16:32 Ilulissat
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| This photo is so we'd have a map with us |
I’m having one of those ‘doesn’t get any better than this’ days. It’s another clear blue day and our stop in Ilulissat this morning was everything we could have hoped for. I remember the first time I visited it was a grey misty day with cloud hanging very low. It wasn’t pouring rain but it was damp. We could still see the ice fjord which was spectacular in the soft light. As I walked back down the boardwalk, I remember thinking if I were a spirit I would come back to this place.
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| Sunrise in Ilulissat |
We’ve visited again twice more before today. Once it was bright and slightly overcast and once it was dumping rain. That time we had a packed lunch which we ate in the shelter of the balcony of the interpretive centre. I remember talking with some staff of another expedition who were setting out a picnic for their people.
Today the sun was blazing and we had been advised to take extra clothes because the weather might change. It didn’t and I ended up removing two layers and putting them in my backpack. We stopped on the way up to chat with Aleqa and I asked if we could get a photo with her. She agreed and Nivi took a couple of shots. It’s the people that make these expeditions so special.
We walked up to the viewpoint and at the spot where you can cut off from the boardwalk and avoid a long downhill and a long uphill, we met Rogier.
I asked him how he liked retirement and he said he did. During the course of the conversation I asked him if he had retired from the national park service in Haida Gwaii. He did so I mentioned that we wanted to visit there. He said he was leading the Adventure Canada trip there in 2026 which was full but that the 2027 trip should be out mid October and he thought he might be leading that one as well. We were thinking of Maple Leaf Adventures who are the go-to tour operators for Haida Gwaii, but for some reason I’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on that one despite having really good reports from people who have done that trip. Rogier suggested that we get Brenya to put our names on a waiting list for 2027 so we did.
I’m aware that anything can happen in the next two years but also that it’s good to grab opportunities when they present themselves and we are so comfortable travelling with Adventure Canada. They do a really good job of creating a positive culture onboard and it’s so wonderful to see people we have seen on other trips. So I’m crossing my fingers. I’m also thinking that maybe we should put ourselves on a wait list for 2026 in case someone cancels.
A little while after we got back to the ship they called our names over the PA and we went to the designated spot. I thought it was about the talent show but when I saw Alana and Brenya there with a computer and a handful of papers I figured it wasn’t that. Turns out that AC has just signed a six year contract for a different ship instead of the Exploris One which was the one we just booked on for Greenland and Labrador. It was built in 2021 and is an even more luxurious ship than Exploris which is 20 years old. They wanted to let us know that the ship had changed and that our cabin was slightly different than it would have been on Exploris One. We got the news about the new ship ten minutes before Alana announced it at the gathering. She also said that they were looking at possibly running expeditions to Svalbard which I’d really like to visit. They are having an info session right now about future excursions. I decided not to go because we know about the two trips that are of immediate interest to us. I’m delighted that AC is opening up other possibilities for us. We like travelling with them and the flip side of ‘there are other companies to explore with’ is ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
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| Roof of the interpretive centre |
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| Inside the interpretive centre |
Today the sun was blazing and we had been advised to take extra clothes because the weather might change. It didn’t and I ended up removing two layers and putting them in my backpack. We stopped on the way up to chat with Aleqa and I asked if we could get a photo with her. She agreed and Nivi took a couple of shots. It’s the people that make these expeditions so special.
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| Richard, Aleqa, and me |
We walked up to the viewpoint and at the spot where you can cut off from the boardwalk and avoid a long downhill and a long uphill, we met Rogier.
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| Long boardwalk to the lookout |
I asked him how he liked retirement and he said he did. During the course of the conversation I asked him if he had retired from the national park service in Haida Gwaii. He did so I mentioned that we wanted to visit there. He said he was leading the Adventure Canada trip there in 2026 which was full but that the 2027 trip should be out mid October and he thought he might be leading that one as well. We were thinking of Maple Leaf Adventures who are the go-to tour operators for Haida Gwaii, but for some reason I’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on that one despite having really good reports from people who have done that trip. Rogier suggested that we get Brenya to put our names on a waiting list for 2027 so we did.
I’m aware that anything can happen in the next two years but also that it’s good to grab opportunities when they present themselves and we are so comfortable travelling with Adventure Canada. They do a really good job of creating a positive culture onboard and it’s so wonderful to see people we have seen on other trips. So I’m crossing my fingers. I’m also thinking that maybe we should put ourselves on a wait list for 2026 in case someone cancels.
