Traveling through the Northwest Passage has been a dream of mine for many years, nurtured by my interest in explorers and exploration, which is part of my love for antique maps. So when Silversea cruise line offered this trip, I signed up, and then asked my tentmate from many years ago, Melissa Wissman, to come with me. I figured that if she and I could build an ongoing friendship that included 12 weeks in a 2-person tent across Africa, we could get along for the 25 days of this expedition cruise. And we did!
The group gathered at the hotel in Montreal. A bit of tension, as AirCanada was on strike
and several passengers had to scramble to get to Montreal. Melissa and I took an extra day beforehand to
explore Montreal and taste some of its fabulous food, and then -- Farewell
Montreal, and on to Greenland!
This was a thorough and rigorous journey – at the end of
which we discovered that we were only cruise ship # 101 to have traversed the
entire passage, in the history of recorded time. The total of all ships,
including commercial as well as passenger, is only 340 so we are among the
fortunate few to see these glories before global warming changes things for our
lifetimes. Already, some of the communities in the Arctic are seeing substantial
changes. One that we went to, Pond Inlet, has recently seen permafrost thaws
that have caused landslides that takes houses with them into the sea. (Global
warming and consequent diminishing sea ice may make this voyage easier, but
future passengers will never see the Arctic in its glory like we did!)
Here is the pictorial of the journey:
Of course there were many attempts to explore the Arctic,
with various exploration routes. For
historical perspective, you might enjoy this:
And so our exploration begins…. August 24,
2025
Pippi and I are waiting at the charter terminal at
Montreal to take our flight to NUUK in Greenland. We get on the ship there and
later tonight are on our way through the Northwest Passage.
3 1/2 hours from Montreal to Nuuk Greenland.
Because of warmer Atlantic currents flowing into Baffin
Bay, most people live on the island’s west side. There are only 75 miles of
roads. Greenland, a former Danish colony sustained by the export of Atlantic
cod and the import of Danish welfare services, is home to just 57,000 people,
most of them Arctic Inuit. Most
transport is by boat or aircraft. Greenland’s
inland ice sheet holds 7 percent of the world’s fresh water but has faced
increased surface melting. Greenland’s
mineral riches have long been known, but new interest in its largely untapped
and hard-to-reach critical raw materials has highlighted its potential,
especially at its southern tip.
Flying into Nuuk.
Astounding landscape. Most of the white specks you see in these photos are
small ice floes. Finally, you see some fishing boats. And then you see an
industrial area, around the corner of which is the most amazing airport, which
has literally been scraped out of the mountains nearby. According to photos
from Google Earth, the airport takes up about 1/2 of Nuuk itself.
Not far away from the airport is a huge prison that I
originally thought was an industrial area. I scraped the picture of the prison
at night from the Internet, because it shows some of the village-like features
that were included in its planning. Turns out that this is a humane
institution, per ai research; Ai: The prison in Nuuk, Greenland is named
Anstalten, also known as the Ny Anstalt prison. It is Greenland's first
high-security, closed prison and opened in 2019 to house serious offenders who
were previously sent to Denmark. The prison is designed to resemble a
"small village" and incorporates natural elements, providing a more
positive and less punishing environment for inmates. Anstalten has a capacity
for 76 inmates. Its opening ended a system that required Greenlandic prisoners
to be incarcerated in Danish prisons, addressing a longstanding human rights
issue.
The Airport
We had no time in NUUK on August 24, as we went straight
from the airport to the ship. I was disappointed about that. However, I am
pleased to report that even at first taste, Greenland is spectacularly
beautiful, rugged, remote, and Cold.
Our ship, the Silversea Endeavor, is well suited for this
voyage. It was Constructed in Germany in
2021, it features State of the art navigational technology, the
highest ice-class rating and a top speed of 20 knots that allows this ship to
comfortably tackle challenging polar waters.
August 25, 2025 –
Today we cruised to the town of MANIITSOQ, the
sixth largest town Of Greenland, located on the western coast with 2700
inhabitants. Lots of walking, and of course all streets are quite steep because
everything is permafrosted and mountainous down to the sea, so I’m taking it
easy and having room service dinner tonight with my gimpy knee propped up and a
novel in my hand.
Views in Maniitsoq Greenland.
