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Western Greenland & Baffin Bay

Aboard The Ponant Ship Le Boreal July 06 - 21 2024
As part of a partnership between The Explorers Club and the French expedition cruise company Ponant, I was invited to give a series of talks aboard their ship Le Boreal on one of their voyages to western Greenland. This was my 3rd time visiting Greenland, but it has been a while. The last time was back in 2013.
 
This voyage started in Kangerlussuaq, and took us north, up the west coast, out into Baffin Bay which separated Greenland from Canada, then back down to Kangerlussuaq.
 
About 80% of Greenland is cover by a thick sheet of ice, so all the communities are located along the edges of the island, and there are currently no roads between the towns, so travelling there by ship is a really good way to experience the grandeur of this place.
 
I absolutely adore Greenland, and it was real honour to be invited on board to share my experiences, add some insight to the trip, and to represent The Explorers Club. Many thanks to the Ponant expedition team, as well as the crew of Le Boreal for a fantastic voyage.

2024 07 06 - Toronto to Paris
Because Ponant is a French company, and there are currently very few flights to Greenland from North America, I had to fly from Toronto, past Greenland, to Paris first, then catch a chartered flight from Paris to Kangerlussuaq. It seems like a convoluted route, but I've had to do similar things before when travelling to Greenland.

2024 07 07 - Kangerlussuaq
Day 1 - Because Ponant is a French company, and there arecurrently very few flights to Greenland from North America, I had to fly from Toronto, past Greenland, to Paris first, then catch a chartered flight from Paris to Kangerlussuaq. It seems convoluted, but I've had to do similar things before.

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2024 07 08 - Sisimiut
Day 2 - When I woke up, we were already docked alongside Sisimiut. The weather was cloudy, a little drizzle. After breakfast I went ashore to walk around and see the town. The last time I was here was about 11 years ago, so I was looking forward to checking it out.
 
Greenland is known for its vibrantly painted houses. Each one a different bright shade of blue, red, yellow and more. It is very pretty. I wandered around the local museum and church in town. Then went to the Taste Of Greenland, where we had samples of local cuisine which included: snow crab, Greenlandic shrimp, dried fish, musk ox sausage, and muktuk (cooked & raw) minke whale, & musk ox soup. In the afternoon, we all go back aboard Le Boreal and we shoved off.
 
Because it was early in trip, there were quite a few mandatory meetings and tasks that had to be done today like biosecurity checks, a zodiac meeting, getting boots etc. At 5:00 I gave my first talk in the theatre. Exploring Earth’s Extremes. It went very well, and it was great fun working with a live French interpreter (Anne Geukes).
 
Later in the day, there was an emergency on board. One of the crew had a medical emergency and a helicopter had to come an evacuate them using a long-line and basket. I don't know exactly happened, but it's a good thing that we were close to Sissimiut where the helicopter would have come from.
 
Tonight was a fancy cocktail reception with the captain. I put on my suit, and we had a nice, multi-course dinner in the main dining room, then listened to live music in the bar for a while afterwards. This is a very posh ship.

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2024 07 09 - Illulisat
Day 3 - Woke up anchored at Ilulisat. Still rainy. Had breakfast then went ashore via Zodiac then climbed aboard a local fishing boat to tour around the icebergs in the Illulisat Ice Fjord entrance. We were able to get nice and close to lots of big, grounded icebergs. The water depth was abut 250 meters deep, so you know these things were huge. It was a bit cold and rainy, but totally worth it to be back amongst the icebergs. I find them so fascinating, each one an abstract work of art, sculpted by water and wind.
 
back aboard for a quick lunch then it was time to go ashore again. Unfortunately, the rain continued. We took zodiacs to the marina where we got on a bus that took us to the new visitor center at the start of the boardwalk path to the ice fjord. I didn't go inside, but rather walked out to the rocky viewing point where I went to before many years before. There were lots of bergs, but they were not moving, and the rain was a nuisance, so I didn't linger long. I ended up helping Bert (the 93 year old awesome woman from Philadelphia) with the bus and ramps back to the zodiac. Got back and prepared for my after dinner talk. A bunch of us English speakers had a few cocktails in the lounge then had dinner together in the main dining room, then I went to the theatre to set up. My “Fire & Ice” talk was pretty well attended all things considered (It was a 9:30 PM talk after a long day with 2 excursions!).

