Ilulissat, Greenland, 8/31/2017, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Arctic
Ten percent of the ice cast off of the Greenland Ice sheet comes from the Jacobshavn Glacier, 75 km’s east of Ilulissat at the head to Isfjord (Icefjord). If there’s a “hot” spot for tourism in Greenland, Ilulissat would hold that title, and it’s the impressive accumulation of seriously massive icebergs at the entrance to this fjord that put Ilulissat in the spotlight. So much so that the fjord, and the tundra draped glacial landscape around it, has been established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Truly only unique cultural and natural sights achieve this designation. Well, today would be dedicated to ice and the story it’s told on the land that surrounds it. Presently, as it has in the past, Ilulissat is one of Greenland’s busiest fishing ports and still thrives today in that vain.
Doug Gualtieri has worked as a Naturalist interpretive guide for over 20 years, beginning his career in Denali National Park and Preserve at a remote wilderness lodge leading hikes and giving lectures on the ecology and wildlife of that region. Later...
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Today was a real day of exploration. No towns or docks—only the wilderness and our shipmates. For the first time on the expedition, we were truly explorers. Arriving at a new destination, uncharted and unscouted by any of the staff, turned out to be a fantastic day on Greenland. We arrived in the morning at the mouth of a fjord further south than we had yet ventured and went ashore after a presentation from our National Geographic photographer, Johnathan Irish. Plenty of hikes and walks stretched our legs as we filled our eyes and memory cards with the epic scenery. During the second half of the day, we participated in water activities on the fjord, right at the face of the very active, blue glacier. We kayaked and Zodiac cruised, navigating among the perhaps 100,000-years-old ice. As a bonus, we were offered the opportunity to jump into the nearly freezing waters for a Polar Plunge!
Today was almost all about icebergs. The Ilulissat icefjord is the biggest iceberg factory in the Northern Hemisphere. Bergs calved from a tongue of the Greenland ice sheet are spat into the head of this fjord—but there's a problem: A shallow hump at the mouth of the fiord catches deep-drafted bergs, locking them in an iceberg jail yard, until the irresistible force of more arriving bergs push them past. Boat tours gave guests a close-up experience of the immense icebergs at the fjord's mouth. A short hike down a boardwalk led guests to a fjord-side cliff that overlooked the iceberg prison. The Ilulissat area is home to Sermermiut, settled thousands of years ago by the Saqqaq indigenous people and one of the most important archaeological sites in Greenland. Together, history and natural wonders have earned the Ilulissat icefjord the designation of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many guests took advantage of free time for walks in town. The dog sledding tradition is much alive in Greenland, and guests saw many of tethered dogs, waiting for their summer vacation to end and their sledding work to begin.
After some great days of expedition in Iceland, we arrived in Greenland to incredible weather and scenery. It was not yet totally dark when the call come up: “We have something special dancing in the skies—you can’t miss this!” We were treated to a spectacular show of the aurora. The greens, reds, and yellows of the northern lights painted the skies all around the ship. It was simply unbelievable! In the morning, we were in Sisimiut, the second biggest town in Greenland, with about 5,000 inhabitants. Fishing for shrimp, cod, and haddock is the main industry. This town has the privilege of having a port that does not freeze over the winter; it’s accessible by sea all year-round. Our morning was spent exploring this colorful town with local inhabitants. Some of us adventured on a nature hike to the outskirts of Sisimiut. In former times, the Inuits only wore clothes made from animal hides or skins. These clothes were warm and hardwearing, and if properly looked after, could cope with the winter’s freezing temperatures in the Arctic region. Before contact with the outside world, the Inuits did not have access to fabrics and beads—all clothing was made from skins of seal, polar bear, reindeer, foxes, rabbits, and dogs. Both men’s and women’s clothes consisted of furs, trousers, and boots, but with different cut and choice of animal skin. The West Greenlandic outfit for the women is very colourful. They use sealskin for the kamiks, as well as embroidery and dyed sealskin leather, cut into small pieces, called avittat. The pants are almost shorts and are also made of sealskin and avittat. The anorak is made of fabric and features a complicated design with a beautiful pearl collar. In the afternoon, we visited a local clothing school for the crafting of traditional products. The details, the creativity, and the patience to produce such pieces is fascinating. We also saw a local Inuit man perform an astonishing kayak demonstration right next to National Geographic Explorer . One would think the day was almost at the end, but we were thrilled to see the second-largest cetacean in the world, the fin whale (which can travel at 48km/h) swimming just next to our ship. What a day!
