There and back again with Bob, Anna, Shirley & Paul

8/28/23

Prince Christian sound and Nanortalik Greenland

We were to turn our clocks back to Nuuk time, but Paul woke up on Cape Verde time (4 AM) and looked out the window and saw that iceberg pictured against the coast of Greenland. The dawn was breaking, and the southern tip of Greenland was two points off the bow. Two great memories captured by the trusty iPhone. The sky was clear and humidity low and so we could clearly see a long way. We were blest with sunny weather the whole day.

We did not sail around the tip of Greenland to the western settlements on our itinerary. Instead we sailed through Prince Christian Sound. Here are some of the comments we heard: This is better than New Zealand … This is more amazing than the Drake passage … Clearly the best part of the trip … and on and on. We could not agree more about the utter raw beauty of the sound. Shear cliffs, glaciers, waterfalls, icebergs, and high jagged mountains were all around us for the 6 hours it took to navigate through the sound. There is no doubt this was the acme of the cruise - doubly so because of the clear sunshine made the waters a deep azure against the many shades of gray and red in the very ancient rocks. Here are a few pictures (7 out of 200):

Paul staked out a primo spot in the Explorers lounge (the bow of the ship where the views were the best and where there was access to the outside area for better pictures). Shirley joined him when the coffee was ready and Bob and Ann joined a few minutes after that. The place was crowded. Bob spent most of the 6 hours of passage going out to and in from the very windy and cold deck area. Paul, Shirley and Ann stepped out there for very short and purposeful photo ops. I wish Cliff and Sarah would have been there to tell us the geology of the place, but it was enough just to wonder at the wonder of this place. (in short – words fail.)

We left the sound at noon and arrived at our first port of call Nanortalik at 1 PM. This is an Inuit village (the Vikings left in the 12^th Century). Several things struck us. There were a lot of children. There were no McMansions. There were a few cars (and one taxi). Many boats, some in disrepair. There was obvious poverty. But everyone smiled. Everyone was pleasant. Kids were having fun. The entertainment (a solo folk singer, a Kayak professional, and a church choir) was genuinely happy and full of the desire to show us they are OK, and proud of their village. Here are a few more pictures: