The first morning of our voyage to Greenland and Baffin Island was spent meeting the natural history staff and receiving information about our journey. But not before a marine mammal sighting, many humpback whales, drove us to the bow to view these magnificent animals. The sun was just right for “rainblows,” or rainbow colors in the blows of the animals.
The groups of whales made shallow dives and a few even came over to check out the ship. A great start to the trip. After the staff introductions there was a presentation on how to use your camera by the photo team.
Late in the morning the ship approached the town of Sisimiut. The wind was blowing and it started to rain but with its colorful houses, the town made an impression. By the time we had enjoyed lunch and were ready to explore different walking options had been arranged. During the walking tour of town we visited the carvers shop and stopped by the museum which was made up of many old buildings, some of which had been moved to their present location. One of these was a turf house that combined native stone and cut tundra to make a dark but warm and cozy early settler house. There was also the original Danish church which has been maintained as a tourist attraction.
Sisimiut is the northern most ice-free town along the west coast of Greenland, which makes it an important town for the processing of seafood such as cod, salmon, and shrimp, which are then taken to markets in Europe or Canada.
In the late afternoon National Geographic Explorer made her way out of port and further north to the land of the big ice in the town of Illiusiat.