Obviously, the brightly colored photo is from a tourist brochure, but in truth,
all of the houses in Greenland are painted in these lively colors. Another
thing that’s quite noticeable as you walk around this town, is that the houses
are built quite high up, sometimes sharing the rocky nature of these islands as
part of their foundations.
The local museum in MANIITSOQ
features beautifully carved figurines from local artisans who work in
whalebone, beautifully beaded attire worn by Greenlanders, an old cemetery that
overlooks the ocean, and some lovely photos of the early years of this region
and city.
Fishing continues to be a key activity in
MANIITSOQ, and there is a fish shop which sells to the local
people as well. All kinds of ocean catches are for sale in there, but I was
also surprised to see muskox pieces available too.
The townspeople in Maniitsoq invited us to a concert. The
“new church” is perched at the top of the town with wonderful views of the
harbor.
To hear the singing, go to https://www.facebook.com/reel/979917587593702
Or scan the QR code below….
In Maniitsoq Greenland: a
ramble around the town takes you past the old church… also Lutheran, I’m sure…
and you can get a view of the harbor at a lookout where whale skeletons that
have been erected in an arch, AND Here’s where we are on a map. Next stop:
glacier!
(I have yet to meet a Greenlander who wants to be part of
the United States, by the way.)
Tomorrow we will have sailed overnight to find ourselves
at 7 a.m. in the midst of a fjord called EVIGHEDSFJORD. The activity for
tomorrow is a two hour ride on the zodiacs, which accommodate about 12 people.
That happens in the morning. We put on our arctic gear in the ship’s mudroom.
We are handed into the zodiacs by the crew.
This is what a loaded zodiac looks like from the top of
the ship…
And off we go~!
In the afternoon the ship actually goes pretty deep into
the fjord so we get to see a lot of glaciers up close… But not too close. The
mountains on either side of the fjord reach in excess of 6000 feet and the
fjord has a depth of up to 2100 feet. In case any of you get really wealthy and
want to do some heli-skiing, this is a famous place to do it.
BIG SURPRISE EVENT at EVIGHEDSFJORD glacier field on the
west coast of Greenland… the tidal glacier right in front of our zodiacs had a
HUGE calving event. One of my fellow passengers captured it on his iphone, and
just airdropped it to me. I know this post is out of chronological order, but
you really really must see this. Amazing! Also, kind of sad… The evidence of
climate change has been everywhere on this trip.
To see the actual calving event, go to:
Of https://www.facebook.com/reel/1406842743730820
The itinerary we are SUPPOSED to take through the
Northwest Passage is noted below. But
there were many surprises… you’ll just have to read on through this long
blogpost!
AUGUST 26, 2025
August 26
Evigshed Fjord and the famous Eternity Glacier: by
morning, our ship was positioned at the entry to the fjord, and we enjoyed
watching the steep mountains topped with snow and ice as the ship transited
through most of the fjord.
In
late afternoon, we put on most of our cold weather gear to get on the zodiacs
and take a closer look at the famous “Eternity” glacier which flows from the
Greenland ice sheet . This glacier is known for its calving icebergs, and we
were fortunate enough to see a lot of the calving activity from the part of the
glacier which touches the sea.
Melissa getting ready for the zodiacs….
Our zodiac driver pulled a little iceberg …small bits are
called GROWLERS… into our raft so as it warmed up we could hear the faint
crackling of the captured ice bubbles which are millions of years old.
In the fjord, lots of this year’s crop of kittiwake
chicks join their parents in the cliffs and waters near the glacier. They
are a type of gull with a distinctive call that prompted their name.
At the end of this day, with beautiful sunshine and
views, we had a cocktail party on the deck overlooking the fjord.
August 27
We sailed to Sisimuit for a full day in
town
Our tour of Sisimuit included a stop at the outskirts of
town, an area referred to as “Dogtown“. There are 15,000 working dogs in
Greenland; 1000 of these are in Dogtown. The dogs are owned by individual
families and used as sled dogs for transport during winters. The dogs are fed
and housed here. The pups are encouraged to socialize, but visitors are
discouraged from trying to pet the grown dogs.
Here is a brief recounting of the archaeological
history of Greenland, based on exhibits in the museum at Sisimuit:
In the years 1200 to 700 BC. Greenland’s most
northeasterly corner was inhabited a number of times. These cultures were
called “independence“ after the name of the biggest fjord there. From
archaeological finds, we know that Independence people were big muskox hunters.
