The weather today was perfect! A balmy 10˚C and for much of the day there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The number one thing to do on our visit to Qeqertarsuaq is to hike into the Valley of the Winds. It is not a difficult hike and the landscape is majestic. It is now prime time for the wild flowers of Greenland. Small splashes of bright colours decorate the somber tones of the landscape. Some of the more beautiful flowers like the Flame-tipped Lousewort and the Wooly Lousewort are easy to over look. Lots of people were seen huddling over wildflower field guides and crawling on the ground to photograph the flowers.
Once again Humpback Whales were spotted amongst the giant icebergs in the bay. That makes three weeks in a row!
At the waterfall one of the Canada Geese that we spotted last week was still sitting on its nest. We are all hopeful that we will soon be able to report the successful hatching of some Goslings.
In town a few local people were selling handicrafts. The open-air meat and fish market was also open for business. We stopped in for a peak to see what they might be selling. Lots of fresh minke whale meat and blubber!By 15:30 everyone was back on the ship. The lectures in the afternoon were just nicely underway when Humpback whales were announced! Who wants to sit in a lecture room when there are whales to see on a gorgeous sunny afternoon? Uh... no one. Soon the railings on deck five were crowded with people eager to get a glimpse of a whale. There were three humpbacks. One of them was probably a calf as it was quite a bit smaller than the other two. We followed them for several minutes and then it was time to steer our course for tomorrow's landing at Uummannaq and then Ukkusissat.
