We were supposed to arrive at the tiny Inuit village of Appilattoq to visit its inhabitants and participate in a series of events with them this morning. However, when we were awaken by our traditional wake up call we were told the captain has found himself in a fog and a channel full of small ice, forcing him to travel very slowly. As a result the visit to the village would not happen this morning and the helicopter hiking (heliohiking) flights were not likely to fly. Because we had been scrubbed from the heliohiking trip yesterday we were scheduled to be #1 today- not a good sign. As is common on expedition trips changing weather conditions often force a change in plans. The staff immediately responded by posting a series of lectures that would occupy the morning time. So after breakfast we went to a lecture by our staff photographer on how to get better pictures. She is from South Africa and has been a wilderness photographer for several decades. Needless to say the photos she shared with us were superb.

Right after the lecture we headed back to the panorama lounge (where we had started a puzzle yesterday) to continue working on it until the next lecture at 11:00 to be given by Colin, a glacierologist, who will talk about sea ice and glacier ice. We had no sooner began watching the lecture when we received an announcement to proceed to the flight deck as weather conditions had improved and we would be going on a heliohike after all. We quickly grabbed our gear and reported to the flight deck where we received our seat assignments, and I was selected to sit upfront in the co-pilot seat. Eureka!

We would be the first flight out and only had to wait until the staff was taken to the landing site to prepare for our arrival. By the time it was time to board (we were already in proper line ready to board the helicopter) we had entered a section of the fjord where the wind conditions were too high to allow for safe liftoff, so there was a temporary flight halt so it was suggested we go grab a quick lunch and hopefully, wind conditions in the fjord itself would allow for safe flights. Off to lunch we went and no sooner than we had finished we were called back to the flight deck and actually loaded onto the helicopter. The pilot started it up and was ready for lift off, only needing to receive permission from the bridge to go. Unfortunately the wind conditions in the fjord had not deteriorated as hoped so we were not given permission to take off ….yet. We probably sat in the bird for a good 20 minutes, engines running and blades rotating, ready to go, only to be finally told that the winds were too high, and projections were they would not get better, so the flights were scrubbed once again. They were concerned that if they took us up there, would they be able to get us back a few hours from now. We are beginning to think we are bad luck! The good news is while sitting on the helicopter we had a pleasant conversation with our UK pilot about his experiences as a helicopter pilot in the British Navy and his interactions with both Prince Andrew and Queen Elizabeth.

The staff had managed to reschedule the canceled morning trip to Appilattoq to the afternoon and by 2:30 PM we were being ferried by zodiac to shore to participate in a series of events with the people living in this village.

We convened in the local Lutheran church where a small (~10) choir sang several songs, ending with an Inuit version of amazing grace. They had really good harmony. It was then on to walk through the small village (about 80 people) taking in the various colors of the buildings, viewing the surrounding mountains, watching kids scampering around and seeing multiple big, bushy dogs who never barked.

We next met with a local person who told us about life here (through an interpreter) and answered questions we might have. There is a local nurse, but the nearest real medical facility was 2 hours away by boat. There are currently 7 children in the elementary school. As they get older they go to live temporarily in a larger village to continue their education. Their livilhood is hunting (whales, bear, musk ox) and fishing (halibut, cod).  The village recently celebrated its 100 year centennial. Surprisingly I had a 4 bar cell signal strength as they have a cell tower right in town. Idyllic location but I would not be able to exist here.

The highlight on the village visit was a soccer match with the local people. Steve participated; I watched the spirited match that quickly grew to 16 people per side! The home team was tough, ultimately winning 3-0! Luckily no one was hurt while playing on the rocky pitch.

Before leaving the village we gathered in their school/community hall for a rousing rock & roll concert by their local rock band! Rock & roll is a universal language and the place was jumping with both ship people and locals!

By 6 PM it was time to return to the ship and it had started to lightly rain (for the first time this trip) so the ride back to the boat was a bit wet because of the sea conditions and the rain. A hot shower, followed by a cold drink at the bar, solved that problem.

The usual daily recap, a peek ahead of tomorrow’s planned (hopefully) events followed by dinner was next on the agenda. Besides seeing some posted pictures that passengers submitted we heard a short lecture on mosquitoes which was quite entertaining.

When Steve and I seated ourselves in the dining room we found ourselves at the table next to the table reserved for the captain. He was alone and when I greeted him in Croatian (he is from the same region of Croatia as my grandfather) he invited us to join him for dinner. We had a great conversation about his life as a captain, the ship, the polar regions, his visits to the US, Croatia, our common ancestry, etc. It was a fun evening, complemented by reindeer loin for dinner (excellent and very tender).

I had finally managed to snag a 30 minute massage but had to go at 8:30 so I left Steve and the captain to go to the spa. I chose the foot and leg message thinking it might help my pulled calf muscle. Normally messages are super quiet events but when I found out my masseuse was from Serbia and I was Croatian she talked my leg off. We had a fun conversation and my leg did feel better when I left.

There was supposed to be a Sea Shanty song program at 9:15 but when I returned I learned that one of our tour guides (Peter Cammell from New Zealand)  had climbed (among other things) Mt. Everest and he was asked to give a presentation on his climb which occurred in 2012. It was a pretty fascinating talk about the preparation and execution of such a monumental climb.

It ended up being a fun day, even though it started out looking pretty grim.