Our trip, which started yesterday in Reykjavik, Iceland, continued in this country today as we stopped in Grundarfjordur for the morning. Most of our tour will be in West Greenland but yesterday and today has given us an hors d'ouvre of this great country of Iceland.
Fishing is the biggest industry in Iceland and Grundarfjordur is one of Iceland's most important fishing communities- the biggest one in the west.
As the fishing industry grew there, the harbour was enlarged and as a result Fram (and other cruise ships) can go along side the pier. Grundarfjordur is on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, with Breithafjordur and its 3000 islands to the north. The main backdrop to the town is the imposing mountain called Kirkjufell, which is 463 m high and stands on its own little peninsula. The mountain is likely the most photographed in Iceland!
Normally it looks quit green at this time of the year. But this year the winter does not want to go and looked still greyish and brown.
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula is also known as little Iceland as you can find in this region nearly all special landscapes Iceland can offer to you. Many of our guests went on a bus tour to enjoy the amazing landscape and nature. Volcanism combined with nice bird cliffs, sheep and Iceland horses, even a giant stone troll- what more do you need to be happy?
Other guests joined expedition staff on a beautiful hike up to impressive waterfalls behind the town. The altitude of over 200 metres afforded tremendous views of the surrounding area. We will let a few pictures tell the story.
So now we are on our way across the Denmark Strait to Greenland! This water can be very rough but tonight we have relatively calm seas and bright sunshine. We all hope this bodes well for our future days on the largest island in the world.