We were headed back to Prins Christian Sund, an area where had visited earlier in the trip, but planned to see new areas.

 

However, we awoke to so much wind that we were forced to make a change to our planned morning stop at Anorliuitsup Tasia, which ironically means “a lake where the wind does not blow” in the Inuit language! Plan B was to head further north to Kangikitsoq Fjord (I do not know what that means) with the hopes that our Viking group could finally go on a heliohiking excursion after two failed attempts earlier in the trip.

Luckily the wind in this region of the fjord was minimal and it was a go from the pilots and captain. We were the first group of 7 off the ship and I drew the lucky straw and flew in the co-pilot seat, giving me 180 degree views of the flight. We were, quickly (would have loved an hour more of flight time) flown to the flat summit (2,690 feet elevation ) of a nearby mountain where we landed. I later learned we were the first group to ever land here.

After disembarking we were led on an hour long hike by an armed (30-07 rifle) ship guide along the flat summit which was totally covered by rock with only a few patches of lichen and an occasionally lonely flower. We saw a lot of scat from tundra rabbits but no actual sightings of one. The event is called “heliohiking”, but because of the terrain it is more like “heliowalking”, as we only took 6,200 steps (~2 miles?) by the time we were finished. The views from this landing area were simply SPECTACULAR; some of the best I have experienced in mountain regions. Everywhere you turned there were jagged peaks, hanging glaciers, small waterfalls and deep, narrow fjords. Photographs simply do not do it justice. It was the highlight of the trip for me, even more so than landing near the ice sheet a few days ago. The hour went too quickly and soon we had to return to the ship so others could experience the same scenery.

I had a window seat on the way back (the copter holds 7 passengers) and we were fortunate that because the ship was moving slightly to a more favorable orientation we had to fly around a bit before landing so the pilot gave us a sightseeing tour of the surrounding area while waiting to land. It was a marvelous, unforgettable experience and more than made up for the earlier failed attempts to go heliohiking. It is the highlight of the trip for me.

Around lunch time because the wind had died down and the sun came out, the captain moved the ship back to the spot where he had planned to visit in the morning and people were offered the opportunity to either go kayaking or ride the zodiac into shore for some hiking. Steve went on the zodiac hike and I chose to remain on board to continue to let my “tweaked (calf muscle?) left leg rest. Besides I also heard the bugs were out in full force at the new landing site. Resting and working on this blog seemed like the best option for me. Steve returned later to tell me that mosquitoes were a real pain on their hike as it was along a small river. I was certainly glad I did not go.

We stick to our regular pre-dinner routine of drinks and cribbage (I still have not won a game, even after starting with a 24 count hand- a superior hand in cribbage) as we waited for the daily briefing by Ali and her staff.

Dinner was followed by a local beer and gin tasting event in the upper lounge and most people participated.

And then it was off to bed as another active day is slated for tomorrow.