Tag Archives: Greenland

What – Cryolite does not ring a bell?

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Indeed – cryolite is probably not part of, what one would consider common knowledge … and – I have to admit, before the landing in Ivittuut this morning I did not really know anything about cryolite either …

Cryolite – in a nutshell (and I don’t even dare going into more detail – feel free to check wikipedia or to ask a trustworthy geologist) – is a rate mineral (Na3AlF6), which was used as catalyst in the aluminum refining industry. The biggest known deposit of cryolite was at what later became the mine of Ivittuut; mining here began in the second half of the 19th century – and came to its height during world war 2 with its ever-growing demand for aluminum. In the late 1980s the deposits were pretty much depleted, also it was now possible to synthesize cryolite, hence the mine was eventually closed and abandoned in 1987 – – leaving the old structures and a small lake (i.e. the water-filled hole from the open pit mine) behind.

There was loads here to explore – from the old mining buildings to the small lake to the surrounding tundra with plenty of plant life. Excavated rock material made the area interesting for those with an interest into geology (with sparkling and colorful stones – often with pockets of white cryonite – lying around the whole area).

I made my turn first through the old miners’ village to the lake and then into the tundra back country. Here two groups of musk oxen had been spotted – and we ended up watching them from a distance.

All in all this turned out a very multi-sided landing … a bit of industrial history, a bit of nature all topped off by some very, very old rocks.

Sisimiut – Dogs & Tundra

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This afternoon another walk was on offer; we took the bus to the outskirts of town and started walking.

We could already hear the dogs at this point – and soon realized, that we were heading for the area of town, where the sledge dogs are kept in their kennels for the summer – we were even lucky enough to witness a feeding.

We continued the street leading away from town … dog kennels were now turning into tundra. Eventually we reached a viewpoint with some view into the valley behind town. Here we turned around and made our way back – through dog kennel country – to the bus stop – and then by bus back to the ship.

Back to Sisimiut

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When I got up this morning (no oversleeping this time), we had already arrived at the pier in Sisimiut. Sisimiut had already been on the agenda of my trip from two years back, so it felt a bit like getting back to a well-known place.

With around 6000 inhabitants Sisimiut is the second largest city of Greenland – and is a nice little city for a leisurely morning stroll – with a good museum, a church with a view, a fish market (that did not even offer fish – only seal and musk ox were available), an artisan cooperative selling local handicrafts, some supermarkets and shopping centers (anyone for a new fridge?) – – and of course the infamous stone & rock guy (making his living by selling – stones and rocks).

This all did sum up for an interesting morning – I made it back to the ship for a late lunch.

Ilulissat & the Icefjord

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At the airport we were picked up by the same bus, which had brought us to the airport earlier on. We were now transferred to the starting point for the short hike from the outskirts of Ilulissat to a number of view points overlooking the icefjord.

Following a boarded walkway I made my view towards the fjord – with the first icy bits already showing up in the background. These grew bigger and bigger the closer I got – until I finally made it to the first view point.

I now had a superb view of the icefjord and its (unbelievable) beauty – and this time with the right frame of reference to actually get an understanding of the sheer size and magnitude of the icefjord – and the amount of ice floating down the fjord.

I spent a bit more time just watching and enjoying this special moment (and really the reason for me being here) – before making it into town for a bit of exploration there, to then head back for the ship.

In retrospect I have to say, the combination of helicopter and walk made perfect sense – thus getting in both views and angles – – to ultimately put a more complete picture of the icefjord together. The flight provided the ‘end-to-end’ view (from the icecap to the iceberg in the bay), while the walk was the more ‘intimate’ experience, that also gave a clear feel of size. For me this was indeed probably the highlight of the trip – and clearly the right point in time to throw in some celebratory champagne for lunch 😉

Back to Ilulissat – Flying the Icefjord

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Today was THE DAY … the day, why I had booked this trip … hoping it would turn out better this time – with access to Ilulissat and as such the opportunity to see the icefjord.

Things worked out this time, the bay was (relatively) free of ice, Hanseatic easily maneuvered to its anchor point just in front of town; tender ships were used to get us a ashore.

I had booked the helicopter flight to get a glimpse of the ice fjord from slightly higher up – and also to see the ice flowing in from the ice cap and the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier.

I was in the first group to go … a bus was picking us up from the port, bringing us to the airport. Here – after a short safety briefing – we boarded the helicopter (a Bell 212) and were on our way for a 20 minute flight out to the ice fjord with views of the icecap, then across the fjord and out towards the bay – and back to the airport.

While the views during the flight were amazing, it was fairly impossible to put things into perspective. There are no reference points here, so it all felt very abstract, without a real sense of size … one has to know, that we were looking at five to seven kilometers from one bank of the fjord to the other.

We made our way to the mouth into the bay. It is here, that an underwater threshold blocks the ice from freely flowing into the bay. Pressure needs to build up before  icebergs are released into the bay. The threshold was clearly visible from the helicopter – as a clear line separating the fjord from the bay. After a quick circle flying over some icebergs and the ship we made it back to Ilulissat’s airport.

Søndre Strømfjord

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The weather forecast had predicted a stormy night. The captain therefore had decided to not continue into the Davis Strait – but to stay at a sheltered location in the fjord. This turned out to be the right decision, as a force 12+ storm was sweeping over us during the night.

The storm was slowly abating, however conditions were still not good enough, for us to continue into the Davis Strait – we therefore made the way back to Kangerlussuaq, where some provisions were still waiting for us (the loading had to be discontinued yesterday due to the water becoming to rough).

Meanwhile the expedition team had put together plans for a first landing in the fjord (about an hour south of Kangerlussuaq). The landing itself was fairly unspectacular, but nevertheless a nice opportunity to get off the ship, to get reacquainted with the zodiacs and into nature for a nice afternoon tundra stroll.