Float Days 14-16 (Sea Day, Sea Day, Sea Day)

     So.....  Three sea days in a row to get to our first Greenland port.

    Day 14 - not much.  other than catching up on blog stuff.

    Day 15 - a wonderful passage through the Prince Christian Sound.  During the Summer months, rather than steaming around the southern tip of Greenland, with high winds and high seas (and assuming the sea ice is not a problem), ships can pass through a channel about 100 miles inland.
    The morning was again very foggy with zero visibility.  I was figuring this was going to be a repeat of the tour of Janmayen Island.  But just as we approached the inlet, the we exited through the fog curtain to clear skies.  Many photos to follow.
    Strange thing, though - no animals and maybe a couple birds for the duration of the passage.  Lots of green stuff on the northern face of the passage, but a near-total absence of wildlife.  After the huge flocks of puffins and seagulls throughout the North Atlantic after leaving Iceland, this was a real surprise.  

    Day 16 - As we go up the Western side of Greenland, the Captain took a short detour to a Greenland abandoned mining site.  The Greenland landscape approaching this town continued to be scenic (though the town itself was not).  Still relatively few sea birds or other wildlife.  We will see if the numbers pick up as we reach Paamiut tonight.

    Photos.

    Day 14- no photos.  Increasing fog.

    Day 15- as mentioned, super-foggy when we awoke.  But as we approached the inlet, the fog suddenly disappeared (if it had not, we would have been forced to go around the tip of Greenland, rather than through the Prince Christian Sound.  After breaking through the curtain, a picture looking backward:

    And looking forward:

    So many icebergs.  So much jagged terrain.  And waterfalls.  And glaciers.  And the mountains just became taller and more jagged the further we went.  And I promise you - this is a small fraction of the photos I took.

    Jana looking through the windscreen on the upper-deck:

    More passage photos:

    And as we left the passage, back to the open sea, the curtain fell, and visibility again dropped to zero.

    Day 16 - the Captain took us to an inlet to view a small mining town.  The town itself was not impressive, but the landscape in the passage was.  The day started foggy, but visibility continued to improve through the early morning.
    One note - as you pass an iceberg, its appearance changes dramatically.  Example below:

    And a couple pics of the abandoned mine, and mining town (which is now next to a small naval base).

    

    More, soon, from Greenland landings in Paamiut, and then Qaqortoq (3 q's and no u's).