Day 20 Cruising Prince Kristian Fjord, Greenland

When we chose this cruise we didn't do any research.  It simply looked like a great itinerary with places I've never heard of, and I'd certainly never heard of Prince Kristian Fjord.  In fact I knew very little about Greenland so I had no expectations.  It has been a real eye opener.

The captain announced that we would be entering the Fjord between 7am and 7.30am this morning so we were dressed and had chosen a vantage point in readiness for our entry.  Even from a distance the towering granite mountains are impressive.  They soar over 1200 metres high. 

The entry is through a quite narrow passage and we notice immediately the blue water has become smooth.  It's so quiet.  The ship is moving at a leisurely pace so that we can enjoy the majestic scenery all around us. It is a sensory overload. 

We hear the waterfalls before we see them.  Some are just trickles down the side of the cliffs and others are huge. 

The ship turns a corner and we see a settlement nestled in a protected area.  It is the only permanent settlement along the entire length of the Fjord.  The houses are typical Nordic style that we saw in Nuuk and Paamiut. We wonder how they stay warm as there are no trees for firewood. 

Countless active glaciers calve directly into the fjord, sending icebergs of all shapes and sizes drifting lazily through the sound.  The soaring cliffs have been carved and shaped by those glaciers, over millions of years.  Some of the mountains are jagged while others are smooth.  Regardless, they are a thing of beauty. 

The captain announces that as we are well in front of schedule, he is going to detour into a "bay" for us to get a glimpse of another glacier that he calls "No Name Glacier" 😁.  We were underprepared for what we saw and photos just cannot show how impressive this glacier is.  It's not as big as others we have seen but it was a thing of beauty.  The captain turned the ship 90 degrees to port side and then 90 degrees to starboard so that everyone could get a perfect view of the glacier.

The texture and colour of a glacier is the thing that gets me and to think they are a continually moving object leaves me speechless.  Mother Nature at her very best.

The day is icy cold but no wind.  It is cloudy with intermittent showers that have kept us, for the most part, inside.  It took us almost all day to traverse the 100km long Fjord and now we are back into the Atlantic Ocean and heading towards Iceland.  

Day 19 Narsaq, Greenland

 Yesterday evening the Captain come over the speaker to advise the current situation with visiting Narsaq.  It was reported by the port authority in Narsaq that there was a lot of icebergs in the Fjord that leads us into Narsaq. There was another entrance into the Fjord that the captain advised may be an alternative option. (The captain ended up using this option)

He also advised that the harbour itself had a lot of ice and that he had three options and he would not be able to make decision until he sighted the harbour. The option were…..

(a) Use the small wharf to dock (much smaller than our ship)

(b) Use tenders to ferry us to the shore that ended up being a "no go" as the harbour is too deep for the length of our anchors.

(c) Last resort, turn the ship around and continue our journey - this was the final choice.

The captain made the right decision because as soon as the ship reached Narsaq (after three hours negotiating the Fjord at around 4 knots) we could see a blanket of ice in front of the ship that would have been impossible to negotiate. 

Narsaq, with a population of 1,500, could be easily seen from our ship. I recall from one of the lectures, that Erik the Red (a famous Norse viking) settled here over a thousand years ago and established this famed Eastern Settlement, creating a thriving agricultural community. Narsaq is now driven by fishing, sheep farming and increasingly tourism. 

It is quite beautiful as we cruise gently through the Fjord. The icebergs are once again a challenge for our ship as it weaves in between the larger ones.  We are told that the icebergs that are very blue and the ones that have a lot of soil imbedded are the ones the ship needs to avoid.  The smaller ones can be gently nudged out of the way.  We see glaciers, a farm (presumably sheep) sitting on the side of a hill and lots of icebergs that made a lovely foreground to the soaring ice topped mountains.

So it was a case of "too bad, so sad" as I placed our tour tickets into the bin.  Our captain made all the right choices and as Philip and I have both picked up head colds it was probably the right choice for us.  

Day 18 Paamiut, Greenland

Arriving into Paamiut this morning was beautiful.  There are noticeably more icebergs with their blueish hue and  hundred of rocky outcrops in the bay that we entered that I imagine made it very challenging for our captain to negotiate.  As the tide is receding we are seeing more and more of those rocky "islands"  that would have been submerged on our arrival.

It is cold.  The temperature will reach a high of 9℃ with a minimum of 7℃ today but intermittently the sun pokes its head out from behind the clouds.  We are tendering into Paamiut today and Philip and I commented that we haven't been on a tender for quite awhile.  Most ports these days have good docking facilities.  

Our guide Mickel, who incidentally is another 14 year old with impeccable english, was waiting for us as we alighted the tender and quickly gathered us together for our walk around Paamiut.  It is another picture postcard place with the Norwegian style colourful houses that line the hillsides.  The population is just 1,500 so it is not a large town to walk and I have read that there are lots of trails to follow around the town if you want to get a "Birds Eye view". Paamiut is not quite as mountainous as Nuuk but still has the same rocky granite outcrops. Mickel points out various landmarks as we begin our walk away from the harbour

Not unremarkably, there is no sign of any gardens anywhere, but I did notice that the blue house above has a glasshouse attached on the left side.

We stop at the beautifully preserved wooden church that was built in 1909 in the Norwegian style.  Its distinctive red exterior and lavish interior stands as a testament to the towns enduring heritage, considered one of Greenlands finest.

We stop briefly at a craft store where you can purchase some of the beadwork that are hand-made by the local women.  Some of the necklaces are gorgeous and I particularly liked this candle holder but didn't purchase…..

Next stop is a home for the disadvantaged of Paamiut.  It is warm and cosy inside and you are invited to purchase tea, coffee and cake for $5.  There is also a craft table set up inside and while we are browsing, our guide picked up the guitar and started to softly sing in the background.  He's very talented.

Mickel has a little trouble re-grouping us for the return walk to the dock as some stayed for tea and coffee and others were milling around outside, however as the dock is within sight most of us simply wandered back of their own accord.  I couldn't stop taking photos…..

Paamiut is an unforgettable place.  The people are warm and friendly and we managed, through hand gestures, to have a form of conversation, but we have found the most important words are universal and they are…... "thank you".