Starting a new thread for Narwhal Sea Mail. Some have left for Copenhagen and the rest will be leaving today. We fly out today at 3.00 pm and Russ and Susan are on our flights from DFW to CPH so looking forward to seeing them in the airport lounge.

Packing was a challenge for everyone. 23 days with one self service laundry that will be in great demand OR pay for laundry. So of course we took more clothes than we normally would to cut down on the necessity for laundry. Hopefully only have to do laundry one time. Then you have all the cold weather stuff, hats, gloves, etc it all adds up. On a regular cruise you run out of a toiletry item, no problem just visit a local store. Not happening on this cruise. So the entire process was a bit more complicated.

Air Greenland was the problem with the weight from CPH to Greenland. I think these are the heaviest bags we have ever had but we are under the 44lb limit for one checked bag each and "pushing" but can make it on the one piece of carryon at 18lb. Camera around Kens neck, some electronic items in pockets - where there is a will there is a way.

After all this we will probably get there and the carry on bags wont even be weighed!

It is an airbus 330 so not a small plane but I bet it carries a lot of freight. On our flight from Nome to Anchorage a large part of the forward section of the plane was for Cargo. So not much room for passengers.

Not sure how much posting will be done I have been told the internet will be fine initially, then get very "spotty" and then fine again at the end. I will try and write up a little each day even if I cannot post it. On these adventure trips if you don't do it right away it is amazing how much you forget. Of course some big card players on this trip so may not be that much spare time. How can I write and beat Marc and Ralph at cards at the same time. IMPOSSIBLE cant beat them when I am not writing.

Bon Voyage to all! Have a wonderful trip!

Have a fabulous trip everyone.

We are safely ensconced in the Crown Room at Atlanta. Uneventful drive from Huntsville to Atlanta. Since all flights except Air Greenland are on Delta or Partners, we have tons of free luggage allowance; however, that 44lbs checked and 18lbs carryon with Air Greenland is a problem. One of our checked bags is 47 so might have to take binoculars out and camera out of one of the carry on bags. I will try to take on computer bag in addition to carryon but prepared for Plan B. I will give the agent 10 pounds of pencils and tell them they're robbing the school kids.

See everyone tomorrow!

This is exciting!! Bon voyage, Narwhalians!

We are at DWF after a great lunch with Pricilla and John.
Let the fun begin

I feel your pain Ngaire! We were up last night looking on the website for what items we could "carry on our person" thus meeting the 18 Lb limit.


We are sitting in ATL and I am "practicing" my hearts game on my computer!

Have a fantastic trip -- can't wait for the sea mail. Hope you see a
Narwhat and better yet, get a picture of it.

Bon voyage, Narwhal-ers!!! John and I had a wonderful catchup lunch today with Russ and Susan in Grapevine, close to the airport, on their way to their flight. Have a great time, you two, and we will be watching for photos.

Arlene and Marc, we miss you guys and wish you a fantastic time on this fabulous trip! Wish we could stow away in those 44-pound suitcases. Oh well ....

And Ngaire and Ken, have a great time too. You always do! I will be watching for seamail as you find possible. Hugs to all!!!

Arlene in business.

Marc in coach.

Both suitcases are in the hold.

Life is good.

Thanks Priscilla. We sure wish we could have joined you for lunch.

Have a wonderful trip everyone! Wish we were there but will have to wait for Sumo.

Ngaire, on the way back from Greenland last year on the Greenland to Copenhagen charter on Air Greenland, they didn't even weigh our bags separately as far as I can remember.

I, too, am eagerly awaiting the sea mail. This looks like a fabulous trip!

Brayden and I are in the new star alliance lounge at the lax Bradley terminal. Our flight leaves in a little over an hour. The new lounge is very very nice by the way. Very spacious and very comfortable.

Finally we are on our way.

Hi Narwhalians!
So happy to see this cruise has finally arrived. Enjoyed Brad and Leslie's trip last year and now it's your time. I know this is one desired cruise I will never get to do, so...............Sending wishes that you get to see and do all that you want.. Happy Adventures.

