18:51
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| Sunrise among the bergs |
Wow, what a day. This is our first stop in Greenland. It was an early start this morning with the zodiacs starting the transfers to shore at 7:30 and, as I mentioned yesterday, we had yet another time change last night. They’ve promised us that’s the last one. Makes sense since we will be spending the rest of the tour on the eastern coast of Greenland.
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| The sun illuminates more bergs |
We were on shore before the sun came up and, in fact, we were back on the ship before the sun got into the landing spot. There was a lot of evidence of wildlife although we didn’t see any. There were tracks of Arctic foxes, wolves, and I saw goose tracks and a fair amount of goose poop.
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| Goose tracks |
There was also a wing that looked like it was left over from something’s breakfast and at another spot there were a whole lot of black downy feathers: the site of another meal, probably a fox’s. A flock of small black birds flew over but I haven’t had a chance to ask anyone about what they might be.
It was another low energy day for me so instead of going for a scramble to a height of land so I could get some different views, I hung around the beach for quite a while just looking out at the ship and the way the light was changing on the bergs.
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| Ocean Endeavour in the morning light |
We were anchored in a spot where one of the icebergs dwarfed the ship although while we were on shore the ship managed to thread its way through a line of them so that the transfer back to the ship was shorter than the one from the ship.
Aleqa pointed out that people have come here for years because it’s a good place to hunt belugas and there’s also lots of other wildlife. The ground was frozen when we landed but it would have been quite spongy if the temperature had been a bit higher. There were many different kinds of lichen going from black to a brilliant orange. There was one type called witch’s hair lichen and it came in three different colours. I didn’t take notes while Carolyn was telling us about them so I don’t remember what the colours were. I think white and grey were two of them though.
Jen who is one of the Adventure Canada staff, and whom I first met in her role as a photographer on the Iceland tour, told me that there was a great reflection of the mountain in the ice on a small lake. I walked over to take a look and it was absolutely stunning with the sun just catching the top of the peak so that it glowed orange on the actual mountain and also in the reflection in the ice. I really appreciated the tip. Some people would have kept that little tidbit to themselves but that doesn’t seem to be the culture among the AC staff.
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| Jen's tip for a photo |
There was one stream that we had to cross if we wanted to hike up to the height of land and there were only two spots to cross it. Jon emphasized that the ice might look solid but it wasn’t very thick and the water was waist deep everywhere else along the course of the stream. I didn’t ask him how he ascertained that bit of information. He was pretty clear that he didn’t want to be fishing anyone out. I got across at one spot and was heading toward the higher ground when I thought better of it and returned the way I had come.
It’s weird i find myself making mental notes for next time and then realizing that we don’t have a next time planned. One of the notes would be to bring a pair of light gloves that would allow me to operate my camera and phone without having to take them off. My hands got quite cold again today and my thumb is aching, probably because it didn’t appreciate the sustained cold. Or, I could get those mitts that allow you to pull back the finger part so you can have dexterity and then put the flap back quickly so you don’t lose as much heat. My feet were also chilly today. That surprised me because I often wear my hiking boots at home during the winter with the same socks i had on today and my feet stay warm. Maybe it has something to do with sitting still in a zodiac in rubber boots before getting into the hiking boots. Another note to self would be to bring a pair of lighter socks so I could wear two pair. Anyway, minor inconveniences since there is a warm ship to return to and for those of you who are wondering, I still prefer these temperatures to +30 C.
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| Morning light on water and snow |
So that’s pretty much the morning: watching the light change on icebergs and walking over the tundra. Not some people’s cup of tea but I feel so fortunate to have this experience that I can’t help smiling while I’m out on the land. I’m equally grateful that I don’t have to live on the land and each year my admiration grows for the Inuit who have, for generations, thrived in harsh conditions. How different the stories of Franklin and the boys might have been had they only learned from the Inuit. Roald Admunsen listened and learned.
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| A bergie bit on shore |
21:39
Back from supper. I had the fish tonight and it was very nice. I usually go for the vegetarian option but decided to have a change. I also had dessert, a dark chocolate, very moist cake. It was good but I think I would have enjoyed the plum crisp thingy that they had at lunch more. I had quite the conversation with myself at lunch and eventually talked myself out of it. I should have had the same conversation at dinner.
