Sisimiut, Greenland, 7/29/2013, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Arctic
On the first day on our voyage we enjoyed many new sights, sounds, and discoveries. The morning was spent meeting the natural history staff and receiving information on our journey. But not before a marine mammal sighting motivated us to head to the bow to view a humpback whale. The whale seemed not to mind us following it as the animal slowly made shallow dives and moved along the coastal waters. Greenland whales are hunted and so it was rewarding to know that this particular animal didn’t mind the approach of a ship. Later in the morning we learned about our cameras from the photo team.
Just before lunch the ship approached the town of Sisimiut. With its colorful houses and friendly people, the town made an impression. There were different walking options. During the town tour our guide deciphered the reason for the different primary-colored houses. If your family worked at the hospital or in medicine then your house was painted yellow. If you were in another trade then blue, or red, etc. etc. Sisimiut is the northernmost ice-free town along the west coast of Greenland, which makes it a strategic town for fishing, as the larger ships can get in all year to take the fish — mostly cod, salmon, and shrimp — to markets in Europe or Canada.
In the late afternoon National Geographic Explorer made her way out of port and on to further adventures farther north in Greenland.
Jason grew up traveling with his oceanographer father and biologist mother, both of whom worked with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic. This led him to a job as a Zodiac driver while still a teenager. After receiving a degree in geology from...
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We woke up to our last expedition day as National Geographic Explorer was gliding smoothly into the inner parts of Kangerlussuatsiaq fjord (Danish: Evighedsfjorden, ”the fjord of eternity”). This fjord got its name because of the nearly endless number of branches along its main course. Once you think you have gotten to the head of the fjord, you find out that there is yet another fjord inside, and then another, and so it continues. The sunny weather and calm seas allowed for a variety of outdoor activities. Kayaking tempted many, whereas other guests preferred hiking, a Zodiac cruise, or a combination of the two. The hikers headed into Paradisdalen (”Paradise valley”). This valley has a richer vegetation cover than other places we have seen along the East Greenland coast. The hikers found lots of dwarf birch, some of which had already turned into autumn colors. There were also crowberries, blueberries, mushrooms, and a variety of lichens along the way. Like most of the other uninhabited parts of Greenland, this fjord area has maintained its stunning, pristine character. After lunch, a departure breefing was given, followed by Jason Kelley´s presentation, Who Owns the Arctic? In the late afternoon the photo team offered useful instruction on how to post-process photos. This last day of exploration was rounded off with the Captain´s Farewell Cocktail Party in the lounge. The traditional guest Slideshow contained an impressive variety of highlights and joyful moments to remember. During these two weeks we have shared some extraordinary encounters with marine and landbased Arctic wildlife. We have hiked in pristine wilderness and learned about geology and the history of Norse and Inuit cultures. We have also met friendly locals along our way. At the same time we have seen how the disappearance of sea ice and Greenland’s melting ice cap is posing a growing threat to the Arctic ecosystem and the people who depend on its productivity. After such a remarkable journey in the high north we have gotten new insights and hopefully something meaningful to tell our folks and friends at home.
The weather has changed a bit in the last 24 hours; some wind and chop from the north was coming from behind us. This does not create much motion on the National Geographic Explorer , she always rides well, especially with a following sea. However, this situation does not normally make for the best conditions for exploration, but in this case it has turned out to be a slice of good luck! We are travelling southward on the east coast of Greenland. We are almost at the tip of this huge island. Just before the tip there is a Sound, a passage from the east to the west for us, Prince Christian Sound. It is like a fjord, certainly ice-carved, but rather than going from the ocean to a glacier or land, a Sound is opened to the ocean at both ends, from east Greenland, to west Greenland. It is a shortcut, a secret passage, a magical segue and the Sound is completely protected from wind out of the north by high rugged mountains! The north wind has also pushed us, so we have arrived at the entrance to Prince Christian Sound about two hours sooner than we expect, 8:30 a.m. rather than 10:30 a.m., which left us with some extra time to do what we do best – explore. Prince Christian Sound is beautiful and it has changed very little since I first passed through here 30 years ago… high jagged mountains, sheer cliffs, a myriad of waterfalls and glaciers, near and bold, or distant and mysterious wrapped in a diaphanous mist of their own design. Where the ground is flat it is green, yet tree-less, under soft, misty clouds, low then high, then low again, like fog but less vague. Oh, and it is also warm, almost t-shirt weather! After lunch we all go ashore at a place called Illorssuit, perhaps named for the large, house-sized boulders or for the occasional iceberg that drifts by and catches on a sandbar. It is gorgeous here. The long hikers take off for a glacier whose snout is deemed safe to walk upon by our scouting team. Then there are the medium hikers and photo walkers. Plenty for everyone to do… I go medium, mostly in search of fun plants and plant-like things; the latter would mostly be lichens, fungi that ‘farm’ an algae and/or photosynthetic bacteria. Apparent bare ground between the Sound and the huge boulders, upon closer inspection, is covered with a foam-like material, no, not material, but lichens: pale foam lichen, brittle brown Iceland moss (lichen), yellowish snow lichen and delicate reindeer moss (lichen) with tiny branches that end in grasping fingers… a sight rarely seen outside of the polar and alpine regions. I could post a few very nice scenic pictures with this report, but there have been many beautiful scenic pictures already posted for this voyage, so, how about something completely different? Here is a map lichen, a crustose species growing on a boulder. It is pretty, for no reason at all and it is probably old. Hmmm, like I’m becoming; maybe there is hope yet? Is that pretty or no reason at all!
Our last day aboard National Geographic Explorer was a glorious one as the fog and clouds had departed and we enjoyed a beautiful morning in Saangmiok Fjord. The coast of Greenland was created my multiple coverings of the ice that still blanket the island away from the coast. Of the fresh water on the Earths’ surface, Greenland has 9%, Antarctica has 90%. That means the remaining one percent is in all the rivers, lakes, estuaries, and soil on the continents. We have seen glimpses of the incredibly huge amount of ice that rests on the island of Greenland. We have also seen the effects that the ice has on the bedrock as it has eroded bays, sounds, fjords, and valleys through the past millennia. Our visit to a small but spectacular fjord called Saangmiok showed us the power of the ice that still dominated the landscape of Greenland. The rounded hills show that the ice once overtopped all the low hills and mountains that we enjoyed as we walked along the hillsides or out in the Zodiacs, where loud waterfalls fed by snowmelt-filled lakes were seen. A few harbor seals were seen amongst the shoreline and birds were along the shoreline as the Zodiacs made their way along the fjord. Many snow patches told the tale of the harsh season that Greenland and Iceland went through this past winter. Later in the morning, once we had everyone aboard, the polar plunge was offered so guests could say they swam in 35 degrees Fahrenheit water in Greenland.
