2023 Greenland Expedition - Day 5 Bjorne Øer (where the bear was killled)

Why Greenland?

This morning, massive icebergs. 

After posting the blog last night, we finally entered Scoresbysund Fjord. This map shows the heavy and old sea ice we’d been navigating through all day (yellow is ice). The fjord opens to the left of the oval marked E. (And, lucky for us, the ice in oval F has cleared out.)

As we approached the fjord, we watched a row of massive pyramid icebergs morph into several pieces as our viewing angles changed. 

We cruised slowly this morning, watching the changing landscape. Our landing destination was Bjorne Øer (“place where bear was killed” - but that was a long time ago.) It used to be a popular Inuit hunting area, but now sees more tourists than hunters. And there ain’t that many tourists.

Bjorne Øer is in the collection of little islands northwest of the boat above.

There was a series of talks and workshops offered today: Whales and Dolphins, Echolocation, and Icy You (try saying it out-loud). Echolocation was hands on, in every sense of the word. People volunteered to be blindfolded and navigated around objects in the room by listening to clapping in response to their cues, or learned to sense orientation of sound pulses in water when both their vision and hearing were blocked.

Evocative of The Wall: Winter is coming.

We arrived at Bjorne Øer around 4:30 PM. It was 55 degrees F and 5 knot winds. After the expedition team scoped out the landing/walking areas for bears, we were allowed to land. We limited our weather gear to rain pants over jeans and our Hurtigruten expedition jackets, and still were hot. 

Our landing site is to the left, where the red jackets are unloading.

Nils, happy to be back in Greenland, awaits us atop the hill.

Red flags marking our trail - not the world’s most challenging Par 3 course. 

The tundra was squishy and rocky, with a sprinkling of tiny wildflowers and swarms of mosquitoes.

We (the proud Group 2 Snowy Owls) were the first group ashore and back to the boat today. People were still ashore at 9:15 PM, so this was a lucky break. The schedule varies with each expedition, so we’ll be the last group out tomorrow morning. No worries. They see that all 8 groups have a good experience. 

2023 Greenland Expedition - Day 4 Land Ho!

Why Greenland? We asked ourselves that throughout the night, as the engines growled and shuddered, roared and lurched. Apparently there is some strain on the motors when navigating slowly through sea ice, reversing suddenly before moving slowly a few feet ahead. 

The views through our deep-set porthole were eerie overnight, shades of light and ice.

Midnight

7 AM - and Land!

We could see bright sunshine and the coast of Greenland. There was a lot of sea ice, so much that the ship could not enter Scoresbysund Fjord. The FRAM anchored well outside the entrance to the fjord and waited for the tide to turn. When it began flowing inland, the ship could run in with the ice floes. This is the largest fjord in the world, and about 32 km (20 miles) wide at its entrance. Distances and size are difficult to judge here, with nothing familiar visible for scale, but we likely won’t see the other side when we enter. 

We were supposed to attempt a landing and walk on the south side of the fjord today, but instead, the expedition team readied the zodiacs for cruises through the sea ice. 

If you look closely, you can spot the zodiac nudging big ice floes away from the FRAM.

Neils was the expedition team member on our 11 person zodiac. He lives in Ittoqqortoomiit, the northernmost of the two towns in East Greenland. It’s Neils’ first sailing with Hurtigruten. Among other things, he’s a storyteller, and we’re looking forward to learning more about folklore and traditions as our voyage continues. 

Super calm seas. Occasionally a seal would pop up to check us out. Neils said they likely had never seen humans before. The Inuit hunt and have many uses for them. He mentioned that there are so many that it’s hard to keep them in check. Only fairly recently (in the big scheme of things) have orca been coming this far north along Greenland’s east coast. Previously, the seals had no predators besides man and polar bears.

Many of the more fantastic ice formations are from sea ice compressing and lifting, often over several years. They are made of frozen sea water. Ice formations that are flat and dirty-looking are most likely from glacier calving. For both types, like ice cubes, most of the ice is underwater. As the surface ice melts, the center of gravity shifts and the ice pivots, rotates, flips upside-down to get the largest mass under water. 

From the ship. What appears at sea level to be separate pieces broken by pools, is in reality one big floe connected underwater.

This evening we are slowly cruising through old sea ice. In about an hour,  we can safely enter Scoresbysund Fjord. We’re in a vast reflecting pond of frozen ice. The stillness and beauty make one feel small and insignificant. It’s a lovely, albeit forbidding, place. 

2023 Greenland Expedition - Day 3 Heading North

We woke this morning to see the coast of Iceland off to the starboard side. We should be in Greenland tomorrow morning.

Greenland is the world’s largest island. Geographically part of North America, it is an autonomous territory of Denmark and identifies culturally and historically as European. It’s been associated with Norway/Denmark since 986 AD. On a flat map like the one below, it appears disproportionately large.. But it is, indeed, big: three times the size of Texas. Seventy-five percent of Greenland is covered by a permanent icefield, the largest icefield outside of Antarctica. 

Greenland has a population of only 56,600 and is the least densely population region in the world. By comparison Texas, a third of the size, has over 29 million inhabitants - or over 500 times as many people. The residents are scattered in small settlements along the coast. Most are in south or west Greenland. The east coast, where we are headed, is even more sparsely populated.