Like carman, I have been eagerly awaiting this trip........ for a long, long time! Ngaire, maybe you can save some snippets with a date, and mail when you can. I would not even attempt to beat anyone any game of cards, let alone Marc or Ralph, not even War. My expectations of pictures have been lowered .

Made it to Amsterdam! A short wait for our flight and then a quick flight to Copenhagen. Looking forward to seeing everyone later today.

edited to add:

Now in hotel in Copenhagen; just relaxing before the gang arrives. Found out bags need to be out at 530 tomorrow so don't know when we will get a good night's sleep.

Tony, I will try to find a Heidi photo-op for you.

Brayden and I have made it to Munich. We connect to CPH in about 2 hours. This is a very nice airport these days. Flight was good , got some sleep as did Brayden.

Not surprised about the bags needing to be out at 5:30am . Sort of expected that. As our flight is at 9am I would also guess we are off to the airport not later than about 6:30, maybe a tad later.

Looking forward to see all . May try to stop by and say hello tonight but not sure how late we will get in. Ngaire knows our schedule.

Very exciting! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Me, too!

Me three! :)

This is soooo exciting....
I'm still trying to figure out their pre-cruise hotel in Copenhagen yet they board the Silver Explorer in
Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.??

I need a geography lesson.

Just saw a lot of the gang at the Kangerlussuaq airport, as I warmed up the Explorer for them the past 12 days. Everyone looked wonderful as they headed off for a 2 hour bus tour before they board the ship. They are in for a great time as I felt the food is even better than it was 2 years ago on Zodiac, and of course the staff was fantastic.

Marcie, the charter flight to get to kangerlussauq is from Copenhagen since Greenland is a Danish territory. We had to fly from Kangerlussaug to Copenhagen then back to the US last year at the end of our cruise. A circuitous route. There was a group on that cruise who chartered their own flight back to canada rather than do that.

Thanks Rachel....now I get it.

One of the "Helens" referred to in Ngaire's earlier sea mail did that: chartered a plane to take her and her friend from Greenland to Minnesota rather than fly to Copenhagen and back to the US. I did not have the nerve to ask what THAT cost!
Wishing all a wonderful trip! Sounds like the Explorer will be well-warmed up for us, Rachel.
--------------------
Helen

We will rock the boat, Helen!

waiting, waiting, almost round the clock for words from NARWAL!

Arrival in Copenhagen and Kangerlussuaq

We got to the hotel in Copenhagen about 4.30 pm. A quick freshen up made us feel like new and we met 10 of the group to go to dinner. We ended up at an Italian restaurant where they whipped up a big table for us and the food was great. Everyone cleaned their plates. Then off to bed as we had to have bags out at 5.30 am.

At 6.00 pm we met in the lobby, drank our coffee and got our breakfast box and then off to the airport. Lots of people had overweight luggage and some of the couples in our group had to pay extra. I think in the $100 to $200 price range. At first one couple was quoted $800!! The girl behind the counter was calculating it incorrectly. All that behind us we boarded our plan an Airbus wide body. It was totally full. A four and a half hour flight. They served a hot breakfast and came through with drinks twice.

We left Copenhagen approximately 9.30 am and arrived Kangerlussuaq at 9.30 am so we gained those four and a half hours back. Once we arrived it was a bit of a mess. You arrive on one level then you have to walk downstairs to get the luggage. This is a very small area and with so many people we were like sardines in a can. Once we retrieved the luggage they had two guys to help carry it upstairs. Not a very efficient system.

