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Sermermiut

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    • TravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
      2
      Day 7

      Evening Walk

      June 26, 2023 in Greenland ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

      After our meal the light was still looking good so the plan was to hike to the rocks where we went on the first day, but further on so we could see more icebergs coming from the Icefjord. The photos in this footprint show the group on location with some taking photos, some flying their drones, but all taking time to relax and admire the beautiful scene laid out before us. We were all starting to feel tired after so many long days.

      It was another late one. Nigel Danson left to go and take video for his YouTube channel then others drifted away when they were tired. I left well after 2am leaving three hunting for a whale using a drone. They succeeded too, but it did mean they had virtually no sleep that night.

      I walked back on my own, taking a few photos on the way given the light was still amazing. It was so quiet walking through Illulisat to the hotel (last two photos) and it was after 3am when I got to bed, with the final day being a long one too.

      It's hard work doing photography, but then I suspect you have no sympathy. 😂      Read more

    • TravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
      Day 3

      The First Boat Trip

      June 22, 2023 in Greenland ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

      During the week there were four boat trips scheduled to allow us to get up close and personal with the icebergs. There were two days allocated for these 4hr excursions and each had a daytime sailing then an evening departure at 9pm.

      Our boat was called Lisa, as you can see, and our first trip left at 11am. It's not a big boat but it is ideal for twelve photographers and its small upper deck was ideal for those wanting to fly drones. I was surprised that not only Nigel and Jeroen (our workshop leaders) had them, but also four of the group, so potentilly up to six drones could be in the air. In reality this never happened because flights were coordinated and the most that were in the air at once was actually four.

      Lisa headed out of the harbour and turned south towards the area we had photographed from land last night, but now we were quite a way from there and trying to make sense of what we were seeing. Yes, I know we were surrounded by icebergs, of every size imaginable, but how to you make photographs from what appears to be a jumbled mess?

      As Lisa motored deeper into the iceflow the bergs became bigger and we started to find order in the disarray around us. It was definitely hard as compositions would appear and disappear in seconds as the boat moved slowly through the drifting ice. I took loads of photos but it was rather overwhelming if I'm honest. More practice was definitely needed.      Read more

    • TravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
      Day 3

      An Unexpected Event

      June 22, 2023 in Greenland ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

      We had all settled into things after a while and I definitely started to see images worth taking. I'm sure loads weren't of course, but I'm confident some were worth it ... hopefully, with luck! 😄

      You can see from the photos here that even these phone images have a more considered look to them, but what's with the first photo, which appears similar to the last one in this footprint?

      This iceberg is very special because not long after I took these two photographs, with my phone and my camera, something totally unexpected happened.

      Look carefully at the right hand edge of the iceberg, it looks like a face maybe. Look at the side and you see some cracks which most icebergs have. Nothing special then?

      At first there was a loud crack then the face of the iceberg fell away to the sound of crashing ice. We all tried to photograph it - we had our cameras to hand of course - and luckily some were able to video the event. There were even two drones in the air. It was spectacular and we felt so lucky to have seen it so close. Then the mood changed.

      That tumbling ice caused tidal waves which were now racing towards us. The first wave wasn't too bad, but then the second very large and dark wave appeared which, in all honesty, was extremely scary. A few of the group felt our time was up.

      It was quite scary but I could see our skipper turning the boat so it would ride the wave, and it did. My video at the end of this footprint records things just after the waves passed through and you can hear the relief in the comments, so make sure the sound is on.

      I can only add one video to a footprint so in the next footprint you can see a video showing the waves pass through.      Read more

    • TravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
      Day 6

      Golden Light

      June 25, 2023 in Greenland ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

      On the way back Jeroen phoned ahead to arrange to move the evening boat trip from tomorrow evening to today. The light was looking promising and this turned out to be a good choice.

      We returned to Illulisatt delighted we had photographed a whale, enjoyed our meal in the hotel restaurant then boarded Lisa, our faithful boat, at 10pm.