During the four dark months of the year, they lived in small settlements, but
when spring arrived, they continued traveling for the game, and only lived
periodically in set places. In archaeological excavations, these Stone Age
people‘s homes are seen on the ground as a ring of stone or in shallow banks of
gravel, but most of the walls and roofs of their houses were made of muskox
hide, which did not survive the test of time.
From 2300 to 900 BC, there were people in West Greenland
also, these were the SAQQAQ people and the oldest traces of their habitation is
around 4000 years old. They relied on reindeer and seals. The winters were mild
in this area of Greenland, and there were open navigable waters; these peoples
lived in a different way than those in the north.
From 500 BC to 100 A.D., a people known as “DORSET“ lived
in Greenland during two different periods. The first ones came around 400 BC.
At that time, no one lived in the western part of Greenland because the last of
the Saqqaq people had disappeared more than 500 years before. The Dorset people
were the third set of people who came to Greenland. They were also inuit, They
used the same type of tools as the people who came earlier, but they also
utilized different materials, such as stone, bone, tooth, and iron.
From 700 A.D. to 1200 A.D., the period known as Dorset 2,
corresponds to a people called the TUNIT. These people mostly hunted animals in
the sea. From the edge of the ice, they caught walrus, beluga, and seal with a
harpoon. The Tunit did not have dogs. They therefore had to drag the heavy
hunted animals home over the ice, using a small sled, which the hunter pulled
himself. The Tunit people also hunted caribou, but they did not have bow and
arrow weapons, and therefore they had to run as fast as the reindeer itself.
When they got close enough, they killed these animals with their harpoon.
The THULE people, from 900 A.D. to 1700 A.D. were among
new peoples who began to enter Greenland. They are direct ancestors of the
Greenlanders. The Thule people used slate that had been sharpened as weapons
and tools. They also used iron for tools, which came from meteorites. The small
pieces of iron from meteorites were hammered completely flat and used as knife
blades.
The Vikings arrived between 900 A.D. and 1500 A.D. They
sailed to Greenland from Iceland. The Vikings were mostly farmers, but also
fisherman and hunters. Their homes were dispersed along the long fjords. Most
of them lived in the eastern settlement, a few lived in the western settlement
near Nuuk.
In the 1600s and 1700s, whalers from Holland, France, and
England traveled toward the Greenland coast to go after the big whales.
The photo above is a museum display of harpoons used during
whale hunts by inhabitants of Sisimuit.
HISTORY “The colony of
Holsteinsborg, now Sisimuit, was established in 1756 with the thought of its
being a whaling town. Whaling remained the primary occupation of the colony
throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The Greenlandic population were
increasingly involved in this industry and more and more people settled in the
colony. In 1778, a whaling station was established just south of the town.
Prior to colonization, the Greenlandic Inuit lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle
with winter spent in turf houses along the coast and summers spent in tents or
tent houses in the fjord and inland regions. Gradually more and more people
would congregate around the colony during the winter. A large number of people
gathered in one place could create an unsustainable pressure on local resources
and cause serious deprivation and famine in case the whaling failed.
Colonization and changing settlement patterns brought other challenges. With
the newcomers arrived a number of new and infectious diseases that ravaged the district.In
1800-1801, a smallpox epidemic killed almost 90% of the population.” (Info from
museum display)
At the Sisimiut museum complex, an actual turf house.
I took a close-up of the ways that peat and wood and vegetation and rock were
used to provide insulation for these houses.
At the Sisimuit cultural center, we were
offered a chance to taste typical Greenlandic foods. I have come to understand
that these foods are often referred to as “country food“, and that people who
move from these areas of the Arctic look on this food with nostalgia and yearn
for it. Not to be a food snob or anything like that, but I’m not sure that
beluga whale skin would ever be a big factor in my fave food list…
Muskox stew
August 28
Today we felt finally like we were explorers in search of
the Northwest Passage. We pushed off last night from the dock in Sisimuit, all
excited to go to Ilulissat today to see what’s called “the birthplace of
icebergs”. But overnight, dense fog set in and that, combined with lots of sea
ice and large and small icebergs as we neared Disko Bay, led our ship’s captain
to conclude that we could not safely make it to our destination.
