centuries, many remains can be found. One of the most remarkable locations is without doubt the tiny post-medieval settlement of Qilakitsoq, where in 1972 seal hunters discovered a cave with the mummies of six women and two children, all extremely well preserved. Only in the 80s the significance of the find was understood and the bodies were subsequently recovered.

All this we learn on a combined History Landing & Ice Ride in the morning, offering insights in Paleo-Eskimo times and great views on huge icebergs. In the meantime the hike to the well-known hut of Santa Claus on the far side of the village gets on its way; the Old Man, however, is not home. Well, definitely worthwhile anyway.

This wasn't it: Still further north we ride after lunch, until the early evening light finds us in Ukussissat, minute little settlement surrounded by the mountains as cragged as it gets. FRAM entertains very friendly relations to this place, and so the villagers, as usual, come aboard to show us their song and dance, and soon the observation lounge is swarming with curious kids who welcome the opportunity to grab a coke and have fun.

Swarming, too, is the landing site where most of us go ashore afterwards - but this time of fish, a LOT of it.

And as the sun goes down (but not all the way, of course) the bed is made for some - out on deck, for a unique sleeping experience in the open air, whilst FRAM is turning south again.

Of Plans and Nature

No, I do not mean planTs and Nature. This is about the power of the wilderness that surrounds us and about us smiling gracefully at our own insignificance.
Blue were the skies and the seas as we pulled into the bay of Qeqertarsuaq this morning. Gargantuan icebergs were lined up on either side, like huge white sentinels. Perfect!
So everybody was looking forward to the activities of the day, like the hikes into the valley of the winds (where Friederike was posted with her enormous shovel to explain the tundra vegetation) or the exciting boat ride among the big cold monuments that gather in front of Qeqertarsuaq beach.
Just when everybody was about to get ready to hop in the boats, a thin white fuzzy line appeared out at sea, getting bigger, higher and fuzzier by the minute. And only moments later everything was totally enshrouded in the Arctic fog that came with unbelievable swiftness. OK, that means standby, see what happens. But the mist just went from dense to thick, so the ice cruises had to be cancelled, much to the woe of guests, drivers and expedition team alike.

But then again - this is it, this is the moment of surprise that makes this voyage an expedition, not a mere cruise. Nature will always prevail, and it should, that's a principal lesson to be learned out in the Wild. 

And hey, look at all the beauty - the subtle contours of the bergs that are around, how they gently appear, only to wane a few instants later. The Kayakers gave it a go, but they had to stay in the close neighborhood of FRAM. However, those who changed plans to join the hike into the valley was surprised that there, where the glacier stream creates a breeze that blows out the mist, the blue skies came back upon the instant. A channel of visibility, in the middle of this foggy world. So shall we rename the Valley of the Winds in Valley of Clarity…?
The on-board activities were not affected by this at all, so in the afternoon lectures were enjoyed, and many a giggle was heard when officers and staff changed into fashion models in the evening, well -  with a few extras, maybe.

See Sisimiut...

First of all you can see on the map that we have crossed the Polar Circle - southbound. But not by much, tomorrow we will gain latitude again. The fun part is that in this place Polar Circle and Equator are close to each other - but only if it comes to dogs: North of Sisimiut the Greenlandic dog is the only one permitted, for the sake of this powerful, resistant race remaining as pure as possible. 

But this is one of the rather invisible attractions of Sisimiut; the others are hard to miss: When we sail in from the hazy seas in the morning, the fog lifts and reveals the stunning beauty of the mountains that rise around this place as if to protect it. And indeed that was why people settled here in the very early times, the natural harbor offers perfect shelter against the Arctic seas.
We have the honor to moor at the brand-new pier, only finished a couple of weeks ago. From there the various groups disperse, having a city walk or even a bus (!) tour in town. Quite a large fraction assembles to tackle Palaassip Qaqqa, one of the higher mountains in the surroundings. So this blog - for once - is not about old buildings or Inuit Kayakers, but about one of the finest hikes Greenland has to offer.

At the foot of the mountain we set out to first traverse the low shrubs that are so typical for the Greenland tundra. They are criss-crossed with little meltwater streamlets, coming down from the many lakes higher up. This makes a fine drink of the purest water you can imagine.
Then the climb begins, revealing a new perspective at every corner. The mosquitoes are happy to be with us, but a gentle breeze prevents us from being eaten alive.

Higher and higher we go, until finally we reach the crest that eventually leads to the summit. And the weather is just unbelievably good. So, in spite of the demanding terrain that even ate some of the hiking boot's soles away, we have a very, VERY happy group of hikers on top of Palaasip Qaqqa, looking down on "The Place with the Foxholes" - Sisimiut. 

A small step for a man...

...and you are in Greenland!
After a splendid approach over the Søndre Strømfjord, second largest Fjord in the world the Airbus of Greenland Air touched down on the former military runway of Kangerlussuaq.

And then it meant putting the foot on Greenlandic - tarmac. But just moments later, since there are no immigration formalities to be done, we step out into a bright sunny day, get on the old charming busses that bring us to the pier. Already these first 14 kilometers give an impression of what awaits: A wilderness of uncompelled beauty. The rocks may be barren, but they are smooth, showing traces of glacier polish, the colors are mild but distinct, the land is wide but inviting. Greenland.
From the pier it is only a short shuttle ride in the Polar Cirkel  Boats until we reach MV FRAM, which is gently rocking in the turquoise waters of the Fjord.

