Today’s Daily Program:
An announcement in French drives us from our slumber. We catch the word ‘baleen’ – whale – and we hesitate, but then David delivers the English translation – blue whale at 9 o’clock.
We catapult from our beds, and my wife goes to rouse our daughter. She still hasn’t forgiven me from the time on our Antarctica / Cape-to-Cape cruise when I blocked her from seeing a blue whale, so this may be her chance to make another rare spotting.
I toss my long lens onto my camera, and dash to the portside – but no sign of the whale. So we trudge up the three flights of stairs to Observation – and we’re rewarded with a fabulous sighting:
And then – as we start to move on – what appears to be a fin whale from off our verandah:
We chill out for a while, giving the kids the chance to relax and letting the early breakfast crowd to clear through. We then get ourselves ready, and join the early departure that’s on offer those who have their act in order. We arrive early and a line soon forms behind us. That’s getting to be a pattern, and not one that we mind.
Today we are off to Ittoqqortoormiit, the northernmost town in Greenland. Frequent readers of this missive may recall that the town was established in 1925 by Ejnar Mikkelsen and 80 Inuit as a way of further consolidating Denmark’s claim to Greenland. It is also home to some of the last traditional hunters of the Arctic:
We take a photo of the map before we go:
There are a range of activities on offer today, including musical performances, visits to the church and the local museum, traditional food tastings and feeding of sled dogs. The grocery store is open to us, though guests have been advised to not purchase any items as selection is already very limited due to the remote nature of the community and the logistical challenges associated with resupplying.
However, our ambitious plans are further complicated by our landing on a Sunday, and Greenland time being an hour behind ship’s time. So we are landing shortly after 8 am on a Sunday morning. So we’ll have to see how it all unfolds.
We start by heading over to the east side of the village, where there’s a scenic lookout point.
We pass some sled dogs along the way:
It’s a short tromp up to the viewpoint, but we’re all way overdressed – and this is with us just wearing puffer coats. We soon disrobe, and I’m glad to have sunscreened my arms.
There’s a bench up here, but we can’t find any way to reach it without hiking across tundra so we elect to leave it be.
But we still find a nice view of town:
And catch sight of the other side of the sound:
We pass the memorial for Ejnar Mikkelsen along the way:
Greenland’s fjords are generally calm, but the water is almost like glass today:
We have been so fortunate with the weather.
Back down the hill, where we pass the sled dogs once more – and spot a few puppies, too:
I slide down the rocks, waking one – who comes over to investigate:
These are working dogs, so we’ve been cautioned not to approach them – but it’s fine if we are approached by one of the puppies.
But that proves too much effort, and the puppy soon lies down for a nap.
We had initially been quite keen on watching them feed the sled dogs, but it now seems as though they have a large dead seal immersed in the culvert for this purpose – so I think we might skip that, after all. (Nothing against the traditional hunting of the Greenlandic community, just not something we have any interest in watching.)
We continue on to the other side of town.
Passing the fire station:
And the playground:
An expedition guide lets us know that a woman has set up a small demonstration in her house showing musk ox fur both before and after it’s been prepared to be made into wool.
Before:
After:
We also pick up a sticker for our daughter here, too – and she takes credit card, which is helpful as our supply of Danish kroner is non-existent.
From here, we head on past the soccer field:
And then up to the helicopter pad:
With a beautiful view of the surrounding bays:
One of Ponant’s guides is chatting with some of the locals. We see a few people out and about – kids riding on bicycles, and adults moving supplies around via ATVs. Some sit out on their porches, and return a wave when offered.
That said, it does seems as though the town’s population has shrunk in recent years – we notice houses with peeling paint and boarded-up windows.
Then back down the hill again, stopping at the church along the way:
And paying a brief visit to the museum:
It’s fascinating to learn that the average income per hunter in Scoresby Sound was almost 5 times that of a hunter in Tasiilaq from 1926 to 1932
We spare one last look for this fascinating place:
Then we head back to the ship, and then up to the Grill for a lunch of shrimp, veal, and pesto pasta as we sail deeper into Scoresby Sound:
I’m not sure we’re going to make the Restaurant for lunch or dinner anytime this trip. That’s a bit of a shame in terms of us missing out on Ponant’s efforts on plating, but it’s been a game-changer in terms of freeing up time in the evening.