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2024 07 10 - Qeqertarsuaq
Day 4 - I woke up at 4:55 and peeked outside. The light was amazing! I scrambled to gather up my camera and just enough clothes to keep warm-ish, and I dashed up to the deck 7 observation area. The low sun and clouds were amazing. Great shadows, silhouettes, a sun dog, amazing colours. Then I spotted an arched iceberg in the distance. I was able to get shots of it with other icebergs visible through the keyhole. Amazing. There was a little bit of fog, which also made the scene surreal. I was the only one up and out there. I had the view all to myself for almost an hour. Totally worth getting up early for.
 
As the rest of the ship woke, I grabbed some breakfast and got ready for our zodiac cruise.
The weather was great for the cruise. We didn't go into town, just cruised around the basalt columns around the coast. These interesting geological features are a remnant of ancient volcanic activity. They're very similar to the hexagonal basalt columns that are famously seen at Devil's Causeway in Northern Ireland.
 
There were also some nice icebergs, sea birds, waterfalls and we were treated to a partial solar halo.
 
Back aboard, I met up with Captain Michael Debien and Cruise Director Pauline Courthial in the Captain’s office. I had no idea what it was about. They just wanted to chat and he gave me a special book that is used by VIP guests to sign and leave comments. I will have to sit down later and draft something up & return it to the captain. A real honour. Expedition Leader Vadim Heuacker gave a presentation about Greenland geography and history. After lunch I went up to the bridge for a bit. which was open.

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2024 07 11 - Paul Émile Victor Base Camp/Eqi Glacier
Day 5 - There were plans to go ashore and do a long 14 km hike, but it was very foggy with poor visibility. You need good visibility in order for the polar bear scouts to see if there are any bears nearby. That got canceled, and instead a Zodiac cruise was offered up.
 
The fog lifted a bit, and we went out in the Zodiacs. There were lots of growlers & bergy bits to navigate on our way to Eqi glacier. We passed the Victor Base Camp area, that has been developed with cabins that people can rent out (access by boat or helicopter only, it's really out in the middle of nowhere). Closer to the glacier, the visibility improved and we heard numerous cracks and booms as small calving events happened. No photos of that. As we returned, the density of the ice increased and we had to “draft” behind one of the other Zodiacs that had a V-shaped hull that was better suited to pushing the ice out of the way.
 
After lunch I went to my cabin to do some work on my next presentation when the P.A. announced that there were whales nearby. I dashed up to deck 6 and there were 3 humpback whales. 1 alone, plus a mother+calf. I got a few pics and went back to work.
 
After the expedition leader briefing, a bunch of us had dinner with the local Greenlandic guide we have on board, Jaakusaaq. He is a very smart & funny guy, and only 22 years old. He has bright future ahead of him.

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2024 07 12 - Salliaruseq Island
Day 6 - I set my alarm for super early. Got up at 4 AM, then again at 5, then 6. The weather is fantastic, but the light wasn't as magical as yesterday.
 
I gave my 3rd lecture at 9:15 (Wonders Of The Arctic Sky), then we went ashore to Salliaruseq Island. An amazing place. Very Mars-like with red & yellow rocks and almost no vegetation other than lichen and some VERY old (hundreds of years old) birch “trees” that were more like a moss. The colour in the rocks came from iron and sulfur (which I could easily smell). There was hike of about a mile and half up to a viewpoint which was steep and has about a 120 meter elevation gain. Very nice with the blue sky today. We also visited an archaeological site with an old stone fox trap. The mosquitoes were out in droves, and we headed back to the ship at about 12:45.
 
After lunch there was a fascinating presentation on Inuit religion.

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2024 07 13 - Orpit
Day 7 - I set my alarm for 3 AM, but it was overcast & foggy. After breakfast, I got some work done and mid-morning there was a lecture on Arctic archaeology.
 
The plan today was to do a Zodiac cruise in a long fjord. There was quite a bit of swell in the morning before we turned into the fjord, but once we were in a sheltered area, it got pretty smooth, despite the wind. After lunch the weather cleared up quite a bit, and we were treated to blue sky. We boarded the Zodiacs, then found out that instead of cruising, they found a new spot they've never landed at before, and that we could go ashore there. Great! It was a lush, green area of tundra that sloped up from the water to a rugged cliffside.
 
Once off the Zodiac, we made our way up. The ground was so soft and spongy from the thick layer of moss. It almost didn't feel real. There were all kinds of small flowers, lichens and moss everywhere. Glacial erratics were strewn about all over, and the view of the silty green-grey water was very nice with the blue sky.

