Trips

Sun., 8/25 - At Sea

The captain knew yesterday that a low pressure storm was heading toward Iceland from the tip of Greenland so he altered his course to miss most of the storm by heading straight west across most of the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland and then turning southwest near the east coast of Greenland. The Zuiderdam still encountered 18-foot waves and a headwind of 45 mph. We wore our sea bands and Transderm patch and did just fine.

Other than the rough ride, it was the usual sea day. Dinner was another Gala. The ship was rolling so badly the captain warned against wearing high heeled shoes (not that we have any). The waiters dropped a few trays and some wine glasses hit the floor. The captain came on the PA again to say he was going to make some adjustments to try to smooth out our ride.

Mon., 8/26 - At Sea - Cruising Prince Christian Sound, Greenland

After an exciting ride last night (49 mph wind abeam and 18-foot waves), we entered the protection of Prince Christian Sound again in glorious blue-sky weather. It was 37° and windy on the bow at 9:30 but the wind diminished and we had great views of the glaciers and mountains and brash in the water. The iceberg we passed two weeks ago was still in the sound. We did not see any seals today.

Someone sailing through Prince Christian Sound	Kujalleg Glacier
Kujalleg Glacier	Kujalleg Glacier
Glaciated mountains	Nice waterfall
Ice berg	Closeup of the ice
Closeup of the ice	A growler
Our tender took food and materials ashore to the village of Aappilattoq. The villagers did not come out and wave or come to the ship in their boats like they did before. We saw them all crowded at their dock to receive our donations. The scenery and the sail made for a beautiful day but the sea will get angry again as we head to Qaqortoq.	Village of Aappilattoq
Village of Aappilattoq - residents on the dock	HAL tender returning from the Village of Aappilattoq
Lots of birds	Exiting Prince Christian Sound
Tues., 8/27 - Qaqortoq, Greenland Last night was a little rocky, but not too bad - only 10-foot waves hitting us on the port side. The Zuiderdam arrived in Qaqortoq Fjord this morning and we had to tender in to the cute, colorful, hilly town of Qaqortoq. (If you pronounce all of the “q’s” as “k’s” it is easy to pronounce.) It is a town of 3,000, making it the largest town in southern Greenland. The Vikings were in this area in the 800s but Danish and Norwegians settled here in the 18th c. There are now more Inuit than Scandinavians living, working, and going to school in Qaqortoq. After the tender ride, our walk started at the souvenir and tourist info building but there are still no souvenir spoons. There were no town maps but someone was describing the walk to Lake Tasersuaq, the large fresh water lake beyond the town, so we just headed out in that direction. Our route took us past the museum ($5 US or 5 Euros), the old church (closed for restoration), the Mindebronden fountain, and the fish market. The fish market was active with a man gutting large fish and plenty of fish were on ice in the shop. I have no idea what kind they were but there was one large shark cut up to sell the skin and blubber - UGH!. The town is noted for the stone carvings in the local rocks. They are very nice. After walking up the hillside and along some side streets, we were able to look out over Lake Tasersuaq. It is obvious that boarding schools are in operation here with dorms, apartments, and single houses lining the streets. They are all well maintained. There was a large, lighted soccer field at the end of the town. Of course we stopped into a small grocery. It was well stocked and a pleasant man (cashier) spoke to us in English. Back at the dock, the line for the tenders was very long so we headed in the other direction and passed a very interesting shop where kayaks are made.
	Port and houses
The village is known for its stone carvings
	Fish Market sign
	Shark
Veggies at the market	Colorful houses
Street scene	Lake Tasersuaq
Wood building	School buildings
School buildings and yard	Lighted soccer field
Church	Mindebronden fountain with spouting whales at the top
Port and the Zuiderdam	New church
Kayak maker	Kayaks
Kayaks	Houses and rugged land
Pretty houses - Easter colors	Our big purchase and the Inuit lady who made it
Sailing away	Wed., 8/28 - At Sea Again, the usual at-sea routine: lectures, craft class, meals, rest, etc. Not as boring as it sounds, actually.

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