Awaiting our flight
23 augusti 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Manchester Airport, at last, and waiting for our flight to Kevlavik Airport in Reykjavik
We’re in the Aspire Lounge and relaxing with a much deserved drink with out breakfast!
Not long now!
Kevlavik - Iceland
23 augusti 2019, Island ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Arrived safe and sound, a quick Customs and now onto TheGrand Hotel, in Reykjavik
On leaving the airport you pass a really novel sculpture called ‘The Jet Nest’ at the entrance to theLäs mer
Grand Hotel in Reykjavik
23 augusti 2019, Island ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We have arrived at the hotel and we’re in room 1343 but it’s down as P43 !
Fabulous view across Reykjavik and the room lovely with jacuzzi and balcony overlooking the town and harbour
Harpa Concert Hall
24 augusti 2019, Island ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
One of Reykjavik’s major landmarks built over 4 years, from 2007 to 2011
It’s truly amazing, inside and out, almost entirely created from glass and mirrored panels...I can see me
Solfar Sun Voyager
24 augusti 2019, Island ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
This fabulous sculpture, which looks like a Viking Ship, in the harbour is called The Sun Voyager (Solfar) which is in fact an ode to the sun
Perlan
24 augusti 2019, Island ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Preparing for onward trip
25 augusti 2019, Island ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Relaxed morning packing up ready for our flight to Kangerlussuaq Airport
Went to Sculpture Museum this morning really interesting but, sadly, not enough time. Lainey’s off now to the Art Museum andLäs mer
Kevlavik Airport
25 augusti 2019, Island ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
Back at the airport again and heading off to Greenland, at last, but where did all these strange and ‘reality challenged’ people come from...surely not American?
Oh, by the way it’s pouring down! 😳
Landed - Kangerlussuaq
25 augusti 2019, Grönland ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Kangerlussuaq, which means ‘Big Fjord’ is tiny although they do have the military presence here
The buses, for our onward journey to pick up Explorer in Sondrestrom Port, includes an AmericanLäs mer
National Geographic Explorer
25 augusti 2019, Grönland ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Arrived at Sondrestrom Port where Explorer is harboured, we have a 5 minute Zodiac ride to reach the ship, thankfully we’ve made it and enjoying a well deserved drink in the lounge...cheersLäs mer
On our way to Sisimiut
26 augusti 2019, Davis Strait ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
Arrived in Sisimuit
26 augusti 2019, Davis Strait ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C
17.15 and heading away from Sisimuit after a really interesting day with ‘Birdy’ a really lovely Inuit girl who gave us a tour of the Municipality.
It’s now 17.35 and we’re sailing through aLäs mer
Crossing Davis Strait
27 augusti 2019, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
...and into Baffin Bay very calm but quite a wind chill, we sighted our first iceberg this morning at breakfast and they’re showing up a little more frequently now
We’re entering Nunavut, CanadaLäs mer
Northern Bottlenose Whales
27 augusti 2019, Baffin Bay ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
Slight detour to close in on these magnificent creatures
Not often seen as they really only spend time on the surface to ‘recover’ after their long dives
Baffin Island
28 augusti 2019, Grönland ⋅ ⛅ -24 °C
Land, our first sight of Baffin Island, although it’s not a first sighting!
We’re back from dinner so missed a ‘first sight’ but earlier, during dinner, we saw icebergs drifting down fromLäs mer
Into Eclipse Sound
28 augusti 2019, Northwest Passage ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Leaving Baffin Bay behind and heading into Eclipse Sound with Cape Graham Moore on our right, Cape MacCulloch to our left and Pond Inlet our destination ahead
The scenery is dramatic indeed withLäs mer
Arrival in Pond Inlet
28 augusti 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
We have arrived, officially, in Canada (Pond Inlet) and theres the usual Customs to be gone through but, thankfully, that doesn’t involve individual attendance
Mittimatalik in Inuktitut meansLäs mer
Heading North
29 augusti 2019, Northwest Passage ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
...toward Lancaster Sound
The cloud formations are amazing and there are three glaciers edging into the Sound along this stretch alone
Lancaster Sound
29 augusti 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ -2 °C
We sail West in Lancaster Sound (Tallurutiup Imanga), the weather is clear for about 50m then surrounded by mist so everything is a uniform grey with fine snow driven horizontally
And now, our firstLäs mer
Signs of Ice and Snow
29 augusti 2019, Northwest Passage ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
There’s certainly a nip in the air and the ice floes are getting more frequent, Seals have been spotted, as well as another expedition ship ahead, but nothing more so far. We’ll be entering a bitLäs mer
Here Be Bears...
29 augusti 2019, Northwest Passage ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
Mother and Cub out on the ice we crept up on them but they were quite far into the ice about 15 minutes later a Male Polar Bear was spotted paws down so we swept starboard toward him then he decidedLäs mer
Barrow Strait...
30 augusti 2019, Northwest Passage ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
Sadly, this is the point where we turn away from Cornwallis Island, and Somerset Island, in the Barrow Strait, and head towards Terror Bay and Beechey Island, which we can see in the distance
It hasLäs mer
Entering Erebus and Terror Bay
30 augusti 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
Off Devon Island
30 augusti 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Leaving Terror Bay we hugged the coast heading West to Bradstock Bay
The fossil collected is some 400,000,000 years (400 million) moved by teutonic plate from a warm tropical sea to this ArcticLäs mer
Dundas Harbour
31 augusti 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
Site of an archeological Thule Dwelling at Morin Point which was hard to decipher, even with Linda’s guidance
After that we boarded the Zodiacs again to ? and walked over to Johnson Bay the site ofLäs mer