Greenland
Trip Start
Aug 13, 2005
1
30
32
Trip End
Sep 24, 2005
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
Between yesterday and today we have visited Greenland. Yesterday we cruised through Prins Christian Sund and today are just off the coast of Qaqortog, visiting the small village with the help of the ship's tenders. Although the temperature is in the mid thirties, the weather is gorgeous. The ice pilot who joined us in Reykjavik said they have good weather on the coast of Greenland only about ten percent of the time. With that said, we have had two incredible days. Yesterday's cruise through the Sund took us through narrow channels and beside beautiful glaciers. We saw many icebergs on our way to the Sund, in the Sund, and since we left the Sund. At one point yesterday, the ship had to make three hard turns, including one turn of 132 degrees. I don't know what they would have done if the fog had settled in. Today's stop at Qaqortog was really neat. The village is quaint and colorful. It is accessible in the winter only by airplane or helicopter. The people are primarily of Inuit background, native Greenlanders. They are obviously a rugged people. It was interesting to see the natives wandering through the village in very light jackets while those of us from Princess looked like Eskimos. The main body of Greenland is totally covered by an ice cap which reaches 11,000 feet in depth at its deepest point and the entire population of 60,000 people lives in small villages along the coast, the only habitable part of the island. I can't imagine living in this harsh climate. We leave here at 1:00 today and begin a day and a half cruise through the North Atlantic until we arrive in Newfoundland on Wednesday.