We have another mid-afternoon expedition briefing. David is already off running zodiac cruises, so Anne-Claire delivers the brief for our final day in Greenland:
Tomorrow’s plan is to get one zodiac cruise, and one landing if possible. The kayakers will also have the chance to go out, and there’s also a modest chance that we might encounter polar bears again. (Unlike on Silversea, Ponant charges 350 Euros per kayaking trip – plus I have already kayaked in Greenland once – so I will be sitting this one out!)
One point I have not yet mentioned regarding the zodiac cruises is that David runs a ‘Zodiac Zen’ for those who want to just go out on the water and not speak. Only the driver is allowed to talk. It’s typically the first zodiac on the water, and he’s the one who pilots it. We have not yet availed ourselves of this yet – we’re not entirely certain the kids would enjoy ‘Zodiac Zen’ – but we really like the concept, and hope that Ponant will continue offering this on future sailings.
Max then delivers a briefing regarding the history of sled dogs. I’m fascinated to hear that there was an entire French military mission to procure sled dogs during the First World War to assist with moving personnel, ammunition and other supplies – especially field phone lines – along the Vosges mountain range.
German spies got wind of the effort and tried to sabotage the train moving the dogs from Seattle to Quebec City, and German submarines attempted to sink the vessel during the transatlantic crossing– but the dogs had been trained to not bark in order to avoid detection. French efforts were ultimately successful, and the dogs played a crucial role in keeping supply lines open.
We leave the lecture slightly early so that we’re able to prepare for our upcoming zodiac cruise:
Our zodiac starts by drawing close to the basalt cliffs:
There are gulls nesting here too:
The grey gulls are juveniles
And kittiwakes:
We get a chance to poke our noses into one of the caves:
Then we head over to check out the glacier itself:
And some of the glacial run-off:
Ponant has a surprise for us – a beverage zodiac:
Then back aboard – but not for long, as it’s time for us to prepare for our polar plunge.
This is not a straightforward process on Ponant – not only did we have to present ECGs, but we also needed to speak with the doctor in advance. While he did agree to give the green light to our son, he (understandably) was not willing to do so for our daughter. However, he did say that he was fine if they dump a bucket of water over her head like Silversea did in Antarctica.
Although Ponant has recommended that we show up wearing our parkas and boots, we are fine with just our robes and slippers. While the water itself is cold – a mere 2 Celsius – the outside air temperature is significantly warmer:
We’re running roughly 10 minutes behind schedule, but it’s not long before Ponant welcomes the first 8 guests down to the Marina – including my wife and daughter. Rather than tossing a bucket of water over her head, they instead let her climb down the ladder and climb back out again! (The logic being that she is still attached to the ship, and the shock is more gradual – though I would much rather just jump in than gradually submerge myself.) Either way, she is thrilled to get to do a polar plunge.
Next, it’s time for my son and myself:
And it is cold – not quite as cold as Antarctica, but close.
We then enjoy a warm mug of hot chocolate – with Baileys and Kahlua for the adults – and then back to the rooms to shower and get ready for dinner. Ponant has kindly set aside another steak for our daughter.
There’s also an epic selection of desserts tonight:
The captain announces that we will be passing some scenic icebergs, so I head outside to get photos:
The second passes right outside our verandah, so I shoot from there instead:
Truly remarkable – and the hits keep on coming, as we enjoy a drink on the balcony:
But the night’s not over yet – it’s roughly 11 pm when the captain uses the ship’s speaker to inform us all that there’s a really pretty sunset outside. And he’s absolutely right:
Initially I’m a bit surprised that he would announce something like this shipwide, but – given he’s been in Svalbard all summer – this might be the first real sunset he’s seen in months!
But then it’s really, truly time for bed – perchance to wonder what surprises Expedition Leader David has in store for us tomorrow.