The towering cliffs of the Qeqertarsuaq landscape resemble a gigantic multi-layered chocolate cake. They are really impressive and provide a beautiful backdrop to this tiny but beautiful Greenland community.
Our hike in the Valley of the Winds was under clear blue skies. The same chocolate cake stratified cliffs rise high above the trail. Today there was a light wind that was perfect for keeping the mosquitoes at bay.
The scenic cruising after Qeqertarsuaq (on our way to Uummannaq) is always superb with hundreds of icebergs all around. In addition to the statuesque icebergs we had a really fantastic and almost completely unexpected treat.
Two Sperm Whales!!! We knew Sperm Whales occured in this region but we certainly were not expecting to see one, nevermind two!!! The ship's officers turned the Fram around so we could get a closer look. We were able to appproach the smaller of the two whales within 100 metres. The behaviour we observed was very typical of Sperm Whales. They took at least 15 ventilations before raising their enormous flukes to start a dive that could easily last more than 30 minutes. Larger, older, male Sperm whales are capable of diving for 90 minutes and as deep as 3000 metres on a single breath of air.What a stroke of luck for us to see these extraordinary animals!
