Highlights from 2022 Arctic Expeditions

A warm welcome to Kalaallit Nunaat was given by Inuit cultural educators, Berda “Birdie” Larsen and Nancy “Niap” Saunders with the lighting of the qulliq. Traditionally the woman’s responsibility to tend to the flame, it provides heat, warmth, and light to cook food; it provides life. Niap invited a guest to participate in this sacred and spiritual ceremony.

Ilulissat is home to the Sermeq Kujalleq Glacier (Jakobshavn Glacier), one of the most active and fastest moving glaciers in the world, and the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site fed by the glacier. We were able to get a closer look at the icefjord with a Zodiac cruise. The grey backdrop made the beautiful bluish hues of the iceberg stand out.

Disko Island, or Qeqertarsuaq in Greenlandic, means “the big island”. With plenty of land to explore, we all went our separate ways to discover its treasures. Scaling up the tundra you got a full view of the lush Arctic vista. Many stayed as long as they could to savour the magic of this island.

Lying between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland is Baffin Bay. Here, we navigated through a wonderland of sea ice and icebergs. The clear, blue-tinted ice was in harmony with the sky. As we drifted along the bay, a mother and two cubs were spotted cuddling on a bed of sea ice.

The sun shined bright in Sisimiut illuminating the lovely colours of the houses sitting atop its rocky shore. We enjoyed the beautiful views of this picturesque community as we walked through its small roads, mountainous backdrops, and rainbow-coloured houses.

Dundas Harbour, located on Devon Island, is the largest uninhabited island in the world. We visited the long-ago deserted RCMP station wandering around the buildings and grave sites of the RCMP officers who were stationed here so many years ago.

Just off the waters of Baffin Island, sperm whales were spotted logging and blowing. In this icy habitat where marine life flourishes, a variety of seabirds were spotted circling the ship, and on the water, a couple of bearded seals loafing on the last of the season’s ice heading out to sea.

In Croker Bay, fog rolled over shadowing the morning sun making for an eerie Zodiac cruise. The foggy mist quietly took over the Ocean Endeavour giving the impression of a science fiction scene – alone in the Arctic without a vessel in sight.

A chilly Zodiac cruise in Coningham Bay was well worth the bundle up. At least seven polar bears and many Arctic foxes were spotted here along the shoreline.  

Beechey Island, where Sir John Franklin and his crews overwintered twice before disappearing off the face of the earth… almost forever (at least until his two ships, the Erebus and the Terror were found just in the last few years). Here we visited the graves of Franklin’s men and Northumberland House.

Nothing beats sailing through a fjord with a 360 view of towering mountains. The slopes of Devon Island were covered in snow. We enjoyed the stunning scenery of serene tart rock covered in a light dusting of snow, harp seals, walrus, and the plentiful species of birds as we cruised the Devon Island inlets.