Three Arctic Islands - Svalbard, Greenland & Iceland Aug 2012

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.  

These are harsh environments for people to live in, particularly as the climate changes.  The communities are relatively small, and health and education are priorities.  Light planes and boats are their main means of transport at this time of year.

From there we sailed into Hurry Inlet, finding a large yacht passing a very much larger iceberg.

It was a sunny day with clear blue skies, and one afternoon was spent zodiacing amongst the icebergs.  Very nice indeed.  

The following day, our hike up a mountainside with Annie Inglis was slow and gentle.  She showed us the tiny Arctic willows that were 60-100 years old, leaves now red and the plants hugging the ground like ground cover.  We saw musk-ox off in the distance, and the Vavilov well below amongst the icebergs.  Just beautiful!

The days were getting shorter, and early mornings provided the opportunity to see icebergs reflecting the pink of sunrise, and in the evenings, golden seas taking on the colour of the setting sun.  It was a magical place – but all too soon, it was time to sail east out of Scoresbysund, turn right and sail to Iceland.  But not before we’d toasted out time here with a bright green drink, and I’d filled SD cards with photos of stunning icebergs!

Our sail across Denmark Strait was calm and gentle.  Soon we were at Iceland’s Westmann Islands, where we landed in Heimaey, a town of around 5,000 people, that live in brightly-painted houses in the “shadow” of the Eldfell volcano (erupted in 1973).  

We cruised along the coast, looking up at sheep on very steep hills (I’m sure that some fall off), and we also had the opportunity to visit a puffin colony.  Such cute, colourful birds.

Then it was our last night at sea and the next morning, we were disembarking in Reykjavik.  It had been an interesting and fun trip, with fantastic weather.