Peel Sound, Nunavut, 8/20/2022, National Geographic Endurance
Aboard the
National Geographic Endurance
Arctic
Following in the footsteps of polar explorers, we navigated through the night in the shallow and dangerous waters of the James Ross Strait. We wake up to a very windy, rainy, foggy, and sometimes even snowy day. Weather is the ruler of the Arctic, and we can only adapt to its conditions.
Luckily, National Geographic Endurance is the perfect platform to spend a day at sea. We take advantage of the knowledge of our naturalists while enjoying the comfort of the ship.
Stefano is originally from Italy and nature has always been the greatest of his passions. Spending time outdoors is his daily priority with a special devotion rock climbing during summer, accompanied by ski and snowboarding during winter.
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Ilulissat means, “place with many icebergs” and it certainly lives up to its reputation. Our whole day was spent exploring glacial ice near this beautiful settlement. We were fortunate to visit the Ilulissat Icefjord UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we had a lovely walk along the boardwalk to enjoy the magnificent views of the icebergs floating in the fjord. Afterwards we visited the Icefjord Centre where we learned how glaciers are formed, how they move, calve, and produce icebergs. Later, the immense size of these magnificent icebergs became even more evident as we sailed in between them on local boats. What a wonderful day!
Today’s mandatory Zodiac safety briefing got interrupted by some humpback whale and blue whale sightings just southwest out of Sisimiut. We took advantage of this opportunity and spent time whale watching as they circled the ship. Once the ship got docked, operations included venturing out with local guides on the Arctic Circle Hike, a popular route that stretches from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq, where we reached right under the Sisimiut landmark Nasaasaaq, “the thing that looks like a hoodie”, in Greenlandic. The other tours included a town walk that started at the “Dog Town” of Sisimiut, where our local guides provided some cultural insight about the Greenlandic sled dog and Sisimiut in general. All tours ended in the museum district of Sisimiut, concluding in some tasting of Greenlandic cuisine consisting of some snow crab, capelin, dried reindeer, dried cod, and some musk ox soup. Our day finished with the first recap from our lovely staff, followed by a briefing from our expedition leader, and a warm welcome from Captain Martin on this trip of the Northwest Passage.
National Geographic Resolution spent the day at sea. Everyone enjoyed some extra rest and a brunch full of delicious treats. The Bering Sea gave us a taste of its reputation with a show of wind and swells as we cruised south. There were several educational presentations throughout the day. In the afternoon, we all celebrated the official completion of the Northwest Passage with a champagne toast and cheers as we neared the Bering Strait. What a day!