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For this blog:

This blog is about our cruise to Southern and Western Greenland. 

Please do read through this blog for our narrative and the related photos. 

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Cruising
Flowers
Icebergs
Towns, Villages and Countrysides

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July 11 - Boarding the MS Fram in Reykjavik

We were on board by mid-afternoon but the ship did not depart until around dinner time.  Our cabin is much larger than on our Svalbard cruise.  This ship, MS Fram, is much larger and newer than our previous ship.  The cabin is a normal size and the ship seems to be outfitted with pretty much everything you see on most cruise ships except a salon and a swimming.  They do have two hot tubs though.

Prior to casting off we had the normal required safety briefing.  The big difference in this one was the safety gear.  If evacuation is required we will all be issued a full polar bunny suit to keep us from freezing in the polar water.  The suit includes seamless boots and gloves so there is nowhere that water can get in except just around the eyes.  Looks warm enough.

July 12 - Stykkisholmur, Iceland

Our first and only port of call in Iceland is Stykkisholmur.  We were here on our previous circumnavigation cruise of Iceland.  Our previous shore excursion here was to the top of a glacier.  Today’s tour was entitled Coves, Caves and Craters.

The drive took us along the drive we had taken previously to the glacier but of course we will have new sights to see.  

Our first stop was Dritvik Cove where we took a hike down through some very rough volcanic formations,

down to a beach...

with pieces of the Epine ship wreck strewn about,

and then up along the edge of the cliffs to Dritvik Cove.   Along the way there were lots of wildflowers.

At the cove was a small hut that was said to be a survival hut that is no longer in use.

The next stop was the Vatnshellir Lava Caves.  We were outfitted with helmets and flashlights and entered the cave down a spiral staircase.  The cave has no lighting but the guide had a really big flashlight so between our lights and his we could see well enough. 

Volcanic caves do not have stalactites and stalagmites like a limestone cave but they can have small columns formed by the volcanic activities.  

There were twin columns right next to each other.  One has been named Marj Simpson (top looks a bit like her hairdo).   However, the pictures just didn't turn out.  

The bottom cave was entered down another very long spiral staircase. 

There was a rather large chamber at one end. 

Back outside we were on our way to our next stop, Saxholl volcanic crater.  There was a relatively easy walk up the stairs to the top.  From the top we could see into the craters

 and to the surrounding area. 

There were a fair number of wildflowers on the slopes.

We were back in Stykkisholmur by late afternoon and settled in for a bit of a rest.  We had done a lot of walking today. 

July 13 and 14 - At Sea

13^th – We are sailing the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland.  The weather is actually very good, not much wind, minimal swells, sunshine…could not be better.  We stopped in the water for a while to watch a couple of fin whales (second largest whale in the world).

Later we saw a pod of pilot whales.  They are a lot smaller and don’t spend a much time on top of the water so they were much more difficult to photograph.  But it was great to get to see them.

14^th – We are still at sea heading to the southern end of Greenland but the weather has definitely changed.  The sea swells are much greater today but not so bad that it is causing significant problems.  The sky is overcast and it is slightly rainy.  Few people went out today.  The whales are out there somewhere but with the waves and white caps it is impossible to see them.  

July 15 – Prince Christian Sound and Aappliattoq

We were up extremely early today to be out on deck when we sailed into Prince Christian Sound at 6:00am.  The sound is very narrow in places and rather long and extremely beautiful.  The mountains are craggy

and there are waterfalls at fairly regular intervals along the mountain sides.

There are a number of glaciers that flow into the sound,

resulting in stretches of water with lots of ice as well as a few very large icebergs.

One of the icebergs had a waterfall flowing off the top of it.

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Watch a video of the waterfall.
***************************************** And one had a seal sunbathing on top.

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More Prince Christian Sound Photos
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In the afternoon we arrived at the small village of Aappliattoq, population of around 100 people.  The little village is a gold mine of photo opportunities with a pretty little harbor,

colorful buildings,

and a colorful church

with a cemetery next door.

The mountains and fjord around the village are exceptionally beautiful.

And there were lots and lots of flowers including alpine chickweed

Alpine Chickweed

 dandelions (both yellow and fuzzy),

Dandelions

arctic cottongrass,

sea mayweed (the flower looks like daisies but the foliage is quite different),

Sea Mayweed

and dwarf fireweed or Little Girl.

Dwarf Fireweed

The few people we met were friendly.  Turns out half of the village went out to the boat for a visit.  The children particularly loved riding the elevators and eating ice cream.

There were no tours of the village as there isn’t really much there but Hurtigruten did arrange for a concert by a small group from the local church.  They stood on the steps of the church and sang four songs, possibly in Inuit as the language didn’t sound like anything we had heard before.

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More Aappliattoq Photos

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Late in the evening we headed up to the decks to watch the setting sun play on the icebergs…it was really beautiful. 

Mary stayed out a good bit longer in the hopes of a good sunset…everything looked like it could result in a great sunset but the wait was forever (since the days are long and it takes a very long time for the sun to set).  But the wait paid off big time with a spectacular pink/purple sunset.