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2024 07 14 - Kullorsuaq
Day 8 - It seemed like the whole ship slept in. There was practically nobody at breakfast. Also almost nobody at the morning geology lecture. Today was French Independence Day (Bastille Day), so they had a celebration by the pool on deck 6 with snacks and French flag cocktails. The captain said a few words, and then we all took a group photo.
 
After lunch we went ashore to the small town of Kullorsuaq. About 500 people. No real roads, just dusty quad bike paths. Lots of sled dogs scattered around town. The people were friendly and warm.
At one point, I saw a house with a polar bear fur, reindeer skin & narwhal tusk. Hunting here is a real part of life that is a requirement to survive.
 
There was the occasional smell of sewage, and I later learned that the garbage bags that lined the path were filled with waste. It would seem there's no central sewer system. This is the reality of life in such a remote place that is inaccessible for much of the year with long, dark, cold winters and no roads connecting it to the outside world.
 
There were nice views of the colourful houses with icebergs in the background. I hiked up to the highest point, by the radio antenna, and walked around the rocks to the edge of town by the dump & helipad. I then wandered back through town to the cemetery. There was a lot of commotion by the docks. It turned out that the locals were invited to come to the ship!
 
It was crazy, about 170 or so locals took zodiacs to the ship. There were lots of kids playing in the pool, running around, riding the elevators etc. They served up a buffet dinner for the locals on deck 6, then they put on a bit of a show for us with music, song, dance and traditional dress.

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2024 07 15 - Baffin Bay
Day 9 - there's too much sea ice for us to make it all the way north to Savissivik, which was supposed to be the farthest northern destination for us. Instead, we're going to spend an extra day in Baffin Bay.
 
Lots of fog today. We actually started the day close to shore, and there was talk of doing a Zodiac cruise, but there was too much fog.
 
I gave my 4th talk of the trip at 9:30 this morning. It was all about Icebergs.
 
We headed out into Baffin Bay to look for sea ice. We did find some patches of it here and there. After lunch, there was a lecture on the Northwest Passage, and in the middle of it, there was a tremendous thundering sound. I thought we might have hit some ice.
 
After the lecture, I noticed that we had stopped the ship, and the expedition team was busy, scrambling to go out in Zodiacs. There was a big iceberg nearby, and I thought maybe we had hit it, and the team was heading out to assess the damage. The E.L. was wearing a dry suit and they had a bunch of extra tools and stuff with them, which was unusual, and the bridge was closed. They made an announcement that we might try to do a Zodiac cruise, I wasn't sure if I believed it. They eventually canceled the idea of doing a cruise, and we turned around 180 degrees and moved on. I eventually spoke with Katynka the Zodiac trainer, and she verified that the sound was the ship suddenly stopping because of the ice. There was no collision.

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2024 07 16 - Baffin Bay Sea Ice
Day 10 - We had been travelling south all night, and I awoke today to see that we were pretty much smack dab in the middle of Baffin Bay between Greenland and Canada. After breakfast, the expedition team did a scouting trip and determined that we could do a Zodiac cruise in the sea ice instead.
 
We all suited up and our group (green) was the first to disembark. It had been kind of foggy, but it quickly cleared up and we ended up having gorgeous blue skies. We cruised over to an ice floe and were able to do an ice landing. We didn't have a lot of time (about 8 minutes) to enjoy the experience and take pictures.
 
Sea ice is different from icebergs in that sea ice is frozen sea water, and icebergs are piece of glaciers that have broken off into the sea, and are made of dense freshwater ice.
 
The floe was detached from the pack ice, and apparently it was drifting around with us on it. After getting back on the Zodiac, we cruised around a bit more amongst the sea ice. There were quite a few birds around and I tried to get some pics. We got super lucky with the weather, as the fog eventually started to roll back in.
 
Back on board, there was a seafood buffet lunch with crab, shrimp, mussels, oysters and other delicacies. I was so full, I took a brief nap before the afternoon sea ice lecture, then went to the lounge for a cocktail before the afternoon briefing.
 
Our program has changed. Instead of staying in the sea ice, we're headed back towards Disko Bay where we have plans to do a landing at the tiny village of Saqqaq for a hike.
 
I ended up having dinner with Sandy, Anne the interpreter and the ship archaeologist.
 
I stayed up late and at 11:30 I photographed some nice iridescent clouds. I decided to stay up longer and capture the Midnight Sun” right at midnight.

