Today was one of those rare days that was special even though we never set foot on dry land. Prince Christian Sound is a narrow, 60 mile long channel that separates Greenland’s mainland from its southern islands, and it is spectacularly beautiful. Lucky us, for we spent most of the day today slowly transiting the channel from east to west, and even luckier, we did so under brilliant sunshine, a cobalt blue, cloudless sky, and calm seas. Wow.
The last remnants of the most recent ice age were clearly visible in Prince Christian Sound, with glaciers too numerous to count, along with the classic bowl shaped canyons left behind by glaciers that have retreated or vanished. There were also numerous waterfalls, some whose origins are out of sight in high, distant mountains. And on the subject of mountains, it was easy to tell how high the ice sheet was during the last ice age, because the peaks of the mountains that were covered by ice have been rounded by the sandpaper-like action of the moving ice, while the peaks that remained above the ice are sharp and jagged.
Remarkably, there is a single fishing village of around a hundred souls clinging to existence in this beautiful but hostile environment. Aappilattoq was barely visible at the base of the mountains, and it would have been easy to pass by without noticing it if we weren’t aware of its existence and location. In my photo below Michele has added a red arrow so you won’t miss it too.
Most of my photos will have minimal captions, because they don’t require much commentary or explanation, but I’ll be sure to point things out when I think it would be helpful. The only thing that applies to all of them is the disclaimer that photos cannot possibly do justice to the breathtaking beauty of this channel. I feel fortunate to have seen it, and doubly fortunate to have done so on such a beautiful day.
Tomorrow we’re in Qaqortoq, which I’m working to learn how to pronounce. Our intention is to take a smaller boat to visit some very old Viking ruins, and then explore Qaqortoq on foot. I’ll be back with a full report, so stay tuned.
We saw icebergs before we even entered the channel.
Look at all the snow and ice in the background.
Glacier, waterfall, and iceberg.
Glacier has the rock surrounded.
Seemed like a good place for a selfie.
Cool shape.
The peak on the left was above the ice sheet during the last ice age.
Smoothed rocks below and a jagged peak.
We sent a Zodiac out to take photos of the ship in front of a glacier.
I heard some calving beyond the waterline, but no splashing. The calving sounded like explosions.
Closer up view of the big glacier. This one was really big.
This glacier formerly reached the water.
Looking ahead.
Another glacier.
The water was so calm that the rocks and glaciers were reflected on the surface.
Moss was the only thing growing in the channel.
One of many waterfalls.
Often the source of the waterfall was hidden high above in the mountains.
Look at that blue sky.
I loved the waterfalls.
We passed a luxury yacht along the way.
Amazing jagged peaks above the glacier.
Epic view.
We passed several icebergs along the way, and started seeing fog late in the afternoon.
Another large iceberg.
Blink and you could miss this tiny village, which adds perspective to the size of the mountains.
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