Fun history fact: you may recall August 2019 news stories about Trump suggesting the US buy Greenland from Denmark. This prompted the premier to state that, “Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold.” Turns out that this was not an original idea. The United States has had geopolitical interest in Greenland since the end of World War II, as a military, resource and mineral base. But even before that, in 1867 US Secretary of State Seward worked with Robert J Walker (my great-great-great-great uncle) to investigate the possibility of buying Greenland - perhaps as a package deal with Iceland. Congressional opposition ended this scheme.

Today was a day of briefings and orientation: ship overview, Zodiac instructions, wildlife viewing, Citizen Science program, collected our muck boots, photography introduction, training for kayaking (which we’ve decided to skip - you have to be fit and a good swimmer, willing to forego a landing that day, and have no control over what day you kayak. We’d rather do the landings. It seems like there was a program every hour or so. Only a couple were mandatory (AECO and tender boat instructions, and kayaking, if you wanted to try that.)

AECO (pronounced A-ECO) is the Association for Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators. Formed in 2003, its mission is to promote and ensure responsible, environmentally friendly and safe tourism. Members comply with several sets of guidelines: operators, visitors, wildlife protection, biosecurity and site-specific rules.

Expedition staff will be armed in areas where there may be polar bears. If one is sighted, we have to follow instructions to immediately return to the landing area and return to the ship. The expedition leader was no-nonsense about this: “Don’t make me use my polar bear voice.”  Of course, we pretty much all desperately want to see a polar bear. That’s why we’re going there, right? But they want us to safely take photos from the ship. 

We learned our itinerary has changed from what was first planned - for the better! We were scheduled to spend the majority of the trip in the Scoresbysund Fjord system, as shown in the map above.

Initial planned route:

However, due to narwhals and beluga whales breeding in the area, we’ll only spend four days there. Some sections (in red) are totally off limits, while others (the orange regions) will be restricted to quiet cruising at 5 knots, or 5.75 mph. The goal is to minimize noise and other impacts of human interference.

Hurtigruten accordingly applied for a permit to continue our expedition north to Northeast Greenland National Park (NGNP). I’ll write more about NGNP later. For now, I’ll just note that it’s the largest land-based national park in the world, and the least visited. It’s incredibly remote. In an average year, more people summit Mount Everest (800) than visit this park (500). (I found that difficult to believe, but Google confirmed.) Needless to say, we’re pretty happy with this deviation. 

So - our new route:

Back to today. We continued north past the top of Iceland to a little above the Arctic Circle (66.33 degrees N), where currents push nutrients and fish to the surface. So many whales! Humpback, fin, blue, etc. The captain cut the engines and we drifted in the quiet. A naturalist on the bow called out spottings, while those of us outside went from side to side watching for spouts, breaches and tail-smacking flukings.

The reason for the whale convocation is the confluence of ocean currents and sea depth that occurs in the region between Iceland and Greenland. Nutrients are pushed to the surface as the currents hit the shallower seas around Iceland, creating a rich feeding area for the whales.. 

By late afternoon, we could see sea ice. After dinner, maybe 9 PM, Greg spotted a fleeting “fog bow”. By the time I joined him on the port side, it was gone. 

Our ability to cruise and land in Greenland will be dependent upon wind, swell, and ice. Tomorrow morning we’ll be heading west as we curve into the Scoresbysund Fjord system and cruise slowly to our planned landing site. The forecast is favorable: 8 degrees Celsius (46.5 degrees F) with a very light wind. So far, so good!  

2023 Greenland Expedition - Reykjavik and board MS Fram for Greenland!

This morning we met Kathy and Charley for breakfast at the tiny Grái Kötturinn (Gray Cat) for breakfast. We had the day to kill before boarding our Greenland expedition ship around dinner time, so walked to the TI to look into tour options for the day. K & C decided to take the hop-on, hop-off bus loop and visited the Perlan, a natural history museum with an ice cave, 360-degree theater, observatory, northern lights display, etc. Greg and I went back to our hotel to pack up, and then walk around outside. I don’t think we’ll have much opportunity for long walks for the next couple of weeks, and it was another beautiful day. 

Tjörnin, or “The Pond”, is a small lake in the City Center. It’s adjacent to the City Hall, with a walking path, gardens and sculptures. Several museums and the University of Iceland are nearby. Forty to fifty species of water birds visit the lake. We saw swans and several species of gulls, geese and ducks. So many people feed the birds that The Pond has been called “the biggest bread soup in the world.” (Wikipedia)

This octagonal building was built to host a bandstand on its roof. It’s now part of the Reykjavik College of Music.

Gardens and statues along The Pond, with Reykjavik City Hall in the distance. 

Geocaching led us to a street a couple of blocks up from The Pond, where we entered Hólavallagarõur, an old cemetery filled with history and atmosphere. This site was selected as the small church cemetery in town approached capacity, but there was a delay in the dedication and first internment. Tradition held that the first soul buried would remain undecayed in its grave, destined to watch over the cemetery and welcome those  brought for future burials. No one wanted to hand such a fate to their loved one. 

