Today we would have the chance to experience all that the Greenlandic town of Ilulisat had to offer. This fishing town is located in a prime spot along the central Greenland coast. Just west is Disko Island that we visited yesterday. This island defines the terminus of the influence of the small tongue of warm water that breaks off the Gulf Stream that rides along the east coast of North America. This warmth keeps the waters of Southwestern Greenland ice-free for most of the year. The fishing changes radically south of Disko as compared to north of the island. It is also home to the fastest glacier in the world. The Danish name is Jacobshavenisbren, the Greenlandic term Sermaq Kujalleq.
The offerings today were flightseeing over the ice, a leg stretch out to see the marching ice from the glacier, a town walk, and chance to see the icebergs up close from local fishing boats that convert to the tourist trade during the summer months. There is a shallow area at the mouth of the fjord that stops the largest bergs from escaping out to the sea, but is still deep enough for boats and ships to approach the largest icebergs in the northern hemisphere. These bergs, once toppled over the terminal moraine embark on a multiyear journey first north and then south along the Canadian coast all the way to Newfoundland, some 1,800 miles to the south. It is speculated that the Titanic sank after striking an iceberg from this very glacier.
The afternoons closed with a food tasting of Greenlandic fare followed by more scenic cruising amongst the ice towers waiting their turn for release into the Northern Atlantic.
