Day 24
The end of the line, the promise of home, time to pack, time to say good-bye - to the ship, to the crew, to new-found friends, to Greenland. After 23 excitement-packed days people leave with mixed feelings; being far from home, so much removed from all familiar surroundings creates a craving to go b...
Day 23
Our last day offered cloudy skies and a striking blue glacier front as we sailed into Evighedsfjord. As one of Greenlands many fjords, it was just as spectacular as expected with waterfalls running down the steep mountainsides. Heading out for one final adventure in our zodiacs, we took a closer loo...
Day 22
“The place by the foxholes”, the Inuit name for what the Danish call Holsteinborg, is the second largest city in Greenland, although with its 5.900 inhabitants dwarfed by the capital Nuuk. However, business is growing fast, and the mix between the archeological history, the more recent traditional l...
Day 21
Ilulissat, the “Iceberg City,” greeted us with its vibrant energy and awe-inspiring natural wonders. At the Icefjord Centre, we delved into the science and stories behind the mighty Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, one of the most active and fastest-moving glaciers in the world. The centre’s exhibits brough...
Day 20
Arriving in Disko Bay, we were welcomed by a landscape of immense glaciers calving into the icy waters, sending towering icebergs adrift like silent sentinels. Cruising by zodiac through this spectacular scenery, guests were immersed in a world shaped by fire and ice, where volcanic mountains rise s...
Day 19
As we sailed across the vast expanse of Davis Strait, the open sea stretched endlessly before us, a meeting place of Arctic and Atlantic waters. This channel, steeped in history as a vital route for explorers and whalers alike, still holds a wild, untamed energy. The ever-changing moods of the ocean...
Day 18
And - after long days, many landings, cruisings, icebergs, polar bears, and whales - we are through! Coming from the west, Pond Inlet is the exit of the most famous itinerary of them all. And it’s very obvious that this place is closer to supplies and modern life in general; the town is well-kept an...
Day 17
Welcome to the largest uninhabited island in the world! Devon Island, at the northern end of the Lancaster Sound, is practically the exit of the Northwest Passage. This favourable position made it very attractive for The Hudson Bay Company, the oldest corporation in North America & Canada, so they e...
Day 16, afternoon
This - has to - keep us smiling even when Radstock Bay, where we went later in the day, was crammed with dense ice, making our afternoon activity impossible. Everybody takes it with grace, shrugs it off, so we all enjoy the on-board program even more.
Day 16
Today we hit some unfortunate weather; the shores of Beechey Island are shrouded with dense fog. This is a polar bear hotspot, so the risk is far too great to venture a landing, a wise decision taken with a heavy heart by our Expedition Leader Yibo. Maybe the thought is helping that so far we had ou...
Day 15, afternoon
Later on we have a sail-by in front of an incredibly intact cliff at Prince Leopold Island, 480 Million years old and neat and untouched as if geology never happened.
Day 15
Thick multi-year ice floes welcome us in the fascinatingly barren bay of Port Leopold. The weather is grey with some white precipitation - winter is coming. Strong winds make this landing one of the not so cosy ones, many layers of wool and fleece are needed. But the location is overwhelming; the hu...
Day 14
Sailing through Bellot Strait, we were surrounded by towering cliffs and jagged rock formations that seem to guard this narrow passage with silent grandeur. The strait, named after the intrepid French explorer Joseph René Bellot, carries with it the echoes of countless voyages and daring attempts to...
Day 13
Uncle John and Nephew James Clark Ross seriously wrote their names into the history books of the Northwest Passage, the latter much more than the former. So it is with a feeling of admiration that we sail through these waters, thinking how much harder times must have been, how much greater the motiv...
Day 12
Everybody knows that Roald Amundsen was the first man to reach the South Pole on foot in 1911. Few people are aware that his preparations took place in the very high Arctic. With the small sailing ship Gjoa he ventured into the Northwest Passage in 1903 and spent two whole years with the people of G...
Day 11
Our landing on Jenny Lind Island felt like stepping into a world untouched by time. The rugged shoreline greeted us with its silent, stoic presence as we cruised in by zodiac and set foot on its rocky surface. The island’s barren landscape, carved by millennia of wind and ice, offers a quiet reminde...
Day 10
Cambridge Bay – or Iqaluktuuttiaq in Inuinnaqtun – sits quietly on the southern shores of Victoria Island, a modern-day hub nestled amid the stark beauty of the tundra. Today it welcomed us with open arms and warm smiles. Our visit into the community brought us face to face with the living tradition...
Day 9
A beach with some ice in front of it, a hill in the background, some dark rocks with the occasional streamlet coming down from them. Quaint, but not spectacular - one would think. But this is one of the situation where knowledge about a place works wonders: Murray Island’s rocks are part of the Cana...
Day 8
Ulukhaktok, nestled on the shores of Victoria Island, welcomed us with a warm sense of community and rich cultural heritage. Our visit began with a gentle walk to nearby hills, where the sweeping views offered a glimpse into the vast Arctic landscape that shapes daily life here. Back in town, we wer...
Day 7
Getting closer to the ragged cliffs of Smoking Hills is an unreal experience. The world seems in trouble - the mountains are on fire! Columns of smoke rise in many places, today very much accentuated against the pale blue sky. The different colours are striking - vivid red and yellow, the thick, bil...
Day 6
Continuing our voyage through the Beaufort Sea, the landscape of water and sky unfolded in serene simplicity. Ice floes drifted lazily by, some remnants of the winter’s frozen grip, while the distant calls of seabirds echoed softly. This quiet day at sea allowed for reflection on the vastness of the...
Day 5
The vast expanse of calm, icy waters stretched out under a wide sky, where the horizon seemed endless. Known for its rich marine life and importance to the indigenous Inuvialuit people, the Beaufort Sea holds stories both ancient and modern. From the deck, we watched the play of light on the water’s...
Day 4
Sailing through the Beaufort Sea, we found ourselves in waters that bridge the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, a region rich in natural history and ecological significance. The sea’s vast openness was both humbling and inspiring, with gentle waves reflecting the ever-shifting Arctic light. As we continue...
Day 3
Crossing the vast expanse of the Chukchi Sea, we were embraced by an ever-changing seascape where sky and water blend into shades of deep blue and gray. This stretch of ocean, rich in marine life and steeped in history, has long been a crucial corridor between continents and cultures. From the ship’...
Day 2
This marked the first day of our four-day stretch at sea, and the ship gently settled into the steady rhythm of open-water travel. Outside, the ice and sea continued their endless dance beneath an expansive Arctic sky, reminding us of the immense wilderness surrounding us and the journey still unfol...
Day 1
Our journey began in Nome, a gateway to the Arctic frontier and a town steeped in the rugged spirit of the North. As passengers embarked, the excitement was palpable - anticipation mingling with the crisp air and wide-open skies. Nome’s history, marked by gold rush tales and indigenous heritage, set...