In search of a walrus.

[drron29]

So more of the ruins of Hvalsey-

..

 

..

 

..

 

The last recorded use of the church was a wedding in 1408.The Norse settlers then just disappeared.Probably the victims of Climate Change with the coming of the mini Ice Age.

[drron29]

So close yet so far JP.We are in Calgary now.Tomorrow we head for Banff.However I would be a perfect hiking companion.If you came across a grizzly you could easily out run me.:)

 

But the last of Hvalsey.A beautiful spot.No wonder it was selected for settlement-

..

 

..

 

Back onboard and I enjoyed a mojito with tapas.Then to dinner-my beef was very good and Rojaan's stuffed quail was excellent.Finally to the bar and almost the last to leave.

[drron29]

Tuesday.We had slept soundly and were awoken by our butler Catalino bringing us coffee.Breakfast in the restaurant and then it was time to get in the zodiacs for the settlement of Qassiausuk.

..

 

.

.

 

.

 

This settlement was established early last century but we are here because it was the site of the Norse settlement Brattahlid established by Eric the Red-

.

[drron29]

One of the youth hostels though is named after Eric's son,Leif the Lucky,who stands guaed over it-

..

 

Leif was probably the first European to set foot on the North American continent.

We then walked through the settlement with a local guide.The place exists on sheep farming but incredibly they don't use the wool.Said it is just to expensive to process.The lambs are all processed in a period of 3 weeks in October.

So one of the first houses at time of resettlement and one of the first barns-

..

 

We passed the school-

.

 

I am sure though that I would not survive camping here-

.

[drron29]

The kids come from all over the district so they board here-

..

 

Then we visited the first church at resettlement-

..

 

Whilst the farmers went about moving their hay-

.

 

Whilst the direct flight from Copenhagen arrived-

.

 

The Youth Hostel is run by a Spaniard so many young Spaniards come and stay here.

[drron29]

We then headed off to the ruins of Brattahlid where an interesting local lass told us the story of Eric-

..

 

She told us how Eric's wife got him to build the first Christian church in Greenland hence North America.She just locked the bedroom door.It was however quite small-

..

 

The recreated longhouse though was anything but small inside though not looking it from the outside-

.

 

Around the settlement these little blue boxes are the water supply-

[drron29]

The local shop was open.I am not too sure how well ice creams sell here though-

.

 

And I wondered what they were saying about Corn Flakes-

.

 

On the zodiac ride back noticed the Copenhagen flight was now loaded-

.

 

Back on board a nice Russian themed buffet lunch.The afternoon was to be a hike of 4.5Km to more ruins and of course 4.5KM back.I was in 2 minds as to going but it began to rain so I decided on a nanny nap.

Dinner was with 2 of the bear guards including the "Chick with a Gun"we had met on our Arctic cruise.The carpaccio of asparagus and sun dried tomato was very nice though mis named.The smoked pork and red cabbage was also good.Very tired so it was only left to admire the sunset before retiring-

..

 

.

[patnlcc]

What an interesting language, Ron. So many q's and double consonants. A lot of Danish in there. I am fascinated by the evolution of language.

[drron29]

Wednesday and a sea day.Had breakfast and then needed a nap.The day was overcast but the sea was calm.Awoke in time for lunch.Had a very interesting conversation with the others on the table and I think we solved most of the world's problems.

Did get to the post lunch lecture by Uli on life under the sea in the Arctic.And I stayed awake the whole time!Then the sun came out.Noticed more sea birds and then a large iceberg-

..

 

.

 

We decided to have dinner in our suite in a desperate effort to reduce our food intake.We had just gone to bed when the PA crackled to life announcing the Northern lights were putting on a show.Now I strictly take pictures in point and shoot mode so these are fairly grainy but hopefully give an idea of the spectacle-

..

 

[drron29]

..

 

..

 

..

 

So another thing I can cross off my bucket list.

[WesW]

bravo Ron, just outstanding posts & pix--Thank You!

[drron29]

Thursday and our second sea day steaming from Greenland to Canada.Awoke at 0600 and it was a beautiful fine day and a swell that was no more than an inch or two.Went to Breakfast and at 0800 the fog rolled in.Couldn't see a thing.Did go to the morning's Geology lecture.

Whilst having lunch the fog lifted and a whale was seen but at a considerable distance.After lunch went to Historian Peter's lecture on the Franklin Expeditions.After all he had been Governor of Van Dieman's Land so of interest to all of us who have worked in Tasmania.Peter makes history interesting.

 

With the sunshine the sea birds returned.Northern Fulmars kept making runs right past our balcony-

..

 

..

 

.

 

And then we saw Canada-

.

[drron29]

That afternoon it was an open bridge so went for a look-

.

 

Rewarded with a nice hug from Karolina.

It was a long way up Frobisher Bay.The sun set and the moon made a short appearance rising then setting after a few minutes-

.

 

Tonight was the Venetian Society cocktail party and dinner.At least 80% of the passengers were repeat Silver Explorer passengers.We had dinner with the Expedition Leader Robin West and his father and 2 women from the US.A good night was had by all.

Went up to the bar but as we arrived the Northern Lights made another appearance.Not as strong as the previous night but reflected in the water-

..

 

..

 

[drron29]

Friday.Overcast and a little rain at first.Then fog which fortunately quickly lifted.After Breakfast we anchored off Iqaluit the Capital of Nunavit province.A compulsory stop for Canadian Immigration and other formalities-apparently the ship was advised that crew quarters were going to be inspected as well.

