A beautiful summer day at Camp Frieda

Well we are almost at the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere- 21 June. And depending upon where you live it is either close to mid-summer or the close to the first day of summer. Regardless, today felt like summer whether it is officially here or not.

In the morning we landing at Camp Frieda and here is the quick story of the name. Hi, I am Frieda, and it is the story about my camp. I am a Geographer and during my study and also later on I was the member and leader of several expeditions here in Greenland. Our base camp was always next to Saqqaq at the southern coast of the Nussuaq Peninsula. For some years we have used the valley where I had my base camp as a very special landing for our passengers on board FRAM. When we did so the first time, we had to let Aasiaat Radio know where we wanted to go ashore (we have to inform them always). The captain tried to let them know, that there is no name for this special place. But Aasiaat Radio needed one. So our captain told them, that we here on board call this place after an expedition team member that spent more than one year in "Camp Frieda". And, here we go. Aasiaat Radio was just OK with this name and now I have my "own" place her in Greenland: Camp Frieda.

Always, when I have the possibility to be in "my camp" I feel very emotional, who wonders? But I am especially happy when I see how our guests enjoy the stay in this wonderful valley. When I can see the glow in their eyes when they are walking through the tundra, when they take their time to sit on a rock, covered with black lichens to enjoy the scenery with the glacier in the valley and the icebergs just in front of it, and the smell of warm soil and vegetation. When I see their faces after an ice cruising or a kayak tour between the icebergs, yes, then I am more than happy too. Oh what an amazing job I have, it is wonderful to work as Geographer specialising in Polar regions on board MV FRAM.

Of the beach, a pair of Long-tailed Ducks relaxed in the calm water and hot sun. Plants such as the Wintergreen were just starting to bloom.

A pair of Long-tailed Ducks

Wintergreen just starting to flower at Camp Frieda

The glacier behind Camp Frieda

The ice was so beautiful around Camp Frieda that we took our two big Polarcirkel boats out for a cruise to learn about ice in all its facets- how it is formed, why it is often blue or green, the difference between glacial and sea ice, and many other topics.

All our guests also had a chance to cruise amongst the ice in our smaller Polarcirkel boats after lunch. We just couldn't get enough of this amazing day! And it got more amazing when we enjoyed out famous Crew Show tonight on deck 7, hosted by the fabulous, the marvellous, the wonderful Frieda herself!

The Fram becomes an icebreaker today!

At about 04:00h this morning we reached the ice edge on our way to Uummannaq, a small island south of where we were yesterday. Ice charts that we had studied showed a large amount of sea ice in the area and we were quite unsure if we would be able to penetrate it and make Uummannaq. As it turned out the ice was single-year ice from last winter and it was "rotten". "Rotten" ice is water-logged and on its way to becoming water. This softer ice allowed us to break 10 nautical miles of the stuff, even though the Fram is not an ice breaker!

Conditions continued to be calm today. We arrived at Uummannaq at around 0700h to a beautiful morning, and spent the next hour using Fram's bow thrusters to spin the ship around and break up the ice off the harbour. This made enough open water to allow our Polarcirkel boats to make the trip from the boat to shore. At 09:00h we landed and had most of the day to explore the very interesting town of Uummannaq.

Almost everywhere you looked the giant mountain behind the town, itself called Uummannaq dominated the scene. In the morning we explored the museum, colonial buildings, and turf houses in the centre of town. After lunch, some of us went for a hike along the Uummannaq mountain in the direction of Santa's hut. Santa's hut was built for a children's TV show in Denmark and is known by all kids over there. For us the hut was only the aim. The walk itself was more important for us. The view over the sea with all the icebergs and the just flowering vegetation will be unforgettable for us.

Others made an ice cruise in one of our new, large Polarcirkel boats. During that trip we came close to Qilakitsoq, where in 1972, two Greenlandic hunters discovered several mummified bodies "buried" in a small cave. We felt sorry, but the frozen little bay in front of Qilakitsok did not give us the chance for a landing. But we got a very good view over the area where Inuits were living since the Saqqaq culture. Dating of the mummies showed that they were placed in the cave in the early 1400s! The mummies were beautifully preserved and have been much studied. The grown-up women had tattooed faces (as shown by infra-red photography) and their clothing gave a very accurate view of Inuit people wore back then. The mummies have been conserved by museum specialists and can be found in the fabulous National Museum in the capital Nuuk.

Finally, from the night before here are a few images from our famous ice and fruit carving show. There's a lot of pride in those faces!

A snapshot of life in Greenland

Our last evening ended with a very special art exhibition done by nature as wonderful icebergs in different shapes and in pastel colours - created by the midnight sun - were passing by our windows in a sea that looked nearly like a mirror as we had no wind. A very special evening that we will never forget in our life.

In the early morning we reached our northernmost point on our journey: Upernavik. The sun was shining from a clear blue sky when we anchored and resonated with the meaning of the name of today's destination. 'Upernaaq' means spring and "Upernavik" means the place to be in spring. The fog is as much a part of spring in Greenland as is the sun and later in the morning the fog came down from the mountains surrounding Upernavik and finally reached the water just as we were departing in the afternoon.

