We awoke in fog and slowly made our way into Grise Fjord; the immigration officials were collected - they were two young Canadians from Ottawa pleased to have a different assignment. They would be a Grise Fjord for another week awaiting another ship so would have time to explore the hinterland. Free to go ashore we had tricky surf landings onto a slippery rocky shore which meant the guides got quite wet receiving the boats and helping people off them. We were met...

As we made our way to Qaanaack, one of the northern most settlements in the world it was foggy but as we got closer it lifted. I decided to go with the 'charger' group of walkers who were going to go up the hill behind the town to get views of the small icecap and glaciers covering the Qaanaak peninsular. As we wended our way through town we saw fish (Arctic char) drying and likewise seal, including intestine. Next stop was the really great local museum with rea...

The morning dawned at 4.00am after the sunset at about 1am ....but we saw neither. We were up having tea at 5.30 and I was in the gym just after 7.15 though. As the sun was shining and it was warm by arctic standards we opted for breakfast outside as we approached the icebergs of Melville Bay. The ice sheet is very close to shore hence the large number of icebergs. After breakfast we cruised in amongst them and just imbibed the craftsmanship of the natural proce...

Today was relaxation at sea which was really welcome as I felt a bit sore after yesterday's challenging walk. I woke up later than usual so went to the gym at lunchtime instead of early morning. The lectures kept our minds active if not our bodies - they covered arctic whales, birds and the history of the discovery and mapping of the arctic. Solen also discussed our plans for the next couple of days as we go ashore for our last visits to Greenland including ex...

We were awake early so John fetched two cups of tea from the lounge. After drinking mine I went to the gym and watched as the Captain picked his way through increasing large icebergs which were being shed from the Greenland Ice Sheet and emerging into the sea from the ice fjord by Ilulissat where we were heading. The group that got up to wildlife watch did spot two fin whales just before the ice started - so perhaps I should have detoured just before the gym! A...