Day 28–Scenic Cruising in Prince Christian Sound

Woke up to perfectly clear skies, raising the excitement for going through the narrow passage in the sound. Despite 9 hours of sleep, I groggily went out onto the balcony to spy some clouds, so I figured Greenland was out there somewhere. Then I realized they weren’t clouds, they were mountains and glaciers. And there were pieces of ice floating about to boot.

 
View from the balcony – day 28

Iceberg and a glacier

It was a chilly 46° when I got up, dropping 4 degrees from when Neesh got moving a couple hours earlier. We anxiously awaited for the Captain to announce if we would be cleared to go through the sound, and shortly before arriving, we got the ok. Just after that a surprise came in the form of the helicopter giving us a fly-by. Turns out it was the ice patrol chopper (tail number OY-HHS). And then the sights came on strong for about 5 hours.

We finally got a seat in the Crow’s Nest (which was packed) and I was able to keep running outside to take pictures. On the starboard side the sun was warm and the wind not bad, but on the top deck the wind was blowing at an effective 50 knots. Exhilarating, actually. I’ll just let the pictures do the talking now.

Who moved the Matterhorn?

Rugged peaks

Demarcation between fresh and salt water

Some Inuits saying hello from a village of 120 that we passed

The temperatures plummeted once we got near the open water, and then we were back in the fog. A check of the window thermometer showed 40°. Welcome to December! We’re tendering to Qaqortoq tomorrow, which could be interesting given the short stay. Last tender is at 12:30 PM. Ta ta for now!