Now it's time to settle in, check-in, moving into the cabin, getting acquainted with the ship, first dinner, receiving of the luggage (which arrives by barge), and the welcome cocktail on deck 7, where captain Benny Didriksen extends his welcome to the very international crowd, before officers and Expedition Team are presented .
It was a looooong day for everybody, so we keep all this as short as possible.

From tomorrow on we are exploring Greenland. What a thought to have when going to sleep!

Listen to our Trainee, please.

Today our landing was in Itilleq. After a night/morning with rough sea, we arrived around 13:00 hours in the small village. The trip with the Polar Cirkel boats was a bit wet, but we made it and went ashore. Here the locals had arranged Kaffemik for us all around the village. Kaffemik is a Greenlandic tradition where cake, coffee and tea are served at events such as birthdays, weddings and so on.  

During the afternoon a football match was played by the MV FRAM staff/guests and the locals from Itilleq. Even though it was windy, wet and cold, our team won! First time this season! The score ended at 9-8 to the MV FRAM team, very nice. J

Back onboard, we spent some time in the Observation Lounge, the Captains farewell cocktail and our auction for the benefit of Greenlandic children was held there. A nice goodbye to the amazing people we have been traveling with for the past week, I always think it is sad to say goodbye.





My name is Majken Anning Andreassen, I have been a trainee onboard since the end of May and my internship will end in the middle of July. I am from Tasiilaq on the east coast of Greenland, but I study a tourism management education in Qaqortoq, Southgreenland.

Majken, sitting in the boat, on her way to Itilleq

So far I have loved (almost) every second of my time here. This is my first time on a ship, and my stomach has apparently still not gotten use to the rough seas. So the seasickness is the only negative thing during my time here.



We join Greenland's National Day

June 21 is not only the longest day but also Greenland’s national day. The weather was excellent: the sun was shining most of the day and the wind was just strong enough to keep the mosquitoes away. It was thus an excellent frame for visiting the Ilulissat Ice Fiord (since 2004 a UNESCO world Heritage site) and celebrating the national day.

The Fram guests were informed about the significance of the day to Greenland and the Greenlanders and already from you entered the restaurant you were aware that it was a special day as Greenlandic flags decorated the room.

During the day the Fram guests celebrated the national day in Ilulissat. The activities ranged from kayak performance and traditional dancing to songs by a local choir and an open air concert.

Many guests took the opportunity to combine participation in these activities with hiking to Sermermiut or Holms Bakke or they enjoyed the spectacular Ilulissat Ice Fiord by boat.

In the evening the Observation Lounge was decorated with Greenlandic flags and a flag made out of marzipan was covering a huge layer cake. A highlight was a presentation of the Greenlandic drum dance tradition and a mask dance performance.

Camp Frieda – Plan A turned in to an A+ Plan B

Per definition an expedition cruise can at any day during the cruise change from plan A to plan B or even plan C. And this is exactly what happened today. Due to the ice conditions in the narrow sound on the way to Eqip Sermia we had to change to plan B.

We tried to make a baptism to please King Neptune but it did'nt help on the ice situation...

First we had a very nice ice cruise among the icebergs in our PolarCirkle boats. It was as always very overwhelming to see the icebergs up-close. The icebergs come in infinite shapes and people in Greenland like to say that the Disco Bay is the World’s largest sculpture park.

After a good lunch we took off to the southern shoreline of the Nuussuaq peninsula. A few kilometers next to the settlement of Saqqaq our Expedition team member Friederike spent here four summer seasons of field work for the Ruhr-University in 1979,1982,1985 and 1994. For years she has told about the beauty of the place and finally we had a chance to go there.

Down by the shoreline Friederike told about her adventures here and of the many flowers that had just started to bloom these days. And now, after so many years this place is even officinal called after her as camp Frieda.

Some of us had a very good and quite a long hike towards a glacier at the end of the lush valley. It was a fairly easy hike we walked along the river that came from the melting glacier. We saw several reindeer droppings, but at this time of the year the reindeer stay up in the highlands away from the summer heat and mosquitos.

In the evening when all were well back onboard we were back on schedule and had a thrilling show with ice and fruit carving in the observation lounge.

Uummannaq and Ukkussisat - here we are again!

In the early morning we arrived in Uummannaq. The “Heart Mountain” was clearly seen under a very blue sky. The fjords have been filled with lots of icebergs in various amazing shapes, just the best conditions for our ice cruising and our trip to the historical settlement of Qilakitsoq. Here they found in the 1970^th eight mummies, six women and two babies. They are the oldest and best preserved human remains out of the Thule Culture in the whole Arctic. You can see the mummies in the National Museum in Nuuk now.

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

Other guests explored the nice city by themselves or joined a talk with a native fisherman and hunter. Those they wanted to stretch their legs went on a hike to the Christmas hut.

In the evening we met our friends in Ukkussisat again. They were waiting for us already at the pier, ready to come on board FRAM to sing and dance for us and with us.  Later on we explored the little village. A nice “Kaffemik” was even prepared for us in the community house.

The surroundings of Ukkussisat have been perfect for kayaking too. It was nice to see our yellow and red kayaks gliding through the water in the evening sun.