One view
of the beauty
of
Acadia National Park
Next, Halifax is the mid-point of our Canadian ports of call. There, a stroll along the beautiful Halifax boardwalk, with residents and visitors alike taking in the sights of various vessels tied alongside and enjoying the restaurants and shops dockside.
| A yucky day. A view from the ships' bridge |
Nuuk, this most northernly capital of the worlds’ countries, its’ shoreline outlined with a rainbow of brightly colored homes welcomes us. After walking the few streets of the town center, we don survival suits and board a small, open boat to cruise through the adjacent fjord to get up close and personal to many icebergs, glacial fed waterfalls and whales.
Overnight we cruise to our next port of call - Paamiut. A walkabout the town with its colorful homes, a visit to their iconic church and very old cemetery under sunny skies provided an insight into the hard life here in Greenland. The waters are surrounded by a flotilla of icebergs of varying shapes and sizes. We then cruise to our next and final port in Greenland, Qaqortoq (pronounced ‘kakortok’). Awakening to pleasantly warm temperatures, this harbour is accented with a variety of icebergs. After tendering into the port, we walk through the town of 7500 and hike to a glacier fed lake meeting and talking to inhabitants along the way. Although the lake’s temperature is only single digit, it is summer and we see several swimming in the lake.
past walks. With our ship underway again, we head for uncharted areas of Iceland on its’ Western coast, our first being Isafjordur, nestled between mountains. Its existence is due to the natural harbor and is home to many fisherman. Since the 16th century, merchants have been using this port as a trading centre between European cities. Our last port in Iceland, Akureyri situated on the northern coast is considered the capitol of the North. With its relatively mild climate and ice-free harbor is an economic engine of this tiny country, but with another day of rain our decision is to stay aboard and not place our last footing on this Icelandic port of call.