The mist before the ice
Ittoqqortoormiit “A place where many people live” This colorful East Greenland gem is home to just under 400 people. Nomadic tribes have visited the place for over a thousand years but the harsh climate made an existence here close to impossible! In 1925 a settlement was created to clame a stake for the land. The settlers and missionaries left from Isafjordur, Iceland for their new home and a new future.
It is the world’s biggest fjord system
We have been drawn to the Kangertitivaq or Scoresbysund area for its fastness and the unspoiled nature. It is the world’s biggest fjord systeme with days and days of uninterrupted traveling through alpine country on a ship! It is only excisable by boat in the short summer season and even then it can be a challenge!
The East Greenland current brings a Constand flow of ice from the north. This creates a natural border to this fairytale land and keeps it well hidden. The ice is also a source of live to the majestic Polar Bear. Their favorite meal, the seal lives under and on the ice.
The nutritious Arctic waters also bring many species of whales north. They feed on the plankton and grace us with there presence. Once clear of the ice the colorful houses of Ittoqqortoormiit, the only settlement in the area are a welcome site, and a huge contrast to the white mountainous land scape surrounding us
We set sail from Isafjordur, Iceland for Greenland in the second half of the summer. This gives us the best chance to navigate the ice. Isafjordur itself is the gate way to the fabulous West Fjords of Iceland. So before heading out into the Greenland Sund (or Denmark Strait) we stop at the Hornstrandir national park, just 10 miles south of the Arctic circle! The people of Hornstrandir have left the place in the 1950’s to look after itself. There are no roads there so the only way in is by boat! It is teaming with wild live! Pelagic birds are nesting on the towering cliffs where Arctic foxes pray on them. The waters are filled with fish, and it is not rare to see a Humpbacks fluke! All the more reason to take some time to explore!
The first of June for us is the date we start looking at the ice charts a little closer. It makes you wonder how it is possible Iceland is rarely affected by the highway of ice coming south. It makes our journey north a true transition from one world to another. First through the mist and then into the Ice!
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