South Greenland Explorer – Aurora Borealis

Today we reach Lichtenau, a lovely though nearly deserted Greenlandic village, where the Herrnhuters had a mission in the 18th century and where some of their large German-style buildings still remain. We will then try to get to Uunartoq, where we can bathe in a large hot spring surrounded by icebergs. Across at Vagar, we find the remains of a Norse homestead.

Our eastward passing of Prins Christian Sund is surrounded by mountains of over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) and is one of the highlights of the voyage. We will try to make a landing at the small village of Augpilaqtoq, where we can still meet some hunters of the area. As an alternative, we may make a landing at Svaerdfiskens Havn.

Sailing northward in the East Greenland Current, we aim for Igutsait Fjord or Napassorsuaq Fjord. Both feature glacier fronts and small icebergs, where an isolated population of polar bears was once found hunting seals.

Today we land at Tingmiarmit, seeing an abandoned Greenlandic settlement and remains of Thule houses at the north side of the island. Deep into the Tingmiarmiut Fjord, we are again in the area where polar bears hunt seals among the drifting glacier ice.

Next we visit Skjoldungen, one of the most spectacular fjords of southeast Greenland. Our aim is to land at Qornoq, where we’ll see houses from the Thule culture, then visit Mariedal and a beautiful valley where Greenlanders used to collect berries in autumn.

We sail to today’s landing at Umivik, where the explorer Fridtjof Nansen ascended the Greenland ice sheet. Here you may even be able to walk a short distance in his steps.

As we sail in Denmark Strait on our way to Iceland, the going can be rough. But be sure to spend some time on deck looking for migrating whales, seabirds, and the magical lightshow of the aurora borealis.