We all managed to get on the same bus and of course the ship was not ready for us so we said we would be taking a two to three hour tour. Well the problem is there is not enough in Kangerlussuaq to do for two or three hours. It is a pretty small place but was interesting in the remoteness and simplicity of the town. We saw a muskox in a field from a long distance, closer then Nome but still a long way. Then we drove up a mountain as our little bus strained I felt I was living the children’s story of the “little engine that could – I think I can, I think I can”

The day was a bit cold and really windy. We made various stops around the island. Highlights were a muskox at a pretty far distance, a mountain top where you could see the permanent ice cap that was about 20 kilometers away. A lake, another view point and a group of Greenland dogs. The dogs were interesting and there was one very long haired HUGE dog that we all enjoyed. He almost posed for the camera. We were all back in the bus fairly quickly as we went to different areas on the island. I think the favorite stop was back to the airport for a bathroom break, particularly some of the ladies did not get to use the facilities at the airport.

Then we headed for the pier to catch the zodiac to the ship. The driver told us we have a choice as the ship is still not ready for us yet. We could go to another overlook or go to the pier and wait in the bus. A loud chorus said “to the pier”. When we arrived the staff were there and we were the first ones to the get to the ship. It was so nice to get onboard and check in was quick. A nice lunch, unpacking, the life boat drill and we were finally feeling like we were on our way to this new adventure.

We had a recap at 5.30 pm where our expedition leader Stefan explained the ice conditions with the help of an ice chart, and what was still blocked at this time. He had lead 5 expeditions through the Northwest Passage. He said about three years ago there was NO ICE and they went way north just to show the passengers some ice. However this year is different there is a lot of ice. Dinner was good. I had great seafood stew of mussels, fish, crab and scallops. Then after a quick visit to the other tables we hit the sack. I checked the winds and they were 75 kilometers! The ship was rocking of course but at this point I think everyone was so tired after the flight to CPH and then the long day with an extra four hours up no one cared that much and we all just crashed.

so happy everyone is on board and the adventure has begun. I hope Ken took picture of the big dog....maybe a distant relative of my "Charlie" who you and Ken have met.
Hope the winds die down, that's never good. Let the heart games begin

George is loving hearing about the75 mph winds. And we are both jealous of you getting to see a musk ox as we looked everywhere for one in kangerlussauq with no luck. Even our guide was disappointed.

Is the Stefan who is the expedition leader the big tall German guy with dry sense of humor? If so, tell him Rachel and George from Oklahoma say hi.

Photos From Kangerlussuaq, Greenland:


The Airport and Town.


Mark enjoying the view.


Our Guide.




Leaving Kangerlussuaq.

SISIMUIT
We arrived in Sisimuit, Greenland to an overcast sky with no wind at all. This is the most Northern town with an ice free port all year. This town surprised me as it was more prosperous than I would have expected. Fishing is the key industry. Houses were very nice and all brightly painted and the entire town was very clean. Just over 5500 people and most are the descendants of Danish and Inuit people.

Our local guide was a delightful young lady who is studying at University and here visiting her parents for the summer. We walked the town and stopped at certain points where she answered a lot of questions. She was full of answers. Some of the interesting facts that I knew from before were about education. All schooling is free and University is also free in Greenland or any Nordic country. She gets a monthly allowance from the government that pays all costs including accommodation and some left over. No commitment to return to Greenland after graduation but she said most of the graduates do return home.

We visited a grocery store and found pricing just a little more than the pricing in the USA. They have small area with shops and museums. In one of the shops was a Narwhal Tusk and Ken took a picture.

They offered a tasting of local foods. The shrimp was really full of flavor. One of the expedition team told me it was because they cook the shrimp in salt water. They also offered whale, cod and a muskox soup. My new fascination with muskox I decided I had to try it. In reality it tasted like a beef broth, quite tasty.
It was a nice easy day and that is exactly what we needed after the last two travel days. Now an afternoon at sea and the start of the lecture program. The lectures are show live in the cabin, I really like that.


Photos from Sisimuit, Greenland:












Narwhal horn.

Ken, wonderful photos once again. Sisimuit is definitely a vibrant village. It could rival those colorful towns in Italy and the Med. Are the people Iniuit? I bet they loved having you all as visitors. And that Narwhal horn - scary. I still hope you all are able to see them in the wild. Looking forward to the next report.

