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Map showing track of the Grand
Princess |
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route from Reykjavik, Iceland to
Qaqortoq, Greenland, the ship sailed
a scenic transit of Prins Christian
Sund from east to west as shown in
Red on the map.
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Approaching the East
Entrance to Prins Christian Sund |
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On
the approach the ship sailed
a zigzag course to avoid
floating ice bergs. |
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Weather Station |
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south side of the entrance is a
weather station with a staff of
five. It was established in
WW2. Most of the year ice
blocks access by sea. The
station is very isolated. |
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Sailing Westerly In the Sund |
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The mainland of Greenland is
the north side of the Sund.
Several glaciers from the
Greenland Icecap exit into
the Sund.
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Sailing Westerly In the Sund |
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Another glacier.
A Greenland resident was on the
bridge of the ship and narrated the
passage thru the Sund over the
ship's PA system.
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Sailing Westerly In the Sund |
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Another glacier. |
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Sailing Westerly In the Sund |
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A hanging glacier. |
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Sailing Westerly In the Sund |
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Another glacier.
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Sailing Westerly In the Sund |
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narrator said this glacier is
retreating. It has left a
glacial moraine on the land between
the water and the glacier.
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Altering Course to Round
an Island Near the Western End
of the Sund |
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Nearing the Inuit Village of
Aappilattoq |
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ship rounded the bend the Captain
sounded the ship's horn to let the
village residents know the ship was
near. |
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A Greeting Party from the
Village |
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Aappilattoq |
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village has a population of about
160. It is located on a narrow
shelf at the base of a 3,000 ft
mountain. There are no roads
between settlements in Greenland,
including Aappilattoq. Most of
the year access by sea in impossible
because of ice. |
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Aappilattoq Residents |
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An
Inuit family in their
outboard boat (No, they no
longer use kayaks.) Note the
two freshly caught
seals visible on the gunwales. A
third seal on
the right rear corner of the
boat is not visible.
The Inuit diet is
carnivorous and they
exist primarily by hunting.
There is now little
vegetation in Greenland,
though some thousand years
ago when the climate was
warmer Norse settlers were
primarily farmers, growing
grass for sheep and cattle.
The Norse era ended when
global cooling made farming
impossible. |
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Aappilattoq Residents |
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Another Inuit family.
Note the absence of life preservers.
The narrator said this is because
the Inuits have a fatalistic outlook
and believe what happens is beyond
their control. |
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Aappilattoq |
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A
teleview of the village. |
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Sailing Southerly Towards the Exit
from the Sund |
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Looking north from the stern of the
ship. |
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Exiting the Sund |
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There were many icebergs
visible, some quite large.
Some had interesting shapes. |
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