Today the Zuiderdam calls on Nanortalik, Greenland at around 11 am. When we woke bright light was shining through the curtain gaps. We opened them to see beautiful blue skies and a big iceberg in the distance.
Nanortalik Morning
By the time Steve and I dressed and went up to the crow’s nest fog came in and we couldn’t see a thing! Steve ordered our coffee drinks when they opened at 6 am. About 7:30 we headed to the buffet for breakfast. There was no one in the omelette line so we ordered our respective usuals and had a nice breakfast.
The captain spoke while we were dining and indicated it should clear up by the time we’re in port. Hope so!
It’s 39 degrees outside when we rise and the high is only forecast to be 42. Time for the gloves and winter caps to come out!
Late morning the fog cleared as the ship made its way to anchor off Nanortalik. We made our way to the bow for scenic viewing. I was letting my Viking heritage show for a bit.
We made our way out back for Steve’s photo.
What a beautiful place! We were surrounded by mountains and some icebergs.
Afterwards it was time to get lunch before our afternoon excursion.
Nanortalik Afternoon
Steve wasn’t hungry as he ate quite a bit more than me at breakfast. I headed to the dining room where they were having an express lunch menu.
I started with the zucchini bisque soup.
Entree was the only course with options and I decided on salmon Caesar salad.
This was followed by blueberry cheesecake.
It was regular cheesecake with a few blueberries on the side. All good and I enjoyed chatting with new people at the table.
Amongst the Icebergs Excursion
Tour Description: Walk 200 yards from the tender pier to board a boat for an amazing morning or afternoon out on the waters surrounding Nanortalik.
This region is surrounded by granddaddy icebergs floating on the surface of the ocean just below the Arctic Circle. Your skillful captain will take you as close as possible to these scattered mountains of ice. The many icebergs in the area form part of a habitat that is frequented by a large variety of marine mammals such as seals, humpback whales and minke whales, as well as numerous species of seabird. Keep an eye out for any and all of these fascinating creatures. At some point along the way, the crew will snag an iceberg and harvest some ice to make a beverage for you.
Steve and I headed to the showroom after 1 pm to check in on time. We got our stickers and canned water (drink package).
After a short wait our group was called and off we went.
It was a small group and I later learned only 11 people on each boat. The tender ride was about five minutes; half the distance of yesterday or less. We waited once there to unload in a line of tenders.
The Zuiderdam was surrounded by fog.
Once we got ashore the count was just 10 of us. After the missing passenger didn’t show up on the next tender we walked to the boat, loaded and pulled away. Suddenly we return to the dock. The missing passenger had arrived. He was lucky we were still so close!
It was cold despite our hats, gloves and coats speeding over to the fjord where we saw the icebergs. We didn’t go far; it was “just around the corner”.
Once we got there and slowed down, I was comfortable. But oh the sight of all the icebergs.
We were able to get close to so many and I kept thinking each photo I took was better than the last.
We were both grinning the entire time.
What an experience. The boat at one moment got so close I felt we could have reached out and touched it.
It was a one hour tour and ours was about 5 minutes long.
We loved every second! There was no beverage made with harvested ice though.
This is aview of the town from the tour dock.
Once back in town, we just walked to the ship’s tender where a short line had formed. The fog was cleared around the Zuiderdam.
Back on the ship it was time to get ready for the evening.
Nanortalik Evening
We went to the Ocean Bar for a pre-dinner cocktail.
Tonight for the first time we had live music starting at 5 pm. It was nice!
All six of us were at the table for dinner tonight.
Steve started with the shrimp in tangerine sauce.
It looked so good! He also had a Caesar salad. I had the lentil soup which was very hearty and tasty.
For entree, I had the redfish which was good but the star was the mascarpone polenta.
Dessert was red velvet cake. I didn’t really care for it although Steve did.
While we were dining the fog came in heavy and it stayed that way the rest of the night. I was planning to go to the comedian, Kelly MacFarlane, tonight but was tired so just stayed in and finished the book I was reading. It was the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; I might recommend this one for our book club.
Click the image below for the full daily program PDF.
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