Children in every part of the world are wonderful and Ken always captures them so well. Have a great time.

What gorgeous pictures Ken !! You really know how to capture it all.I LOVE seeing these and hearing all the stories.

Thank you, Ken! I really love LCT!!! When Alice and i flew from JFK to Hong Kong for PAGODA, we flew "over the top." But all we could see over Greenland was clouds snd the few breaks in the clouds was just bright white from snow. I love the duck photo.

Me too, but I'm still trying to figure out those "mirror photos!" And where the mirror starts! And the children, and Mark looks smaller than I remember him

So excited for all of you. Thanks so much for keeping us up to date, Ngaire and Ken!

Yesterday I had Ken use the internet to post his pictures first as i knew we could lose the internet at any moment. So I now just added the short write up above his pictures. The people are a mixture of the Danish and Inuit people.

Internet was off most of the afternoon. As we proceed I think it is going to be off more than on and a whole period with no internet as they have to change the satellite they use and we will not have ANY internet. So far no word on the new ice conditions from the expedition team.

Marc is walking and has lost a LOT of weight. He looks great.

Last night after dinner we had a big circle of people in the panorama lounge enjoying drinks. The weather was stunning. Brilliant sunshine and not a ripple in the sea.

I was told that the last trip we did to Antarctica was on the ships video. That was the one where we landed at Elephant Island that was a very rare event. Our expedition leader Robin West said he had NEVER been able to do that before. Two other ships were around us and none of them even attempted it but everyone who wanted to go from the Silver Explorer walked on Elephant Island.

So we decided since so many of those "lucky" people are here we will also see Narwhals on the trip and keep our luck going.

ILULISSAT

This morning we heard the bumping of the ice on the boat. We are sitting in brilliant sunshine, looking at ice and some big icebergs and hardly a ripple on the sea. It is stunning. Ken is out taking the picture of an large iceberg in the sun with the fog immediately behind.

Our problem is that the area near the Ilulisat is covered with fog and we cannot proceed until this clears. We can see it is visibly lifting so we are just waiting. Today the plan was to visit the town and also go out in a small local fishing boat to get closer to the big icebergs.

We were told this is the biggest glacier in the world. The Icebergs break off the glacier and then get caught in the fjord in front of the glacier due to an underwater moraine. As that ice pressure builds up big icebergs break over the top. It is those big icebergs we are going to visit in the local boat.

Hopefully I will be back with what actually happens today and more pictures.

Updating the previous post!

I forgot to mention we saw a Minke Whale that surfaced about three times close to the ship.

Well as the day progressed the fog did not lift around the land. Where the Silver Explorer was sitting it was beautiful. So the Captain decided to cruise around some of the bigger icebergs in the area. I believe that (with the exception of the tabular icebergs) these were the biggest glacial icebergs I have ever seen. So the morning was enjoyable.

The original plan was to use local boats from the town. These boats would have been closer to the glacier on the other side of the moraine that blocked the icebergs in the fjord. But the glacier would still have been a long way in the distance. Then in the afternoon visit the town that would probably have been very similar to the town we visited the day before. We had lunch and waited for further announcements. The expedition team decided to do a 45 minute zodiac ride around the icebergs.

This was a perfect situation as the day was truly stunning and the zodiac ride was fantastic. We picked up a lot of ice and Kathryn bought back her own supply of ice for martinis tonight. It was her husband Mau’s birthday so she presented him with a birthday present of a large piece of glass. We had a wonderful time and I really believe being in a zodiac close to the water was a far preferable situation to being a local larger boat that would have been crowded. So I think the changed day may have turned out better than the original plans.

Birthday celebration for Mau tonight so we are really looking forward to that as well.

Ken is working on pictures but not sure any will be able to be posted internet is constantly dropping off.

When in Greenland years ago we were told the Kayak was invented in Greenland - makes sense!