The trip was now slowly coming to an end. We had left Greenland and were now on our 760nm journey back to Svalbard – a trip of two and half days.
The program on the ship continued … more lectures were offered – and obviously the amenities on the ship were at disposal … true relaxation at sea. Also the traditional farewell cocktail and dinner took place, as did the performance of the ship’s shanty choir.
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Today was our final day in Greenland, stopping just around the corner from yesterday’s landing – at the town of Ittoqqortoormiit. At a population of 345 (as of 2020) this is easily the biggest settlement in the area (and well, … Continue reading
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We had left Kong Oscar Fjord in the evening, heading out back into the Greenland Sea for the journey South towards the Scoresby Sund over night – covering a total of a good 140 nautical miles). Fog with rain was … Continue reading
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Once everyone was back from the zodiac cruise and zodiacs well secured on the ship, we left our position in the Alpefjord and made our way back through the fjord and back towards Segelsällskapet Fjord. We stopped after a mere … Continue reading
We had made it deeper into the fjord system over night – now sitting in the Alpefjord, right ahead of Sefstrøm & Gully Glaciers.
This morning a zodiac cruise along the 4km-wide glacier front was waiting for us; with a surprise at the far end: the hotel team was waiting here and handing out glasses of champagne for a bit of a celebration.
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We continued through Kong Oscar Fjord for a trip of around 40 nautical miles, heading to Ella Ø – passing through more geological wonders. We were kept busy with the traditional Pølser Party on the pool deck, complete with food … Continue reading
We did not have to wait for too long to get off the ship; the destination being the Blomsterbugten (Flower Bay) on Ymer Ø (Ymer Island) – and just across the fjord from the devil’s castle.
A hike was waiting for us – through truly spectacular landscape, more rock formations and of course the occasional plant life. The hike ended at a viewpoint towards a lake and the Ymer Island backcountry (and designated point of silence) at about 73°19’40″N / 25°14’56″W.
On the way back I made it up another hill for great views across the fjord, overlooking the ship and devil’s castle. The colorfully layered rock faces easily win over the plant or animal life today.
Welcome to Geology day – today geology was to beat biology … showing off how beautiful rocks can be.
Over night we had moved the ~140 nautical miles deep into the fjord system of East Greenland into the Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord and around Ymer Island – when the Devil’s Castle – an isolated mountain (about 1300m high) in the fjord, that reminded its discoverers of a decaying castle – came into view just after 06:00 in the morning.
After having had breakfast going through the Hell Gate back in 2015 it felt appropriate to now have breakfast in front of the devil’s castle … 😉
We stayed in the neighborhood this afternoon, for another landing on Clavering Ø; this time at Dødemansbugten (Dead Man’s Bay) less than 20km away from our morning stop.
The stop featured another beach walk, more plant life and great views from a hill.
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Over night we had made our way deeper into the Northeast Greenland National Park, now sitting at the south coast of Clavering Ø (Clavering Island – or better peninsula, as the island is connected to mainland Greenland via a small … Continue reading