East Greenland & Iceland. We sailed deep into Scoresbysund, the largest fjord complex in the world. Our first stop was at the Greenlandic community of Ittoqqortoormiit – they were very welcoming, and yep, I’ve now tasted narwhal (sashimi version). Definitely interesting to try … once.
Read MoreSvalbard: We boarded the Akademik Sergei Vavilov in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago. The Vavilov is a sister ship to the Akademik Ioffee, and very nicely designed.
August is a good time to visit the Arctic. Days are still long, the animals are actively feeding up ahead of winter, and vegetation is starting to change to its autumn colours.
This was my first ship trip to the Arctic and was on the Akademik Ioffe, a Russian, ice-strengthened ship. We were about to make one of the first transits of the NW Passage in a passenger ship. And it was 100 years since Roald Amundsen had completed the first transit. August was a good time – the ice had retreated, increasing the likelihood of success.
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