It’s been a full day since we left Iceland and sailed across a calm and vast ocean to reach the east coast of Greenland. The temperature was mild, and we knew that sometime after midnight we would reach the ice along Greenland’s eastern edge. Some of us planned on waking at 3 a.m. to hopefully catch the sunrise. Although this endeavor might sound difficult, most of us were awake well before the clock struck three. At about 1 a.m., as anticipated, we reached the ice. The National Geographic Explorer is not an icebreaker, however, she is a fitted for traveling through thick ice. As we sailed through the pack ice the ship would resound with the crushing of the ice that lay before her. Time and time again the forward motion of the ship would come to an abrupt stop as we would come against a large pan of ice, only to go forward again as the ice before us would split and then slide along the ship’s hull. For many, it was easier to awaken and come on deck then to try sleep, and as a result we had more participants for the sunrise photo opportunity than expected.
The sun of course rose, unfortunately, none of us were able to see it through the fog. It did not matter, the atmosphere was perfect for watching the pans of ice that lay before us. When you lay in bed and experience the ship bullying its way through the ice it is unsettling and can be worrisome, if you experience it from the deck of the ship, it is exciting and awe inspiring. It was a magical landscape of ice, fog, ocean, and the occasional bearded seal.
Time past, but no one seemed to mind that the first four hours of our day had already gone by and still it was only 7 a.m. We ate a civilized breakfast and then we were called to come back on deck as we were in the company of finback whales. In every direction we could see the spouts of whales as we now were in open water sailing along the ice edge. Then, in one incredible moment, two finbacks surfaced right in front of the ship. The entire outline of their bodies was easily visible as they swam just below the surface of the water. The sleek form of one of the fastest of the great whales left us speechless as it moved along the side of our vessel. It did not breach or even sow its flukes, however you could not have imagined a more exciting moment with whales.
The rest of the day was filled with whales, more finbacks and pilot whales, and we even had a brief sighting of a lone blue whale, the largest mammal known to live on planet Earth. Throughout the day when we were not on deck observing the ice we also had the pleasure of several presentations from the expedition team on the topics of Viking ships and Alcids. One final unexpected treat was a sighting of a massive iceberg, which the captain skillfully maneuvered around giving us wonderful views of the ice giant. It was a full and rewarding day, and now we are primed and excited for our excursions in Greenland.
