The ship awoke at the entrance to Buchan Gulf, the location for our activities. As we navigated among the ice floes, the ship was escorted by some of the 25,000 pairs of fulmars that breed within this important bird area. Its not just great for birds, though. The geology where they nest is mindblowing! The ice is home to polar bears, and the water, at least today, was full of narwhals. The morning was spent hiking amongst Arctic wildflowers or Zodiac cruising to observe ice and wildlife. During the afternoon, the ship reached the very back of this deep fjord.
8/25/2023
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Itiullipest Fjord, Greenland
As we headed south along the west coast of Greenland, Kerstin Langerbergen gave a talk about how to determine whether a polar bear is male or female. It was very interesting for guests to try to apply the methods she revealed to the bears (around 19!) we saw on this trip. There were definitely some surprises! Later in the morning, Ken Garrett shared his photos from the trip. Reliving the last three weeks through his photos was a very emotional experience. After lunch, we did something rarely done on our ships – operations in the afternoon before disembarkation day! Some guests chose to hike with a backdrop of beautiful glacial cirques, while others kayaked around the beautiful fjord where we stopped. Another group took off for a Zodiac cruise. They saw metamorphosed pillow basalts, several peregrine falcons, and even a reindeer! What a wonderful afternoon in Greenland! A very heartfelt bon voyage to all our new friends!