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| Grounded bergs |
This afternoon we did a zodiac cruise among the bergs. These guys are huge. We’ve done cruises in the ice before but we’ve never been this close to really big ones. Apparently a lot of these are grounded which is probably why we could go as close to them as we did. There’s always a danger that, if they are free floating, they’ll flip over and there really is about 90% of the berg below the water line.
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| Zodiacs go in pairs |
They were also offloading the zodiacs when I was on the upper deck and I think I got a shot of a zodiac against one of the icebergs.
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| Zodiac on the hook with bergs in the background |
Besides I find watching that kind of operation fascinating even though I’ve seen it every year that we’ve been on these trips. Michael the photographer on this trip talked about trying to capture photos that tell a story. I don’t think I’m there but I try to keep it in mind. I’ve got a lot to learn. The reason I bring that up is that I took a couple of photos of the guys who were working the cranes to unload the zodiacs in the hope that I could insert some humans into the mechanical process. I haven’t looked closely at those photos but I think they are pretty underexposed. I might still be able to use them though.
There was a great moment out on the water. All the drivers have radios and you can hear the radio traffic. We were heading back toward the ship and one driver asked another, “Where about are you?” To which the second driver replied, “I’m right over by the big iceberg.” Our whole zodiac burst out laughing. The entire bay was dotted with big icebergs. To be fair, I don’t know where the drivers were in relation to the ship, and if both were near the ship there was a very large iceberg and a smaller iceberg not very far away from the ship.
After we got back on board it was time for the polar plunge. I’ve expressed my opinion on that particular bit of fun before. This year Richard decided not to do it. Who needs more than 4 patches and a shot glass to prove you leapt into the ocean at 76 degrees north with an air temperature of +2? We opted, instead, for afternoon tea and got talking to a man who has done a lot of travelling with Adventures Abroad, a Vancouver company. He has been on six trips with them and has been very impressed. He hasn’t been in Scandinavia with them but says they do run trips there. We will certainly give them a good look.
Another one of the expedition team is really impressing me. His name is Pierre* and he helped me with my boot fitting the first day. He is always on shore and always has a spotting scope. Today he got a photo of two Arctic foxes when the scouts went out. He has been responsible for spotting the large mammals we’ve seen on this trip and has shown us photos of all of them. He’s very quiet and is very knowledgeable about Arctic mammals. I must have a look at his bio again because I’m not sure of his background.
There was a question tonight about whether we would get the bios of the AC staff in our post trip package. We will. I’m happy about that because, in the past, I’ve tried to photograph the bios on the bulletin board and it hasn’t worked all that well.
I think that about covers the day. They’ve just changed the info screen and it looks like we get to sleep in a bit tomorrow. Still no hint about what we will be doing but apparently we are heading for Kiatassaq. I don’t think we’ve been there before so it will be a new adventure. Whether or not AC has been there before isn’t clear at the moment. It will be at tomorrow’s briefing which happens at 9:30. Now that’s a civilized hour!
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| This one was almost as big as the ship |
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| Another huge berg |
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| View of bergs from the deck |
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| We were on Joe's zodiac |
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| Returning to the mother ship |
*PIERRE RICHARD
Marine Biologist
Pierre was born in Montréal and raised in Québec City. He
has been an avid naturalist since his teens. Vacationing
along the St. Lawrence estuary in the summer months, he
developed a keen interest in marine life and, in particular,
whales, seals, and seabirds. Pierre was one of the first
naturalists on board St. Lawrence whale-watching cruises in the 1970s.
He completed a bachelor of science in biology at McGill University and a master of
science at Université du Québec à Montréal. Then, he was employed for thirty years
as a marine biologist and scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, during which time
he conducted field research on beluga whales, narwhals, and walrus. Pierre has
authored many scientific publications and three nature guides on marine mammals.
Now retired from Fisheries and Oceans, Pierre can spend more time as a nature guide
and naturalist interpreter, his first love. Since 2005, he has been a regular guide on
more than twenty Adventure Canada Arctic and Atlantic expeditions. He has also
participated as a marine mammal expert in several expeditions in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.
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