PRINCE CHRISTIAN SOUND, GREENLAND

Before beginning I must apologize for putting on so many images for this day.  I awakened early in the morning, opened the shade in our cabin and was blown away! This is what I saw, right outside the window,  We had just entered a Fjord at the southern tip of Greenland in Prince Christian Sound, a narrow passage between the most gorgeous mountains I had ever laid my eyes on, and the sky above was blue!  I don't know what was on the starboard side of the ship but I am sure it was just as beautiful.  I understand that very few cruise ships go in here because they are just too big, but ours, being much smaller and an ice breaker to boot is one of the few to attempt it.  Lucky us.  This day made the whole trip for me, and overcompensated for the days of clouds and rain.

Greenland, should have been called Iceland, except for the fact the name was already taken.

85% of the Island is covered by snow and ice.  The Ice sheet that covers 80% of the top, is the 2nd largest in the world, being surpassed  only by Antartica.  The present ice is estimated to be 

100,000 years old.

Clouds hung partway up the jagged peaks and blue striped icebergs floated in the water.

In places bits of the ice sheet were visible coming  down from the top.

And waterfalls ran down the steep cliffs.

This particular group of peaks reflected in the water took my breath away.

      Rounding the corner to the left in this panorama, we came upon an amazing sight, a village in the middle of nowhere, but with a spectacular view.

This little town of about 100 people is accessible by boat only in the summer, and in the winter by helicopter as are so many places in Greenland.  The indigenous people are called Kalaalit, meaning Greenlander in the Inuit Language.

The colorful Scandinavian type houses in such a remote site were a real surprise.  I have since found out that the main source of industry for these people comes from seals.  Though I never saw any from the ship, they must be plentiful in the area.

 Notice the smiles on our faces, what else would you expect in such a special place.

 As the sound enlarged more icebergs dotted the water, making the scene even more spectacular.

 There were beautiful waterfalls cascading down the rock faces.

 And though the clouds moved in for a time, here they didn't take away anything.

 This unnamed glacier is only one of many that reaches the water in this sacred place.

        This tall many faceted waterfall was lovely
         even in the distance.  I could only imagine
         how spectacular it wold be up close.

Our wake left an interesting mark in the surface, as we turned heading back towards the Atlantic.

Our last look at these incredible mountains as the sky began to darken with the promise
of more precipitation.

But awaiting us at the exit were these spectacular icebergs, white when the ice was clear of bubbles, but shades of blue when it was not.  Leaving icy Greenland for green Iceland!!