20-7-2024
Live in the fjords is good. Sun shine ,prime Alpine country and beautiful hikes. The pack ice brought some visitors as well. At least two polar bears where sighted and one mother with a cup. These Apex predators find their main source of food the ringed seals, on the ice flows. For us it means some exciting moments a shore… Eyes open! A part from the bird live and the seals the only wild live we saw was a herd of muskoxen. Not bad!! They are not hunted the way they are in east Greenland so we where able to get relatively close to the animals. Fascinating creatures! Often the only singe of them is their dung on the well throtten paths they leave. We counted 4 calfs and they seemed well fed. Before I went to bed I had a peak through the binoculars. Sure enough an arctic fox was beach combing in search of an easy meal. Wilderness at its purest and best. High summer in the Artic! Not much that can beat it.
The pack ice had slowed us down a little so we opted for the inshore passage through al the little islands. Last time i was going this way we did the same. Only this time there was no fog to hide the spectacular views across the mountains! The passage is wel marked with stakes and in this visibility easy to make out. RADAR is close to useless because it does not tell the differentst between ice and rock. Eyeball navigation! Quite rewarding.
Today we are of to Bradhild, the site of Eric the Red’s long house. this area is littred with old Norse settlements. Today sheep farming is one of the main incomes of the comunities. Some 20 000 lambs are brought to marked every year. Once the water tank is full we are of to see the sights! What a live
All is well
Gijs
