Aurora Borealis

One of the things we came for

I have been regaling you with the incredible sights we saw on our daily excursions in Greenland without mentioning anything about what we were seeing when not out on our Zodiacs or hiking around rocky hills. 

This tour was billed as Adventures in Northeast Greenland: Glaciers, Fjords and the Northern Lights. And, yet, I have not mentioned northern lights. 

We had them!

We had them almost EVERY NIGHT!!

EVERY NIGHT!!! Almost!

The first night, the announcement came over the PA system with maximum excitement.

We cruised at night and the crew watched for aurora; Photo: Scotty Sinton

Everyone rushed to the deck to marvel at the green (and occasionally red) streaks on the horizon. 

A small crowd of eager photographers; Photo: Scotty Sinton

We took photos. 

We were in awe

The next night was equally enthusiastic.

Another chance for photos

Then, the announcements started with "I hate to tell you this, but ...."

Again????

I mean we were up early every morning. We were going out on two excursions a day. We were hiking. Chargers were charging. Kayakers were kayaking. We were tired. And, now we were staying up half the night to watch this!

The final night of aurora, I didn't even go out on deck to take photos. 

That's why you have balconies!

And, the final night in Greenland, we didn't have any to see. Who would think that that would ever be a relief? 

What we saw was spectacular and a little different every night.

We had low columns on the horizon

We had diffused clouds of color

We had big swirls in the sky

We had daggers descending from the heavens to the water

We had multi-color curtains

And we had arcs over our heads from one side of the ship to the other

I have seen aurora borealis (the scientific name for northern lights) before and I have blogged about it before. So, I'll send you here to read the scientific stuff.

It was good!

Although I do have experience with aurora, this trip provided some new sights and some new challenges.

This was the first time I had photographed aurora over water, so adding reflections was a plus.

I love the green on the water

This is also the first time there had been icebergs in the foreground. 

Beautiful; Photos: Scotty Sinton

I was less successful taking photos of the icebergs than Scotty, the ship's photographer, because the exposure levels were so significantly different between the bright sky and the dark fjord. I figured he had more experience doing this.

My attempt (the spotlight was from the ship)

The challenges were ... well ... challenging. 

First, the boat was moving and aurora requires longer than normal exposures. 

Many of my shots were a bit blurrier than I like -- especially the stars

Second, I had a brand-new camera that I was (and am still) learning to use. So, in the dark, I had issues finding the right buttons and quickly changing the settings.

But, I still managed ...

The first and second led to the third -- a near disaster. I momentarily took my hands off my tripod and to my horror it -- with my BRAND-NEW camera -- fell over. To my increased horror, I heard glass breaking. It was, of course, too dark to assess damage on deck, so I hurried back to my cabin.

It appears that my camera survived -- at least nothing has gone wrong yet. What broke was a clear glass protective filter on my f2.8 20mm lens. Plus, the edge of the lens was dented so badly that I couldn't remove the filter rim. So, I had to carefully extract any remaining glass to protect the lens surface.

Oof!!!

When I got home, I found that the lens is too old to be repaired by Canon. I did get it looked at and the filter rim removed, but the dent is (while slightly straightened) too severe to put another filter on.

It could have been worse, but it rattled me so much, it was hard to relax when shooting aurora after that. I am used to solid ground, not a gently swaying ship.

But, back to the good stuff: the aurora was truly good stuff! Quark delivered on the promise in the name of the tour. And, after our rainy week in Iceland, that was surprise.

A good surprise

Oh, and a word about the Arctic. You may be wondering why we had so much dark -- or so much sunny weather so far north. Our trip was in September. In fact, we were there during the equinox, meaning we had about as much dark as light.

We had sunsets!

Had it been a mid-summer trip, Quark would have had to drop the Northern Lights part because, since we were above the Arctic Circle, the sun would not have set. At all. Thus, no aurora borealis. That's the whole Midnight Sun thing.

We had legit Midnight Sun in Svalbard in 2019

Had the trip been mid-winter, we would have had no sun. At all.

But, that far north, we would have also has iced-in fjords, sub-zero temperatures and treacherous sailing conditions. They don't do that. Instead, they take their ship south to Antarctica and enjoy its summer season, leaving Greenland for spring through fall ...

We had very little dark in Antarctica in 2024

As it was, it was perfect!

... and aurora

In my next post, we'll finish the cruise.

And, have a change in weather

Trip dates September 5 – 30, 2025

Immikkeertikajik

An afternoon shot at Immikkeertikajik 

That afternoon, we went to another favorite place. Can you have more than one favorite? Yes, you can!

Well, this was it: Immikkeertikajik

Known for its dramatic Arctic landscape, Immikkeertikajik features rocky terrain and nearby glaciers.

Our Expedition Leader scouting from above

Immikkeertikajik is where I took my favorite shot of Greenland. I used it as the cover photo for this post: a giant iceberg behind a group of kayakers paddling across a lagoon. 

