We spent the morning with more lectures and an introduction to microscoping, using the microscopes in the ship’s Ocean Academy – looking at plankton samples, gathered during our stay at 14th of July glacier two days ago. In the late morning we had the first sightings of icebergs (and bergy bits) until we reached Greenland around midday.

The actual shore landing had to wait a bit, as another ship (the Ocean Nova) was still in a landing operation at the same site. Eventually – in the afternoon – we were allowed ashore for a landing at Sabine Ø (Sabine Island)’s Germaniahavn. Conditions were tricky, the sea choppy in the zodiacs, the harbor full of ice and the landing itself requiring a certain level of agility, climbing and balancing across rocks to actually get ashore proper – all in rubber boots.

Ashore – at first sight – the usual basalt desert … but at second sight plenty of plant life, insects and even several butterflies. There were also remains of Inuit dwellings on the island – with our history expert not only providing background on the concept of the Greenland style of sod houses, but also making sure no one was walking into what remains of the structures.

The way back to the ship was interesting again, as the wind had pushed more ice into the little harbor and the zodiac drivers really had to negotiate their way out – and back to the choppy and splashy sea.