On November 23, 1838, the cemetery was finally consecrated and the first (unfortunate) person was buried here. She was the wife of the President of the High Court. It eludes the record as to whether the widower didn’t buy into the haunting tale, or was totally fine with her taking on unending responsibilities. 



The original burial ground was about 80 meters square. It was expanded several times over the next hundred years, and now encompasses 3.5 hectares (over 8 acres). Over 30,000 people are buried here. The cemetery is well-tended and still used today. 

We split a sandwich in The Laundromat Cafe, which may or may not have other locations in Scandinavia. We like the custom of just grabbing a bottle of water and glasses from the bar to self-serve tap water (saw this in other little restaurants here, as well). In the basement near the restrooms was a laundromat - or maybe it was just staged as one. Nothing was very clear. But the food was good. 

Hurtigruten’s MS Fram will be our home for the next two weeks. Easiest cruise boarding ever. The “cruiseport” is the little wooden building in front. They waved us through, escorted us to the ship through the big gateway open on the side of the boat, and checked our passport onboard. After a buffet dinner, everyone attended the mandatory safety and lifeboat briefing. The safety drill included instructions for donning frigid water survivor suits under life vests, and clipping a bag of survival gear (including wool clothing) to our suits. Here’s hoping this is the only time we see these lovely orange outfits!

Another view of Harpa, the lovely performing arts center, from our ship.as we prepare to start our Greenland adventure.

2023 Greenland Expedition - Day 1 Reykjavik

We’re off on another adventure - this time to the east coast of Greenland. But first things first. The only way to visit for commoners like us (not military, government, scientist, mining engineers, climatologist, etc) is to catch an expedition ship in Reykjavik. So here we are in Iceland. I wasn’t planning to start blogging this trip until we boarded for Greenland, but Reykjavik is so picturesque that I decided to write up a bit today just to share photos. 

Yesterday afternoon we drove to Baltimore where we met our friends and fellow travelers, Kathy and Charley, for our overnight flight to Reykjavik. It’s under a 6 hour flight, and a 4 hour time difference to Iceland. It was lovely today, high 50s and sunny. We were able to check into our respective hotels early, and, after a nap, hit the streets to explore.

I was first in Reykjavik twenty-four years ago, and the city had certainly modernized its look since then. It’s still quirky, walkable and delightful. But now its formerly unassuming and low-slung architecture includes an impressive concert hall, a soaring steeple, chic housing developments and art installations scattered throughout. 

Reykjavik City Hall was completed in 1992. In addition to housing the offices of the mayor and city government, there’s a a huge topographical map of Iceland. 

A few hundred feet from city is the Unknown Bureaucrat, a tongue-in-cheek monument to those poor souls who trudge daily through petty government procedures. (Hands down, my favorite art piece today).

We had lunch at Icelandic Street Food, which, besides an appealing name, featured a limited menu of simple, traditional sheep and fish soups. Fun fact: there are more sheep than people in Iceland (except, perhaps, when cruise ships descend.)

We all managed to pass on the special.

…opting instead of a variety of soups in bread bowls. I had a lamb soup, while others tried a fish soup and spicy tomato. 

Bustling, colorful Skolavordustigur Street (also, for obvious reasons, known as Reykjavik Rainbow Street) leads up to the highest point in the city. 

The pedestrian street is full of Icelandic craft shops and trendy restaurants. 

Hallgrimskirkja sits at the end of the street. The Lutheran church, completed in 1986, is the tallest in Iceland. (The leaders of the Church of Iceland wanted their church to tower over the nearby Catholic Church.)  Its design incorporates themes in Icelandic nature: glaciers, hexagonal basalt columns, waterfalls, etc. It reminded me of  a bank of organ pipes. 

The inside is austere, with little ornamentation. The seat backs of the benches can be adjusted, like in an old train, to face the altar in the front for Sunday services, or the organ in the back for the weekly concerts.

We took an elevator up 8 stories to the clock level, and climbed stairs to the bell tower for city views. 

A statue of Leif Erickson sits outside the church entrance. It was a gift from the United States in 1930, to commemorate the millennial anniversary of Iceland’s first parliament meeting in 930. 

A two lane bike path parallels a broad walkway along Reykjavik harbor. Along the waterfront, the stainless steel Sun Voyager commemorates Reyklavik’s 200th anniversary in 1986. 

Greg tried to be inconspicuous while finding a geocache.

Hundred of cairns line the harbor by Harpa. 

Harpa, the award winning performance and conference center opened in 2011. Its honeycombed multi-colored glass facade was, like the Hallgrimskirkja, inspired by Icelandic basalt formations. It’s gorgeous inside and out. 

From Harpa, a view to the man-made Puta - which we hope to visit tomorrow. We’re scheduled to board our ship at 6 pm tomorrow, so have several hours to continue enjoying Reykjavik. 

I may not be able to post each day from the ship - they’ve warned us WiFi will be sporadic  But I’ll write daily and post when I can.

An observation on Scandinavian design: screw tops of disposable bottles here remain attached to the bottles, so no loose bottle caps dropped along the road.