Not only the weather but also the inhabitants of Upernavik welcomed us today as a cultural event including the local choir singing a number of Greenlandic songs and dancing Kalattuut, a Greenlandic folk dance tradition inspired by European folk dance (Polka etc.)  

Today is election day in Greenland, but neither for the municipal councils nor for the Greenland Parliament (Inatsisartut). The votes that are cast in Greenland today are for the two Greenlandic seats in the Danish Parliament (Folketing). The change of the Danish constitution in 1953 implied among other things that both Greenland and the Faeroe Islands became part of the Danish Kingdom with the right to be represented in the Danish Parliament by two members each. The two Greenlandic members of the Danish Parliament will be elected by the, roughly, 42,000 voters in Greenland among 14 candidates from the five Greenlandic parties.

Many passengers went into a little house where two Greenlanders had their handicraft workshop. We felt so sorry that we could not choose everything to bring with us home as many works of art were produced out of Walrus Ivory and we are not allowed to bring this to Europe or to North America. 

Tupilak: Today art, in the past used to carry a message to another person

In the museum in the old colonial part of Upernavik we received lots of information about the historical time in this northern part of Greenland. We have to say, we did not expect such a good museum in a small city so far away from everything.

On our stroll through the city we got a very good impression about the life in North Greenland. Everything looked different when we compare it with the towns we visited in the Disko Bay before. Here we could see that hunting is still a very important part of their economy. Have a look at our snapshots we have made during our stay in Upernavik and you will hopefully understand what we mean.

The National Costume hanging in the fresh air. 

Tomatoes are expensive in the super market; here they grow perfect behind the window.

After a successful day of seal hunting 

The Polar bear, the "King of the Arctic" hunted by a Greenlandic hunter

Hurrah: The last school day before the long summer holidays

On a visit in a ghost town

After our last ice cruise with our comfortable Polarcirkel Boats yesterday evening in the wonderful and golden midnight sun, we sailed north through the Vaigat Strait where we planned a visit in Qullissat, an abandoned coal mining settlement in the NE of Disco Island. We landed in calm but cloudy conditions but over the morning we were there, the sun started to break through.

Qullissat was not a traditional Greenlandic settlement. Those were usually centred on good hunting and fishing areas with easy access to the sea. Qullissat was founded in 1924 as a mining settlement around extensive coal deposits. By 1965, the mining population including managers, workers and children numbered 1407 making it the third largest settlement in Greenland at that time! The mine was closed by the Danish government in 1972 due to unprofitability, this despite the fact that an estimated 100 million tonnes of coal were left in the ground in the general area. After closing the inhabitants, were forced to leave rather quickly and dispersed over the adjacent coastlines of Greenland.

Although the theme of the landing was the "ghost town", there was a lot of birds and most importantly, flowering plants to see. The lack of snow in the area suggested a warmer micro-climate and this was reflected in the several species of flowering plants that were seen.

Woolly Lousewort

Purple Saxifrage

We were thrilled to see Canada's gift to the world, the Canada Goose! Several were feeding above the shoreline.

Several of us were also lucky to see a very tame Arctic Hare.

Qasigiannguit

Today we remained in the Disko Island area. Overnight we circumnavigated half the island and ended up this morning in the town of Qasigiannguit. As with most towns and settlements in Greenland there is a long pre-history of use of the area by ancient native cultures. In "modern" times, the present settlement was founded as a trading post in the 1700s. Economically important activities today are fishing and growing tourism.

Although the skies were cloudy and some fog hung around, our spirits were not dampened as we ventured forth into the town- and what a fascinating place! Along the roadside, some Greenlandic dogs were lazing around. One female had a litter of pups, about 14 days old. They were totally adorable and seemed to be at home in the cool, outdoor conditions. From the very beginning of life, Greenland dogs have to get used to the cold!

Farther down the road we came to several old colonial buildings that formed the museum complex. The various stages of immigrations of Inuit peoples from Siberia through Alaska and Canada to Greenland were very nicely presented, as well as traditional clothing, local birds and many other topics.

On the way we saw many Snow Buntings, Lapland Buntings and Common Redpolls, like this male below.

In the afternoon, we had two taste-treats. On deck 7 the local Royal Greenland fish plant presented a tasting of the totally toothsome Greenland Halibut. It was amazing to taste the fresh fish prepared in different dishes. We got even a very nice and informative talk done by one of the managers of the fish factory. He was open for all our questions and now we feel like fish specialists. In town, a Kaffemik of coffee and traditional cakes was hosted by the Kindergarten Kulunnguaq in celebration of its 35th anniversary.

In the evening we cruised by the iceberg field off Ilulissat. The light was golden, the air was calm and there was a perfume in the air made by the plants of the sea. The massive icebergs stuck along an undersea ridge towered above the water. Some very blue ones floated by.

Some lucky guests were able to take a Polarcirkel boat cruise in amongst the ice!