So we turned back, and instead headed for Kronprinsen
Ejland, an island group in Greenland. Some passengers decided to get on zodiacs
and get a bit closer to the islands, but it seemed to me that watching the
icebergs float by and enjoying some peppermint tea was a good alternative.
Purple = not so good!
We tried going close, but diverted!
Just too much of this big stuff around!
August 29
Today still presented some pretty bad conditions for
sailing. So we have given up entirely the idea of going to Disko Bay,
and instead are proceeding towards our next stop, which is Pond Inlet.
During our end-of-the-day recap, the ship’s crew showed
us the ice map that they had in hand plus a lookout of the cabin window at
intense fog so dense they could not see ahead. Despite the radar in use on this
shop, the captain and navigators must be able to actually see big icebergs - in
order to turn the ship quickly if needed.
Dense fog is not imaginary! This is what the navigators viewed from the
ship’s bridge!
August 29 -AN UNEXPECTED DAY AT SEA
Here is a look at some of the topics of the
educational seminars that were presented to us today, which turned out to
be a day at sea. That day at sea was not exactly in the schedule, but… This is
what expedition travel is all about.
August 30
Today we had an unexpected day “at sea” – actually just
at anchor, not really moving, and this anchorage was not far from the village
of Port Inlet. This is due to the fact of high winds, up to 40 knots, which
means waves of a height of almost 3 meters.
When the expedition leaders opened the door to take an
exploratory zodiac ride out this morning, a wave washed into the ship portal
that was almost 6 feet high. So… too dangerous to take zodiacs over to the
shore.
Instead, the ship
created several very interesting educational lectures. They are: “Pinnipeds”,
also known as seals and walruses; Lichens and what they tell us about the state
of the environment; the history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police- the
Muskox Patrol and Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic; a workshop on nautical
knots, and how to tie them; and lecture on Northern relocations where
communities across the Inuit territories were subjected to government imposed
relocation programs.
Our expedition leader introduces some of the lecture
programs….
Pinnipeds galore!
… in case you didn’t know…. Lichens are a fave food of
caribou. The oldest continuously growing lichen in the Arctic is 10,000 years
old. Want to know more? The lecturer recommended the book Lichens, seen on the
right side of the book slide. By the way, don’t try to eat lichens no matter
how pretty they are; lichens are toxic to humans. The captain of the Franklin
expedition sent his sailors to gather lichens when food supplies ran low, and
the sailors got sick. Apparently you have to have a two-chambered stomach if
you’re eating them. (This was not an attribute of British sailors.)
And also to entertain oneself --
the usual cruise stuff like trivia, bingo, card games, cornhole, buying stuff
from the boutique shop, going to the top deck to look for wildlife with the
naturalists on staff, and snacking, drinking, dining.
As mentioned, we anchored off Pond Inlet for most August
30, but when the wind died down a bit, we did a cruise in the area and enjoyed
the views of Sirmilik national park.
The map view does not do justice to this beautiful park!
August 31, an introduction to Pond Inlet:
“Nestled on the northern tip of Baffin Island in Nunavut,
Pond Inlet, which is known to the Inuit as MITTIMATALIK, is often called the
JEWEL OF THE NORTH. With a population of roughly 1500 inhabitants today, many
archaeological sites of ancient Dorset and Thule people can be found nearby. It
was named in 1818 after the English astronomer John Pond. This remote hamlet
overlooks Eclipse Sound, with a striking back drop of Bylot Island’s snow-clad
peaks and glaciers. Its location has long made it a place of both cultural
continuity and exploration, linking Inuit traditions with the stories of
European adventures who charted these Arctic waters in search of the Northwest
Passage. Historically, Pond Inlet has been a gathering place for Inuit hunters,
whose knowledge of sea ice, weather, and wildlife sustained life in one of the
harshest climates on earth. Today, traditional practices – such as hunting
narwhal, ringed and harp seals, fish, polar bears, walrus, Arctic hares,
caribou, geese, and ptarmigans – remain important, alongside the growing
presence of modern Inuit art (especially printmaking and carving) that has
gained recognition worldwide. Winters are long and bitterly cold with
temperatures plunging well below -30°C, mild summers, bring constant daylight,
wildflowers blooming across the tundra, and rich feeding grounds for wildlife.