A longer view

While these were modern kayakers, I think they look like native Inuit peoples. 

There's just something magical about these shots

Scott got an almost identical photo, but chose to process it with a warm afternoon sun glow that makes it look even more vintage.

Looks like an old postcard

Immikkeertikajik is a small island east of Sydkap, at the mouth of Nordvestfjord. 

It's at the top of the main fjord; Map: Quark; Lower right: Scotty Sinton

The Greenlandic name for this island was recorded by the 1955 Geodætisk Institut and means "Little Island," but it is also known as "Ruin Island." That's because there are traces of Paleo-Inuit habitation here: possibly from the Saqqaq and/or Dorset cultures. Plus, there are more recent ruins of six Thule houses from 1,200 to 1,600 AD.

Ancient peoples walked here, too

The ruins we saw are barely discernible rock foundations. I swear I photographed them, but I can't find any photos. Perhaps I failed to download everything. Or, maybe it just looked like bad photos of rocks and I discarded them. Obviously, when processing hundreds of photos, I made an error. 

Thank goodness for the Internet.; Photo: Life's Bounty

Thule people, who were the ancestors of modern Inuit and, thus, Greenlanders, migrated from Alaska across Canada, reaching Greenland by roughly 1200 AD. They built semi-subterranean winter houses constructed from stones, sod and whalebones designed to trap heat to help them endure the Arctic cold. These often single-room, multi-family dwellings featured raised sleeping platforms and a sunken, lower tunnel to prevent cold air from entering the main living area. Inside, the raised stone or wooden platforms were often covered in skins for sleeping.

Diagram: Encyclopedia of  Global Archaeology

The houses served as permanent winter camps for hunting maritime animals. Settlements usually consisted of one to four houses.

The nutrient richness of nearby fjords as well as a polynya (an area of open water within the sea ice during winter) attracts animals to the area. 

 A lagoon and some "abundant" plant life

Other travelers saw a Rock Ptarmigan;we didn't; Photo: Scotty Sinton

They also saw other signs of life (or former life); Photo: Scotty Sinton

There is a camp used by more recent hunting expeditions nearby, but we couldn't see any traces of people where we were. The island has also been a location for specialized scientific research, including studies on helium-rich hot springs.

Our guide taking a moment of solitude

Immikkeertikajik was chock full of giant icebergs. There was, of course, the big one I already showed above. 

There was another, big but not quite as big, basking in beautiful light

Both of the big bergs were very obviously stranded. Our guide said that they would stay there until a high enough tide lifted them, they melted or they broke into smaller, lighter pieces.

While we were enjoying the lovely afternoon sun, we heard the triangular one moving and actually saw a wobble. We hoped that it would break free, turn over or do something dramatic, but, instead, it just slightly repositioned itself before settling down to let the sun and tides do their work.

Watching for action; but it was subtle

Out in the fjord there were a number of gigantic icebergs, some of which dwarfed our ship.

This is what Greenland is known for

Many were huge, flat-topped chunks of ice with steep, cliff-like sides called tabular icebergs. Often called "ice islands," tabular icebergs have a length-to-height ratio greater than 5:1 and can be several miles long. 

These giant icebergs can drift for months or years before breaking up or melting 

While more common in Antarctica, tabular icebergs are increasingly common in Greenland due to rising temperatures that trigger massive calving events. These icebergs play a role in the marine ecosystem, with melting ice providing nutrients that support fish and Seal populations.

A more conventional iceberg

Some of the icebergs around Immikkeertikajik had interesting shapes or features, including a large uneven cube with a hole in the middle.

Interesting

When you look at the photos, I am sure your brain thinks open ocean. It is hard to believe that this broad expanse of water is actually a fjord. But it is.

Looking into Scoresby Sund; Photo: Scotty Sinton

Polar Plunge

As the afternoon started to wane, we headed back to our ship for the last adventure of the day: the Polar Plunge.

Some people enjoy jumping into freezing water

Yep, they do that on every Arctic and Antarctic voyage.

Nope, I don't do it.

First, I hate jumping into any water (I prefer gently easing in). Second, I hate cold water. Third, I've seen people bang themselves up pretty good climbing back up ship stairs while their bodies are numb from jumping into freezing water. Fourth, I don't need a shipload of people seeing me in a bathing suit.

But, I did photograph it.

Just a few of many

Ship Photographer Scotty was taking shots from a Zodiac tethered next to the jump site. 

Capturing each icy moment

I shot from above. 

Comparison between level and above: Left: Scotty Sinton

The water, by the way, was about 30 °F! In my opinion, more fun to watch than to do.

Water this cold isn't for swimming; Photo: Linda Rowe (not my sister, just the same name)

We had only one more excursion before heading home. But, I am not talking about that next.

Let's explore the night sky ...

Trip dates September 5 – 30, 2025