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2024 07 17 - Saqqaq
Day 11 - Today we went ashore to the tiny town of Saqqaq which has about 130 people or so. The weather was glorious, perfect bluebird day. Saqqaq it is near Illulisat, so there's lots of icebergs that drift around here in the currents, which made for some beautiful scenery. Once ashore, we went for a hike of about 4 km... through town, then out onto the tundra where there was a lot of small lakes, moss, rocky terrain, and plenty of mosquitoes!
 
The hike was nice, no reason to wear much as it was 12 -13 degrees and sunny. We did a loop that brought us back into town and we got another great view of all the icebergs in the bay, which was pretty. Walking through the town we encountered lots of sled dogs, including 2 puppies that were not leashed. There were playing, jumping up on people. Now and then we could hear the crack of icebergs breaking in the bay.
 
Back on board Le Boreal, we had a reindeer burger lunch, and as we sailed, we passed some incredible icebergs. One was amazing with 2 arches, an X pattern, and blue ice caves. Magnificent.
 
At 3:45 I gave my 5th and final talk of the trip “Extreme Arctic Weather”. I kept it short because there was a busy afternoon. 5:00 was a polar bear talk, then at 6:00 I had an invitation to a small private cocktail party with the captain and a few officers in his office. He and I also posed with the Nat Geo flag I have. From there I went right to the afternoon briefing.

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2024 07 18 - Iteliq Fjord
Day 12 - I set my alarm for 2:45 and was treated to a great “sunset” It never really fully set, but it dipped down mostly below the horizon. The mirage effect was amazing. Stacked plates, distorted sun. I think I even spotted a horizontal line that could be a mirage of the sea, and also a Fata Morgana of an iceberg beyond the horizon. The sun was low enough to produce a nice Earthshadow too. Then I went back to bed.
 
First up today was a briefing from expedition leader Vadim, then a disembarkation meeting with Pauline the cruise director. An announcement was made that someone else (a passenger this time) had to be helicoptered off the ship for medical reasons. I don't know who it was. It happened during the briefing, so I didn't see it.
 
after lunch, we went ashore at a place called Nooralaq. Steep mountains with snowy caps, tundra, and blue skies again. It was really picturesque. We were dropped off by Zodiac in one spot, then climbed the hill, down into a bit of a valley with a lake, then back up, over and down to another pickup location. The mosquitoes were insane, but I brought my face net thankfully.
 
We saw a reindeer running in the valley below, as well as several antlers on the ground along the way. There was a bird egg, wildflowers, and scat from a few different animals (reindeer, musk ox). A really nice hike (other than the bugs).

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2024 07 19 - Evighedsfjorden (Eternity’s Fjord)
Day 13 - I set my alarm for 3:00, knowing that we should get the sun down to and below the horizon tonight. I looked out the window and it was cloudy and foggy. Today is our last day before disembarking tomorrow back in Kangerlussuaq.
 
We anchored off of Eternity Glacier (Sermitsiaq), which is one of the glaciers that Mark Robinson from The Weather Network and I had been to in 2013. I could tell right away at first glance that the glacier has shrunk significantly since my last visit. It didn't tower up as high, and parts of it weren't reaching the sea any more. This kind of situation is playing out all over the polar regions, and it is truly sad. It is a shadow of its former self.
 
After breakfast, we went ashore for a steep hike up the lateral moraine. The weather was perfect blue skies and warm. The hike was very rocky & dusty with some nice wildflowers. The mosquitoes were extra dense today, I'm glad I brought my head net, although I got a bunch of bites on my shoulders and back.
 
After the hike, we hopped back in the Zodiac and cruised over to the left side of the glacier, which is still quite pretty. There were signs of recent calving. The tide was very low, and some small icebergs were up on the terminal moraine sandbar, along with some birds. We cruised around the cliffside of the fjord where thousands of birds were nesting.
 
After lunch, we repositioned to another part of the fjord, in front of another glacier (Taateraat), where there was sailboat anchored right in front of the glacier.

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2024 07 20/21 - Kangerlussuaq - Paris - Toronto
Day 14 - We left the ship this morning, but still had some time before we had to be at the airport, so we did a bit of a drive around the outskirts of Kangerlussuaq before eventually hopping on our charter flight back to Paris, then home to Toronto. What a great voyage this has been. I can't thank Ponant and The Explorers Club enough for selecting me to be on this voyage; I had a great time, met some awesome people, and of course absolutely adored getting back to Greenland.

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