Arctic Traverse: Romer Fjord

On September 17th, 2022, the Endurance visited Romer Fjord, according to the daily handout. Perhaps they meant the fjord adjacent to the land-locked Romer Lake -- Google Maps couldn't find "Romer Fjord." In any case, we were just south of Scoresby Sund.

 

Our morning landing offered a "warm bath" -- a geothermal pool that was a short hike from the beach. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The source itself was modest,

but a pool had been created below it.

Joan and I decided against entering the pool and joined a hike advertised as flat. But due to a polar bear sighting, the group headed in the other, safer direction, first along the shoreline and then up a rocky slope. An early discovery was an ancient reindeer skull,

and antlers. Centuries have passed since reindeer have been in east Greenland.

Not far from shore was an old hut, likely used during hunting expeditions.

On closeup, we saw a greeting on the roof!

Google Translate renders 'Qalaati vaaje ittua' as Hausa, a West African language, for "It's time to go to bed." But if you omit the first space, submitting 'Qalaativaaje ittua', the answer is "start it up." Umm, OK.

Soon, we began hiking upslope. It was chilly with the low clouds and occasional snowflakes, but our exertions kept us warm.

Our guide watched for polar bears as our ridge began to curve inland. At this he was good, but Joan and I would also have appreciated the company of a naturalist such as Sergei on this hike.

Then it was time to return to the ship. Crumbling columns of basalt were visible on the steepest slopes.

The morning wasn't over yet. A polar bear had been spotted, and we set out in zodiacs to grab a better look.

Bear-a-palooza. He was foraging along the shoreline; one naturalist thought he spotted it working on a bird carcass.

The bear moved on, hoping the beach would offer him a snack, and kept an eye on those strange creatures in the water.

And we did look strange.

Finally he decided to rest,

and we returned to the Endurance for lunch. The ship began its departure from Greenland, aiming for Iceland, which we would reach the next day. Our afternoon featured two sterling talks, one by Bird Nerd Jamie Colman, "Polar Bears 101," and later in the afternoon the astronaut and explorer Kathy Sullivan spoke on "The New Space Age."

Ahead lay Ísafjörður, Iceland.

Arctic Traverse: Scoresby Sund

On September 16th, 2022, the Endurance entered the extensive collection of fjords at Scoresby Sund (Scoresby Sound),

Click on the image to enlarge.

and in the early morning,

we sailed deeper into the Sound.

Our path was sometimes strewn with pancake ice, thin sheets that announced, "winter is coming."

The ascending sun began to illuminate the fjord, revealing a prospect of rock and ice.

Icebergs littered the bay.

This morning we spotted two polar bears, both snoozing. They were patiently waiting for the sea ice to form, so that they can hunt seals and fatten up. This photo has a small white blob that's a bear. Click on the image to enlarge.

Then it was time for our first zodiac cruise. This was a typical line waiting to board. We were summoned to the mud room that held our boots and other gear by the deck number of our cabin, as in, "Deck 5 come to the mud room."

A view from our zodiac.

The air was icy cold, but the zodiacs were cozy in that we were shoulder-to-shoulder.

As some icebergs melt, they become top-heavy and fall over, leaving their layers pointing at the sky.

Our rubber craft could cope with the slushy ice.

Flat ice was an avian congregation point.

The Endurance remained in view.

A waterfall sluiced down from the melting glaciers.

Eventually, the sunny morning tour came to an end.

The Endurance sailed towards Gasefjord, another location in the Sound, during lunch. We passed a French vessel, the Polar Front, headed towards where we had just been.

Big ice and big mountains along the way.

At our next stop, lighting was subdued at first.

We passed a berg that was re-balancing itself.

This berg had picked up a coat of coal-black rubble.

As time passed the clouds dissipated, uncloaking the sun.

Excitement on the bridge ...

and out on deck.

Why? More sleeping polar bears!

All in all, a fabulous day at Scoresby Sund. I can't imagine the total number of photos the ship's guests took today.

Arctic Traverse: Antarctic Havn

 On September 15, 2022, we explored the natural harbor named "Antarctics Hamn" after the ship Antarctic, which anchored there in August 1899 during the search for survivors of Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897.

A yellow circle marks the Havn.

Our general location in the Arctic ... click on the image to enlarge.

The straight black line ends in a dot at Havn.

The original plan was to go ashore this morning, but the scouts reported that there was fog moving in,

and the walking conditions were poor.

Instead, we heard two engrossing presentations. Ezra Siegel kept our attention as he described the first crossing of Greenland by Nansen, traversing from east to west. Kathryn Sullivan, especially known for being the first female spacewalker during the astronaut phase of her career, gave us a much better understanding of the phenomenon of the auroras.

When Joan and I returned to our cabin, we discovered that when it had been made up, the two pigs traveling with us (Squealer, left, and Poppy) and the walrus (Wally) given us by Lindblad had moved into a bathrobe condo.

Or had they moved themselves?

After lunch, it was time to explore the fjord by kayak or by zodiac.

The gang spread out.

We opted for a zodiac ride.

There was plenty to see.

And ours was not the only zodiac.

Getting closer to the biggies.

In addition to the icebergs, occasional structures popped up along the shoreline.

The ubiquitous jellyfish were here as well.

The corralled kayaks at the end of the excursions.

The post-dinner view was fabulous: pink sunset and shaded, retreating glacier. It lured us into watching the scene's spectrum shift minute by minute as the sun sank.

Another great day! The pigs and walrus agree.