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!!

ISAFJORDUR, ICELAND

Isafjordur, meaning ice fjord is a town in the NW of Iceland with a population of 2,600. First settled in the 9th century, and granted municipal status in 1786.,  the town grew as it became a trading post for foreign merchants. .  Fishing has been the main industry in Ísafjörður, and the town has one of the largest fisheries in Iceland.  

 The meticulously restored Turnhus (Tower House), built in 1744, now houses                                     the Westfjords Heritage Museum.

    
         Large vessels find easy access to the town through the deep Fjord.

                        Reflections in the clear water of the Fjord below the high cliffs

                      
                          The high cliff on both sides of the Fjord give protection  to ships at the dock

     
    And the port houses a large selection of commercial and pleasure vessels

                                                Including the old and well used fishing vessel.

 On a walk through town we found this old delivery truck now used to advertise the shop behind it.

 And these beautiful gardens of flowers that seem to cherish the slight warmth of early summer.

 My favorite subject outside the Hotel, which I later learned had a very good restaurant.  But nearing                    the end of our cruise, the last thing we needed was another good meal.

                        But this interesting piece of art work in a shop window took my interest.

         Even so far North one can have a yard with green grass, bushes and flowers in the summer

 While one wouldn't think ice was a scarce commodity this warehouse and machine was filling crates of it.

                                   
                                      Perhaps our ship, sitting at the dock was a big customer.

   
   My last look of this far northern Icelandic town was of this fisherman / mechanic trying to
                                                           repair his old boat.

                                                       
                                                         And these two beached ships.

 

AROUND REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

For our last day from the ship we signed up for a free tour near the capital, Reykjavik with the thought it would give us an introduction for the following, expensive, 3 day tour we had booked.

Leaving the port by bus, the thing that impressed me the most were the many fields of purple Lupine.
I learned later that having been introduced from Alaska in 1945, they have become an item of controversy for the country.  Originally planted as a source of nitrogen for the poor desert like soil and an anchor for vegetation, they became a invasive, foreign species that was overwhelming the native species, especially the woolly moss, or "graymoss" as it is know in Iceland, that covers the lava flows.  There is now a serious effort to eradicate it from many areas around the "ring road, that runs around the perimeter of Iceland.

We spotted our first stop in the distance by the steam rising in front of a distant mountain, the world famous "Blue Lagoon".  A mixture of sea and fresh water heated by geothermal sources on a lava field, it has become world famous.

We stopped on the way in to feel the temperature of the run-off water, and to observe the very

delicate graymoss that covers the lava flow.

Though it looked very inviting, we were not prepared, nor was there the time to enjoy the lagoon.

In 2012, the Blue Lagoon was designated by National Geographic one of the 25 wonders of the world.

However, a close-up view showed the mineral deposits, mostly silica and sulfur that are supposed to have such a healing effect on skin disorders.

There were a lot of happy people bellied-up to the pool bar, and several with the mud from the lagoon plastering their faces.  The water temperature averages 99-102 F, and completely changes every 2 days.

As you can see towels and robes are available for use for the several hundred thousand people who use this place every year.  Quite an undertaking.  The geothermal power plant that sits behind the lagoon supplies electricity and after going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in.

  Our next stop was at Seltun, a high temperature Geothermal area with mud pots and 

steam vents.  It belongs to one of 4 eruptive faults that lie along the Reykjavik Peninsula.

 This stream runs between several different areas.  I am sure it is HOT water.

 At a depth of 1000 meters the temperature reach 200 degrees F.  Around the vents are deposits of sulfur that at one time was used for gunpowder.

 

  These mud pots were bubbling away, but without a tripod I couldn't get the effect.

 It was still a beautiful, active, ever changing scene.

On the way to the coast we passed the Hellisheiði  power plant, the largest

single site geothermal power plant in the world.

This old Reykjavik Peninsula Lighthouse atop a hill of lava is no longer in use.
 

But under a blue sky the shore line was beautiful.

The black beach in this cove attests to the power of the ocean to wear away the volcanic rock.

The cliffs where I stand  to take this picture is a bird paradise where thousands of  seabirds nest each summer. The most common are guillemot, razorbill, Brünnich's guillemot, kittiwake, puffin, black guillemot, fulmar and cormorant.

 The 77m high Eldey island serves as a home to around 16.000 Gannets. The island is made of hylaciastite and is part of rocks and skerries that extend 85 km out to sea.

Wild flowers grow even in these volcanic stones.

 The Viking heritage is still strong in Iceland, as was evidenced by our last stop.

One can only imagine the wonderful, riotous parties that  can occur here.