Northwest passage 16: Bjornfaelden, Sunday September 14, 2025

A windswept peninsula

Wow, only two more nights onboard! In some ways the time has gone whizzing by, and when i think back to Yellowknife and the smoke from the forest fires, that seems like a lifetime ago. We have seen a lot of territory since we left there. Today was another site that AC had never been to before. That’s because it’s on the end of a peninsula and very exposed so most of the time it’s cold and the seas are too rough to land.

The snow line is getting lower

Today’s landing was about archeology once again, and of course, rocks. With Marc St. Onge onboard it’s always about rocks. He is incredibly enthusiastic and a really nice guy. We had a set route to follow today and various members of staff were set up at strategic points along it. It wasn’t a very long walk, a bit boggy, a bit hummocky, and there was one spot where we had to climb through a few boulders to get up onto the next level. I was being pretty cautious because my one ankle was swollen and it didn’t completely deflate after a night’s sleep. It’s not really sore but it is a bit tender so I must have turned over on it at some point but I just keep going and forget about it so I don’t remembering it happening.

The initial plan was to set up a perimeter but when the scouts landed they found that there were quite a number of grave sites and they don’t want people all over those. There were the remains of stone and sod houses, and a number of meat caches. When we got up to where Aleqa was, she told us that she came to this site as a girl.

Aleqa telling stories

A number of families would come here for a month because it was a good place to hunt and fish. She said they had huge sacks to fill with food. When someone killed an animal they would cut the meat into strips and dry it in the sun and the wind. When that batch was dry they’d put it into one of the sacks. When all their sacks were full, they would go back to Umanak knowing they had enough food for the winter.

She said it was also a good place to collect tern eggs. They don’t do this anymore because the population of terns was dwindling and now it’s possible to buy chicken eggs in the store. She said it was only in the last 15 years that she has started eating chicken eggs. Apparently tern eggs are great for baking. Terns are pretty defensive of their nests. They dive bomb anything that comes near them and, according to Aleqa, avoiding the diving birds was half the fun. She is a real character who has an unlimited number of stories and an easy laugh. If she becomes prime minister of Greenland for a second time I think the rest of the world leaders would do well not to underestimate her. She is inclined to tell it like it is and she is also very aware of when diplomacy matters.

The main attraction for today was what’s been called the bear trap.

Aka at the bear trap

Apparently there is quite a bit of discussion as to who built the structure and what its purpose was. We happen to have Greenland’s foremost expert on the subject on our cultural team. Aka* Is an Inuk from Greenland who got her masters and phD in archeology in Denmark. Her post doc research has been on the contact between the Vikings and the Inuit and how they interacted. The structure is made of stones without turf between the layers. She pointed out that the builders started out with a layer of large stones and then put another layer of large stones on top of it. Then they went back and filled in the gaps with smaller stones. The fact that there is no turf in the construction told her two things: first that it was made by the Vikings, and second, the it was used for some purpose that did not require it to be heated.

There would have been a door on it and I think she said the roof was probably made of wood. Her conclusion was that the Vikings used it to cache walrus ivory which was more valuable than gold and when ivory from elephants began to arrive in Europe, the demand for walrus ivory dried up and the Vikings abandoned the area. She said they probably farmed there in the beginning but then their diet changed within a number of years to primarily seal meat.

I think this is a meat cache

From there we moved on to Marc’s station. I was late getting there having hung around to hear  Aka answer a couple of questions. Marc said something about lava flows and I think he reiterated what I heard him say yesterday about these mountains being the same as the base of the Andes. He talked about Pangea splitting up and the start of the split going up the west side of Greenland and then stopping for some reason and then the Atlantic Ocean went up the east side of Greenland. Greenland was part of North America. He described the separating of the plates like someone opening a zipper.

Near our landing spot. The ice chunk reminded me of an ulu blade.

My last stop before going down and heading back to the ship was Pierre and his spotting scope. He said he hadn’t seen anything but that we should start watching for whales from here down the coast.

After we got back to the ship and had lunch, I had a nap which lasted all the way through the country food tasting, and most of the gathering. When I woke up I tuned in via the cc TV in the room so I got the briefing for tomorrow.

It’s interesting how different expeditions handle visits to different places. This time in Ilulissat they are turning us loose to have a good time on our own. Before we have had walking tours of the town and the world heritage site. Chris suggested that if viewing the ice cap, ice fjord, and the interpretive centre was our first priority we should go there first.

Chris giving a briefing

I’m not sure i want to do things in that order because I suspect everyone else will head there first. I want to pick up a couple of stickers if I can, and maybe a pin if it’s different than the ones I have. I don’t plan to have a muskox burger or stop in a coffee shop for a latte. Someone asked Chris at the briefing what was happening with the milk situation. He said they would definitely be resupplying milk in Ilulissat. It’s a big enough centre and it doesn’t get frozen in during the winter so it isn’t a case of 2 supply ships a year as in Grise Fjord or Cambridge Bay.

Pierre reminded everyone that CITES applies and if shop keepers can’t provide the proper paperwork you should hesitate before buying because you might have your item taken away at the border. I think this applies more to Americans than to Canadians but it’s a good thing to keep in mind. I’m pretty sure when I bought the qiviut last year I had a declaration from the store that came along with the purchase. I’m not planning to buy anything that requires a CITES permit but good to be reminded just in case.

Despite the fact that I had a nap today, I’m ready for bed. I need to fill up my water bottle and then I’ll call it a night. I didn’t think to write down the time when I started this but the time now is 22:53, that’s 5 hours ahead of Mountain Daylight Time.

[There was a costume party and Richard saw the winner in the hallway so he took her photo. Some people put a lot of work into this event, but it's not my thing.]

And the winner is!

[Also, thanks to Richard we have photos of the aurora. I was in my pj's and was too lazy to thrown on my outerwear to go out for a photo.]

Richard's phorto

*Aka's Biography

Aka Bodil Petrine Simonsen was born and raised in
Qaqortoq in Southern Kalaallit Nunaat. She only uses Aka
Simonsen, but because of Inuit naming tradition she has
many names. Aka’s grandparents on her mother’s side
were hunters, and sheep farmers on her father’s side. Aka
followed in her grandparents’ footsteps for some years as a sheep farmer.
Aka then studied tourism and hospitality management at the business school in
Qaqortoq becoming an Arctic guide afterwards. She further studied social and cultural
history with a specialization in archaeology at the University of Greenland.
In the tourism industry, Aka has been working as a tour guide in nature for
international and local tourism companies. She has also worked on cruise ships as
expedition team member, historian, and archaeologist. Aka is also an associate
researcher and archaeologist at the National Museum Archives in Nuuk. Aka was a
Site Manager for UNESCO World Heritage Kujataa for 3 years.
Now, Aka has her own consulting company, and works as a teacher for guide
students, and works on cruise ships doing Arctic expeditions. Aka is also engaged in
educating researchers about conducting ethical and co-productive research. Most
importantly, Aka is active in campaigning for the rights of Indigenous peoples. Aka
recently participating in the National Geographic expedition to Peary Land, in the
northernmost part of Greenland, to find the most northernmost living plant in the world
and looking for the northernmost cultural remains! In May to June 2024, Aka was the
only female expedition team member on a pioneering Inuit wind sled expedition that
travelled to Northern from Southern Greenland. In her spare time, Aka likes to go on
hikes and do knitting!

Also Richard's photro