Polar bears roam the ice floes , while beluga and bowhead whales migrate
through the waters. Meteorological extremes, paired with breathtaking
landscapes, make Pond Inlet a window into the wonders of the High Arctic.”
(Source: Silversea daily Chronicle)
Pond Inlet- notice the houses built on stilts. This is
because the Permafrost is melting, and without the stilts, many of these houses
would be subject to landslides and falling into the sea.
Pond Inlet- notice the houses built on stilts. This is
because the Permafrost is melting, and without the stilts, many of these houses
would be subject to landslides and falling into the sea.
Interesting exhibits at Pond Inlet library:
The library had some fascinating exhibits. I loved the
beautiful Inuit amautik robes they had on display. This is considered the
national costume of Inuit women, and it is worn on special occasions like
weddings. To produce it requires experienced handicap skills involving skin
preparation and sewing, bead work, and embroidery. These intricate outfits are
considered quite valuable and are often passed down as heirlooms in the family.
Throughout history, the most important tools of the Inuit were the knife and
the needle.
OTHER EXHIBITS - a
game based on bones, and a sled dog and sled - note the foot protection on the
dog.
Aug 31 at Pond Inlet, we
were treated to several performances at the hamlet’s cultural center. One was
to see an athlete demonstrating kicking games. “The Inuit game involving
jumping to hit a hanging target is called the High Kick. There are three
variations of the High Kick, all of which are featured in the Arctic Winter
Games and World Eskimo Indian Olympics.
The three main versions of the High Kick are:
One-Foot High Kick: The player jumps off of both feet,
kicks the suspended target with one foot, and lands on that same kicking foot
while maintaining balance.
Two-Foot High Kick: The player jumps with both feet
together, kicks the target with both feet simultaneously, and lands on both
feet while keeping their balance.
Alaskan High Kick: An athlete begins in a seated position
on the floor, balancing on one hand and holding the opposite foot with the
other hand. They then use the kicking leg to launch up and hit the target
before landing back on the kicking foot.” (Ai search results…)
More demonstrations at Pond inlet cultural center -
THROAT SINGING - “Inuit throat singing, also known as katajjaq, is a unique
vocal game traditionally practiced by Inuit women, primarily as a form of
entertainment and social interaction, especially when men were away hunting. It
involves two women facing each other, creating sounds by rhythmically inhaling
and exhaling, often mimicking natural sounds like animal noises or the wind.
The game is a playful contest, ending when one singer laughs or runs out of
breath. It's also used to soothe babies and as a way to pass time during long,
cold winters.” (Ai search results)
to
see and hear the actual performance, scan this QR code or go to
https://www.facebook.com/592039044/videos/pcb.10165560264589045/1663281504312547
ALSO at Pond Inlet cultural center, a drumming
demonstration!
“The main Inuit
percussion instrument is the wooden frame drum called the qilaut that is made
from bending narrow strips of wood into a circular frame with a protruding
handle. Originally, caribou skin was stretched across the frame, but today
synthetic membranes are most common. These drums can reach a metre in diameter
but are usually smaller. The qilaut is struck on the edge of the rim with a
qatuk — a wooden stick, wand or beater. The sound is a combination of the
percussive whack on the wood and the resulting deep vibrations from the
stretched membrane.” (From (Indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca)
To see the live performance, scan the QR code or go to
https://www.facebook.com/592039044/videos/pcb.10165560287614045/810088774716162
POND INLET - walking back to the local pier to get onto
our zodiac to return to the ship, one of our city guides was thrilled to
receive a generous helping of narwhal blubber distributed by a local fisherman;
traditional belief is that when you share, that guarantees your success in the
next hunt. Makes sense to me! Also, look at the lovely license plate for cars!
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 1 - cruising through Lancaster Sound.
Rough seas last night meant we arrived here too late for
a zodiac cruise in the area, but we enjoyed the views from the ship. The early
morning photo off the ship’s bow shows Lancaster Sound with Devon Island
straight ahead…this is the entrance to the Northwest Passage!
7 northwest psssage possibilities: we
seem to be following the green line BUT we could go into yellow line… BUT THAT
CAN CHANGE!
On September 1, we were treated to lecture number 4 on
the search for the Northwest passage. Our expert historian notes that (and
points to) the strait we “might” be going through….only a mile wide at some
points! All that white? Sea ice as it usually forms in the areas we hope to
sail.