After the face to face Immigration check it was back to bed.We had to wait until the formalities were done.So lunch and only then we headed off in the Zodiacs for a tour of Iqaluit.The weather was improving but still a strong wind so a very long choppy zodiac ride.

On shore we met our luxury transport-

.

 

We visited the small museum and community centre before going around the town.It wasn't that impressive-

..

 

The harbour front was bustling-

.

 

We then drove a little out of town to where the Hudson Bay Company set up at the start of last century-

.

[drron29]

More of the Hudson Bay Company-

..

 

One of the houses is now privately owned.It demonstrates the normal housing situation here.

 

The smaller pipe is for water,the larger for sewerage.

Here is our group inspecting alternative transport-

.

 

But I doubt it was going anywhere-

.

 

But probably there were the odd good times-

 

In 1942 the town moved to it's present site when the US established an air base there.Until recently this was the second longest paved strip in Canada.,It has had the A380 land here and was an alternate strip for the Space Shuttle.It handles 2000n flights a month now.Amazing for a town of 8000 people.

[drron29]

And on cue one of those flights went overhead-

.

 

Then off to the Power station.This was an exciting tour.But we got a good look over town.The hospital is in the foreground-

.

 

And some Inuit outside art-

.

 

Next to the environmental park where people liked to fish-

..

 

And back across the town-

.

 

Had dinner with a delightful couple from Connecticut and we swapped some travel tips.

[drron29]

We then steamed back up Frobisher bay enjoying the day's last light-

..

 

For the third night in a row the lights put on a show but not as good tonight-

.

 

The Explorers searchlights put on a better show as a container vessel was coming the other way-

.

 

But to end this post I will feature Ricci-

He has a great memory and was able to tell me when I had cruised with SS as he has been on nearly all our SS cruises.He was born in Manilla but now lives just outside it.He has worked on Silverseas since 1997 previously working on P&O ferries out of Amsterdam.He has 2 sons-17 and 22.The eldest now works on the Whisper and Ricci hopes to soon work with his son.

[patnlcc]

Wow, Ron, that's an amazing number of flights for such an out-of-the-way place.

[lkbside]

GREAT pix Ron. And fun to relive the voyage through your eyes and illuminating comments!

[lkbside]

A lot of the flight volume apparently comes from private jets from the US refueling on their way to Europe.

[drron29]

Yes lkbside it is an interesting airport.Has been used for cold weather testing of the A380,747-8 and 787.A couple of times a year a flight between the USA and Europe or vice versa lands there to offload a medical emergency or unruly passenger.Quite a few videos on You Tube of what you would think unlikely planes at Iqaluit.

And on my last post I forgot to post Ricci's picture so here he is,as always smiling-

.

 

So now to Saturday.Awoke 0730,had a quick breakfast and out on the zodiacs at 0830 for a cruise through the Lower Savage Islands.You are dropped at one end,the ship relocates and you are picked up on the other side of the Islands.The sea was calm but it was oivercast with showers.A pleasant zodiac cruise-

..

 

Some people had a good viewing of a polar bear.We got there in time just to see it disappear over a hill-

.

 

But still enjoyable with the rock formations and seeing the range of the tides on the rocks-

.

 

I sure needed a nice hot cup of coffee on return.Then lunch and get ready for a 1430 cruise of Nanook harbour.

[drron29]

Ready to go-

..

 

We saw birds-here an auk-

.

 

and waterfalls-

.

 

and this-

.

 

No not dirty snow but a mother polar bear and her cub.This is at 50X zoom.In real life this was not the best polar bear sighting.But we did see snow-

.

[drron29]

An interesting demonstration of the high water mark-

.

 

But plants can still grow here.

.

 

So a nice cup of tea on return.Good recap.Great company at dinner and nearly last to leave.Up to the bar.Went outside to check if the lights were making another appearance but it was snowing so quickly back inside.

 

Sunday and our schedule calls for a zodiac cruise along the cliffs of Akpatok Island which is meant to be our best chance of up close polar bear viewing.But overcast,raining,3-4 metre swell and 70Kmh winds.

At 1045 the days activities are officially cancelled.So off we cruise to Douglas Harbour.

Here is our view of Akpatok-

.

 

Naturally the weather kept improving but all we could do was admire the sunset-

..

 

and the moon-

.

 

Some good lectures.Another night we decided to eat in our suite.Just had appetisers.Then off to sleep for a big day tomorrow.

[drron29]

Monday and we awake in Douglas harbour to a beautiful day-

.

 

As this is the Explorer's first time here various expedition parties go out.Decide on a spot and offer a difficult walk and an easy walk.I decide on the easy walk.I have always had difficulty climbing hills and the knee has made things worse.30 go on the difficult walk and 78 the easy walk.I wait until my zodiac group is called so naturally last into the zodiacs.Most are waiting for us-

.

 

The zodiac ride both ways was pleasant with a very calm harbour-

.

 

The easy walk was a climb over rocks,bogs and uneven ground with a couple of steeper sections.However even part way up the views were great-

..

 

A lovely little stream-

[drron29]

A few on the easy walk didn't make it to the lake.I was the last of those I did.I hid my discomfort with photos of plants etc a way of taking a break-

..

 

..

 

..

 

See the beauty of photography.By getting down low and using a wide angle you can make the hill look much steeper!