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| Ice fjord where most of the NL icebergs begin |
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| Walking on the roof of the interpretive centre |
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| Sled dog enjoying the sun |
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| Dog yard where the sled dogs spend the summer |
A little while after we got back to the ship they called our names over the PA and we went to the designated spot. I thought it was about the talent show but when I saw Alana and Brenya there with a computer and a handful of papers I figured it wasn’t that. Turns out that AC has just signed a six year contract for a different ship instead of the Exploris One which was the one we just booked on for Greenland and Labrador. It was built in 2021 and is an even more luxurious ship than Exploris which is 20 years old. They wanted to let us know that the ship had changed and that our cabin was slightly different than it would have been on Exploris One. We got the news about the new ship ten minutes before Alana announced it at the gathering. She also said that they were looking at possibly running expeditions to Svalbard which I’d really like to visit. They are having an info session right now about future excursions. I decided not to go because we know about the two trips that are of immediate interest to us. I’m delighted that AC is opening up other possibilities for us. We like travelling with them and the flip side of ‘there are other companies to explore with’ is ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
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| Iceberg from the ship |
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| Another iceberg from the ship |
The other fun thing that happened today was that there was a horrendous line-up in the mud room waiting for zodiacs. They really do need to do a better job of spacing out people so there’s less of a backup. They just kept calling groups even though there weren’t zodiacs for them. I know; it’s tricky. Anyway when I looked at the line I suggested to Richard that we do the Zodiac song for people while they waited. I rushed to the room to get the uke and he sang it for the back half of the line. It put everyone in a good mood and several people asked him for the lyrics or approached him to tell him they had really enjoyed it. The program folks missed a good opportunity by not letting us do it earlier in the trip. We will do it again tomorrow night at the talent show.
Someone has signed up to sing ‘Northwest Passage’ and ‘Frobisher Bay’ at the talent show. Not sure if we're calling it a talent show or a variety night. Oh well. I was going to sing Frobisher Bay but now I think I’ll do ‘Come by the Hills.’ Although it’s Scottish, everything in the song except bracken could apply to the lands through which we’ve been travelling. My alternate is 'Log Driver’s Waltz.' I’ll read the room to see which one would be more appropriate. Hills is completely different from Zodiac and it might be a nice contrast. On the other hand, Log Driver might make a good companion piece because, it too, is Canadian and light. I love having all the songs on my tablet at my fingertips, even though I curse the OnSong program at times.
I guess that’s about it for now. I’ve cleaned out my locker. We will do one more zodiac transfer in Kangerlussaq but we don’t need boots for that. Speaking of boots, I’m still in my hiking boots and I think it’s time I removed them and put on my crocs which are more comfortable. Nivi is giving a presentation on Greenlandic costumes in about fifteen minutes so I’ll head upstairs for that. Tonight after supper they are playing Arctic Bluff, a version of two truths and a lie, which is always an absolute riot. I’ll report back after that.
22:31
Not that much to report. Nivi’s presetation was interesting. The Greenlandic suit, she was very clear that it’s not called a costume, took her a year and a half to make. They wear these on special occasions, the first day of school for a kid, confirmation, weddings, funerals. While she made her whole suit as the project for a course, many women get their suits by making some pieces themselves and then buying other parts from artists who specialize in a particular piece. The suits are often made and passed down through generations. There is an incredible amount of beading and inlay with tiny pieces of leather. She mentioned how many times she wanted to give up and how many tears went into the suit. I can relate to that. Each of my ukuleles has involved tears, snot, and sometimes blood.
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| Aka's suit |
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| Beading detail |
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| Embriodery |
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| Leather inlay |
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| Part of Nivi's suit |
Dinner was fabulous! The chef managed to source enough Arctic char for everyone.
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| Arctic char, yummy! |
I don’t think there were many takers for the other menu items. Arctic Bluff was hilarious as usual. The players were Jon Blyth dressed up in a wig and a hat, Mike Beedel who had a hobby horse and either rode it around the stage or danced for each of his answers, Expedition Leader Chris who wore a Viking hat with horns and who has that wonderfully dry British sense of humour, and Dr. Mark Mallory the ornithologist who has had a relatively low profile on this trip. He has ‘Trust the Dr’ written on the back of his script. I should have taken my notebook and written down some of the words that they were defining. Some of them I knew or Richard knew and others I had no clue about. Even the correct definitions were spiced up with fictitious material. I don’t think I’d allow that if I were making the rules. Too many years of scrutinizing multiple choice questions perhaps.
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| Jon Blyth the pirate |
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| Mike Beedel the horseman |
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| Dr. Marc Mallory the earnest |
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| Chris Dolder the Viking |
We have an early disembarkation in Sisimiut tomorrow - 7:30. Richard and I are going to go an the archeology hike I think. We’ve been to Sisimuit before and last time we walked out beyond the lake so we’ve seen a fair bit of the town. We haven’t been to the peninsula where the archeology hike is going to go. I have one more souvenir to get tomorrow, if I can. If I can’t I’m not going to stress about it. Aleqa has a third talk tomorrow probably on the sail from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. I think that’s the one where she will take off the gloves and talk about how she sees Greenland on the world stage and she will tell the story of inviting the Chinese to tea, which, she admits, was kind of a stunt but it worked. That’s it until tomorrow, the final day on this old ship.
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| Ships in the harbour from our zodiac |
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| Built on rock |
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| Another craft in the harbour |
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