      We headed south again, to where the icebergs are more packed and enjoyed four hours of beautiful golden light. It was unbelievably yellow/gold and looked almost false at times. Conditions were perfect really, with no wind and a flat calm. At one point we briefly spotted a whale amongst the bergs but quickly lost sight of it when it dived, reappeared, then dived again. We didn't see it afterwards and assumed it had gone under the icebergs somewhere.

      Hopefully I have some nice photos on the camera and the photos in this footprint give you the general idea of what we saw. The light was surreal at times and at one point a group of smaller bergs were lit from the side, the sun making them golden, but the shadows were blue. I hope I've captured that on the camera.

       It was another long day though, with Lisa mooring up at just after 2am and bed at around 3am. It has been another brilliant day.      Read more

    • Grönland 2022
      11
      Day 9

      Die "Yellow Route"

      August 19, 2022 in Greenland ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

      Am letzen Tag wollten wir noch mal wandern gehen. Zunächst die „YELLOW ROUTE“ und zum Center, dann mal schauen.
      Es gibt in Ilulissat los, runter zum Kraftwerk und dann der Küste lang. Immer die großen Eisberge vor uns.
      Beim letzten Abstieg zum UNESCO Fjörd konnten wir schon die Wale hören. Sie waren wieder da. Und wie! Bei der Tour gestern konnten wir in dem Gebiet einige sehen, jetzt von Land mit aller Zeit und keine Nebengeräusche war das noch mal von ganz anderer Qualität. Ein Traum.
      Lust zu einem Caffe hat uns dann doch ins Icefjord Center getrieben. Wir sind dann aber wieder zurück zu den Walen.
      Das war der krönende Abschluss einer unglaublichen Reise.      Read more

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    • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin
      2
      21
      Day 8

      Trekking Along the Icefjord

      August 5, 2022 in Greenland ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

      There are four popular trails to hike in Ilulissat … each providing a different perspective of the Ilulissat Icefjord (Ilulissat Kangerlua in Greenlandic).

      The 25-mile long fjord begins at the Greenland Ice Sheet and ends at Disko Bay. Way up at the head of the fjord is Sermeq Kujalleq (aka Jakobshavn Glacier) … a fast moving, active river of ice. It is this glacier — combined with the amazing scenery in the area — that has put the Ilulissat Icefjord on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.

      There are no views of the glacier from where the town is located … nor from the trails. All the visible ice — for miles and miles and miles — consists of bergs that have calved off the glacier. Some 20 BILLION tons per year according to the Wikipedia article I read. Another mind boggling number from the same source says that some of the icebergs are up to 3,300 feet (1 km) in height! No wonder they are grounded and remain in the fjord until such time as they break up and can free themselves. Due to the way the currents run, it is believed that the iceberg that caused the demise of Titanic came from this fjord.

      When we visited Ilulissat in 2013, we walked through town to the boardwalk that runs down to the Icefjord for views that I still have a hard time comprehending … even after seeing them again today. On that occasion, we returned to town via the blue and red trails … coming across Thule skeletal remains that our historian Laurie pointed out along the way.

      (The story of our 2013 hike — in words and images — is at this link …http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2013/12/ilulissat….)

      This time, we wanted to do something different. So, we opted for the yellow route. Instead of taking the shuttle arranged by Quark to the newly constructed Ice Center at the junction of the trails, we decided to hike the path in reverse by walking through town …. thanks, Fabrice, for showing us the short cut.

      The downside to our plan was that we dawdled so much on the trail that we never had time to go into the Ice Center. On the other hand, had we gone to the center by starting at that end of the trail, we might not have managed to complete the hike. Definitely a dilemma.

      It wasn’t so much the distance that delayed us — about 2.5 miles with the walk to the trailhead near the power plant tacked on. Nor was the rocky terrain that had us crawling over and around boulders and rocks a problem. Even the elevation gain was a non-issue. It was the jaw-dropping scenery that kept stopping our forward progress!

      We’re back on the ship now. But our day is not over yet …      Read more

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