Tours

Leaving the land of ice and fire, we set off into the Greenland Sund — the stretch of ocean that separates Iceland from Greenland. Often, a persistent band of fog marks the boundary between these two worlds. When it finally lifts, the first icebergs reveal themselves on the horizon, drifting silently like frozen cathedrals. Depending on the weather, we choose a sheltered spot for our first landfall.

The East Coast of Greenland is wild and dramatic. It is largely uninhabited and, due to the storis (pack ice) carried south by the East Greenland Current, only accessible by boat during the short Arctic summer.

The nutrient-rich waters surrounding Greenland draw sea mammals and countless seabirds. Various whale species travel here to feed on krill and plankton. Along the pack ice and shorelines roams the king of the Arctic—the polar bear—hunting seals and wandering far in search of prey.

Greenland is home to the Inuit, traditionally a nomadic people who thrived by hunting seal on the ice and catching whales and birds from their elegant kayaks. In summer, families would set off to seasonal camps to hunt muskox and fish for Arctic char, making the most of the endless daylight.

Along the Greenland Sund we will choose from one of many secluded anchorages tucked away in fjords and between steep coasts. The East Coast has few people; you may go days without seeing another soul. Nature, however, is abundant—vibrant, raw, and wonderfully untouched. Our next highlight is likely Ikerasassuaq, Prins Christian Sund, where mountains towering over 1500 meters rise from either side. This narrow fjord offers an inner waterway connecting East and West Greenland. If free of ice, it provides a spectacular inshore passage into Viking country on the West Coast.

While the Thule Inuit began settling in the northwest, Norse explorers from Iceland colonized the southwest. Their brief presence in Greenland has puzzled historians for centuries. One early sighting of Greenland came by chance, when a ship commanded by Gunnbjörn Ulfsson was blown off course around AD 930 and glimpsed the skerries near modern-day Tasiilaq. It wasn’t until AD 982 that Erik the Red made a successful landing on Greenland’s southwest shore.

Driven from Iceland after a blood feud, he sought a new home. Brattahlid (modern Qassiarsuk), at the head of a fjord, became the site of the first Viking longhouse. On returning to Iceland, Erik spoke of Greenland with such optimism that he succeeded in convincing new settlers to follow him—one of the greatest sales pitches of all time. Those who arrived soon discovered the land was less green than promised, yet farms soon dotted the fjords. This region became known as the Eastern Settlement; later settlers behind Nuuk formed the Western Settlement. The last contact with the Norse colonies came from an Icelander who attended a wedding at Hvalsey.