August 21 – Prinz Christian Sund

Imagine, if you will, waking up to brilliant sunny skies after a week of continual cloudy skies and rain. Looking out your window, you are greeted by a deep blue sea with multiple large icebergs floating in the water. On the horizon, as far as the eye can see, are tall snowcapped mountains forming the shoreline. That is what we saw as we awoke this morning off the coast of Greenland.

During breakfast, as we cruised along the eastern shore, we saw a solitary minke whale. They say we may see Humpback whales, but I’m not holding my breath.

The weather was amazing. It was sunny, there was very little breeze and for the first time since we started our vacation there seemed to be a warmth to air. The cruise director told us that this was a once in a summertime occurrence.

We entered the Prinz Christian Sund in the early afternoon. This fjord connects the Labrador Sea with the Irminger Sea, which is in the southeast of Greenland. It is around 100km long and it can sometimes by very narrow, sometimes only 500m wide. On each side of the waterway are steep enormous mountains, many of which have huge glaciers running down their slopes to the water. There are multiple waterfalls created by melting ice flowing down the cliffs.

All along the fjord, there are many small icebergs. These chunks of ice have been calved from the numerous glaciers and don’t pose a navigational problem for the boat. But on occasion we do approach rather large icebergs that must be treated with caution. Our captain is very experienced, so we were not worried.

About half-way down the sound, we meet the Princess Caribbean heading in the opposite direction. As we passed the cruise liner, the captains acknowledged each other by blasting their fog horns. Then the passengers lining the decks of the boats cheered and greeted each other. A wonderful experience to be sure.

Because of the steep rock face of the mountains and the narrow width of the fjord there is a distinct wind tunnel effect. When the wind picked up late in the afternoon, it was so strong that it was hard to hold the camera steady when taking a picture. Even walking against the wind was a chore.

Further on down the fjord, we came across the only the human settlement in this remote area of the world. Aappilattoq has been inhabited since the 19th century. It currently has about 100 inhabitants and is only accessible by water or float planes. It has a school, a sports field, a general store and a general repair shop. I can’t imagine living in such isolation.

Unfortunately we didn't see any hunchback whales. It might be our last chance to see them until we meet up with the family on Cape Cod after the cruise.

This is among the most beautiful scenery we have ever experienced. It is better than the inside passage of British Columbia, as good as the Milford Sound in New Zealand and equally as spectacular as the Glacier Alley at the southern tip of Chile. It was a most memorable way to spend a day.

During the evening, we went to show on the boat to see a trio called the Trawlermen. They played folk music with most of their playset being Irish folk songs. They played it with such enthusiasm that they got the audience joining along. It was outstanding and I would go to see them again.

After dinner Marg and some of the other ladies went to a silent disco. This is were everyone wears a set of earphones, but each plays a different style of music. So, no one is dancing to the same song. It is hilarious to watch.