Nature and wildlife in Disco island

The sea is very calm and allows the Fram to sail into the sheltered Bay of Qeqertarsuaq.

The weather is nearly perfect. We can enjoy a sunny sky with some stripes of high icy clouds. These perfect conditions continue the whole day.

All our activities can be done under this nice weather conditions.

The Fram set anchor at 8.30 am and soon after the group for a hike to Blæsedalen starts followed by a smaller group of people interested in a City Walk in Qeqertarsuaq.

After that a group of 21 passengers sat down in two big Polar Circle Boat for an Ice and Whaling Cruise in the waters around Qeqertarsuaq.

Huge Icebergs most of them coming from the other side of the Disco Bay originating from the very active Ilulissat Glacier are stranded in the shallow waters around Disco Island. Our Polar Circle Boats can go quite close to them and all participants have the opportunity for a nice iceberg photo.

Luckily also some whales appear and feed upon small silvery fishes. Hundreds of photos are taken as the whales coming very close to the boats.

The afternoon group is lucky as well and encounters the same perfect conditions.

Also the afternoon hikers to Blæsdalen and the group for the hike to the Basaltic rocks at the steep cliffs of south east coast of Disco Island profit from the nice sunny weather and can enjoy the grand scenery of the volcanic rocks together with the beginning of the blooming of the beautiful tundra flowers.

At 17.30 everybody is back on board the Fram as we plan to set sail at 18.00 to our next destination Qasigiannguit. The weather and the situation are favourable to stay longer as Qasigiannguit is close by. We set sail at 19.00 and when we are outside the Bay of Qeqertarsuaq we saw again some whales and decide to make another Ice and Whale Cruising.

The captain sails very close to the steep cliffs east of Qeqertarsuaq and we can see the suite of basaltic rocks building up the cliffs. Some of the whales come close to the ship and we observe them from the outer decks.

The Ice and Whale Cruising comes to an end at 22.00 and we set sail for Qasigiannguit.

Arctic Circle and baptism in Sisimiut

In the morning the Fram was still on her way to Sisimiut. The weather changed. It is now overcast sometimes a little bit of rain and quite colder than yesterday when she left Kangerlussuaq.

After breakfast there were talks about our route, optional excursions and AECO and Safety instructions.

At about 10.30 am  Neptune visit our ship to baptise all, who cross the arctic circle for the first time. Fram crossed the arctic circle during the night.

Most of our passengers have an early lunch as the activities began already at 11.30 am.

First of all the boat trips to Assaqutaq started, followed by the hikers to the Palasip Qaqqaa.

Next are the participants of the two City Tours by bus.

Only the passengers who like to make knowledge with the Taste of Greenland do not need to hurry because they will be well supplied with greenlandic food.

After all these activities the Welcome dinner onboard is very much appreciated.

At the end of this day the Captain welcome all passengers and introduces his staff also the expedition staff.

Sledge dog puppy in Sisimiut

Art and crafts workshop nearby the harbour 

Kayak demonstration by Emaanooraq, the champion in kayak rolls in Sisimiut

Greenland welcomes us with brilliant sunshine

Greenland welcomes us in Kangerlussuaq with brilliant sunshine and some nice clouds in the sky.  This weather is typical for Kangerlussuaq as is lies far inland and has a somehow continental climate. That is the reason it became the biggest Airport in Greenland. 

Our luggage is taken into a container and transported to the Harbour. The  passengers follow in buses and the Polar circle boats bring them onbord.

The planned schedule is a little bit out of order as the flight from Copenhagen has some hours delay. The last passengers arrive around 6.oo pm and soon after being in their cabins they have to participate in the mandatory safety drill.

Finally they can enjoy their first dinner onbord the Fram and after dinner the splendid scenery of the Söndre  Stromfjord with high cliffs build up by old Precambrian rocks cut by basaltic dykes and nicely polished by glaciers during the Ice Age.

Later we pass by glaciers coming down in their valleys.

The word of the day: "The last"

It was really hard to leave Ilulissat, the town of the icebergs. Many guests used their last opportunity to see the large icebergs, passing by in the midnight sun. The reflections in the sea were marvellous as we had no wind. Nobody knows how many pictures were shot during our last night in the ice. We were heading south during the night and when we woke up in the morning we recognized that we left the sunny weather behind. But especially during the morning we were so busy that it was not so important for us. Perhaps it was even good that we had some dark clouds, they made it for us a bit easier to be prepared to say good bye to Greenland.

In the morning we had our last lectures, last bridge visits and last informations about our flights home. As we had a last landing in the afternoon many passengers started packing to be ready for Itilleq, our last destination of our cruise.

Itilleq is a very small fishing community app. 50km south of Sisimiut. The settlement was founded as a trade station in the 18th century. Today there are living app. 100 inhabitants in small and colourful houses. 

We were greeted by the children at the pier and we got the possibility for a nice Kaffemik (coffee klatsch) in private houses during our stay. What a wonderful personal experience! 

Some of our guests used the last opportunity for a kayak trip or a fishing adventure with our officers. Look at the pictures and you will see how successful they were. Most of the caught fish was cod, Fjord cod and the Atlantic cod.

But our last highlight of our Greenland experience was perhaps the soccer match between MS FRAM and Itilleq. Everybody felt young again and even though we lost (like nearly always), it was an unforgettable sport event.

Back on board we were invited by our captain for a Farewell cocktail. Later on we had a special auction for the "Association for Greenlandic Children". Next to the Hurtigruten flag and the chart we got the possibility to vote for a special log book done by our captain. All his morning announcements, ice charts, weather forecasts and so on have been collected with all his personal notes. We say "thank you" in the name of all Greenlandic kids who will profit of your donations. 

Around 08:00pm we sailed into the Kangerlussuaq fjord. Here we could see our last glaciers. It was nice to sit a last time in the bar for a last drink and a last small talk with other guests before we went to bed for our last night on board our lovely lady MV FRAM.    

A message from Malena

June 21 is not only the longest day but also Greenland’s national day. We woke up to a beautiful early morning with icebergs and sun where the excursions started for the first Ice cruising. It was a magnificent morning to start visiting Ilulissat and celebrate the National day.

 There were kayak demonstration by the Zion’s church, choir singing and Greenlandic dance show with national costumes, which can be very emotional because they put all the emotions into words remembering the loved ones too in the choir singing and in the polka dance they show all the dance moves and happiness!

 During the hike to Sermermiut (UNESCO world Heritage site 2004) we saw the local cooking outside with friends and family, which is very common to do in Greenland with very tasty food, and the smoke from the firewood smelled nice and it looked so cozy.  

Story telling about old Greenlandic fables, drum dancing and mask dancing was a perfect way to end the day onboard to express the Greenlandic traditions to everyone.

I had so many experiences in so little time here onboard as a trainee. The Expedition team members are amazing and so helpful to every single one onboard.  This trip or summer could not be better with HURTIGRUTEN FRAM!

I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did.

/ Malena Martens

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!