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We are scheduled to meet at the Reykjavík airport at noon for check-in for our charter flight to Greenland where our ship is located. Steve suggested we head out for a coffee and fresh bakery items from a local bakery.  Sounded like an excellent idea so by 9 AM we were out and about again.  Turns out it was still quite breezy and with the temperature only in the mid forties.  We walked briskly to a neighborhood bakery Steve had identified that customers gave a 4.9 rating. Surprisingly it was in a residential neighborhood, not in the general shopping area. We could smell the wonderful aromas a block away and we were not disappointed. I went with their signature cinnamon bun while Steve chose the ham & cheese croissant. However, we had hoped to sit awhile and enjoy our pastry with coffee but there was no coffee at this location so we left, munching on our treats as we worked our way to another bakery where we knew they also served coffee. Alas, the pastries were gone by the time we arrived so we felt obligated to order something with the coffee and chose to share a scrambled egg & bacon dish that sounded good. When it came it also had two huge pieces of still warm bread on the dish. It was quite a treat!

We left the hotel at 11:30 and returned to the airport (40 minutes away) by cab which was not that much more than taking a bus shuttle. We figured at our age we deserved the extra convenience. At the airport we joined the line of other passengers checking in with the Quark representative who gave us our baggage tags and guided us to the check-in counter for our charter flight to Narsarsuag, Greenland (population 123!). Our flight was scheduled to leave at 3PM and would take about 1.5 hours. We had to laugh when being bussed out to our plane which turned out to have NO name! Turns out it was an older Airbus 320 owned by a company called Danish Air Transport, obviously a “plane for hire” company. The seats were closely packed but the staff on board were super friendly and fed us sandwiches, snacks and soft drinks. We got better service than we usually get on US airlines.

It was cloudy on the way over so we could not see much of Greenland, but as we approached the landing strip of this tiny town the sun came out giving us a good perspective of the land, which appeared pretty barren. I had to laugh as I watched our luggage being offloaded into a big garbage bin looking container to be taken to the ship. How would we get there? Two choices: wait for the small shuttles and local school bus to gradually ferry us the approximately 1/2 mile to the ship or walk along the only road in the area with some of the ship staff. We chose the latter and enjoyed the scenery of the surrounding area as we walked to the ship anchored in the deep harbor here in “town”.

Boarding the ship was easy and a staff member quickly showed us to our room where our luggage had already been delivered. The ship is only one year old and looks like a modern day cruise ship, minus the casino! We quickly chose to tour the ship before the mandatory safety drill. There is a great central meeting room (Ambassador Lounge) with a huge LED screen (along with multiple smaller screens around the room) for presentations. The main dining room is broken up into 3 separate areas, which seemed a bit unusual but does make for a quieter dining experience. There is the standard Panorama lounge located on a high deck for great visibility. And as typical on expedition ships the bridge is open most of the time for all to visit and observe. Before we knew it the safety drill was held and we learned where to find our survival boat should the need arise. I was surprised to find that beside the obligatory life vest in our room there was also a pouch of survival food/water stored next to them that we would bring with us should we have to abandon ship. First time I ever saw that.

Dinner was a buffet the first night served with free wine & beer. There was a brief all passenger meeting where we met the huge staff of all nationalities that would be supporting our trip. There were literally dozens of outdoor-oriented people who will be leading us on excursions this week. We were warned that schedules would be subject to change at a moments notice, depending on the wind, the weather, cloud conditions, etc. I think we all knew that was the standard when on expedition trips. I was surprised at the makeup of the guests. There were many foreign languages being heard and there was even an interpreter for a group of Chinese passengers. I only saw one younger person on board, the passengers ranged from the young to the elderly. There appeared to be many singles as well as same sex couples; it is a very diverse group.

We pulled away from the pier around 7:15 PM, led by our captain, who happens to be a Croatian from our family ancestral home of Split, Croatia. Hopefully I will have a chance to chat with him sometime this week. Another fascinating coincidence is this ship, the Ultramarine, was built in Split, Croatia.

 

Our adventure here in Greenland has begun!