If I Were Going...: Borgvig and Going Back to Iceland

Cloudy skies, icy seas

The last day in Greenland was significantly different than the rest.

It was colder

It was gray and gloomy

It was raining and then snowing; Left: Scott Stevens

It was perfect!

Going out on our final excursion

We were heading to Borgvig, a glacial bay with filled with icebergs, bergie bits, growlers and brash.

This glacier was filling the bay with ice

Our guide, Kristoffer, said that seeing this landscape in the gloomy snow was actually a treat because the gray brings out the turquoise in the ice.

Kristoffer was loving the snow

It was a whole different perspective

Had it been on the first day, it might have been disheartening, but we had had our blue skies and sunshine. According to the Expedition Team, we had had more sun and blue skies than any trip they remember. This day was far more typical.

This gave us, perhaps, a more accurate Greenland experience

Borgvig is a bay near the mouth of Scoresby Sund across the wide fjord from Ittoqqortoormiit very close to the open Greenland Sea.

Our last Scoresby Sund stop

It features dramatic, deep-fractured, brown-toned basalt columns and the active Borgvig glacier.

The bare brown rock contrasted with the snow and ice

Borgvig Glacier

Once again, the Zodiacs wove in and out of the icebergs, but this time the water was soupy with brash.

Lots of ice and icebergs (there's a Zodiac in the upper right photo)

There were lots of interesting pieces of ice, ranging from milky white to crystal clear to clear turquoise.

We were clunking through lots of beautiful ice

And, as predicted, many of the icebergs looked brilliant turquoise.

The effect of the gray sky

Farther away from the glacier, near where the Ocean Explorer was anchored, the water was mostly, but not completely, free of icy chunks, but there were more of those massive icebergs.

This was the most ice we had seen

Further out were even bigger ones (the sky was clearer further out, as well)

This day was so different from the rest. It was very dark, so photography was tricky. It was chilly enough that my hands were cold when I took my gloves off. And, it was wet enough that I really had to shield my cameras. Fortunately, it was not windy, so the sea was relatively calm.

Winter is coming

We moved around quite a bit, observing some interesting icebergs ...

This one was cracked and, oddly, wrinkled

... marveling at the sheer cliffs ...

We could see the snow accumulating

... enjoying the last ride ...

On the Zodiac; Photo: Scotty Sinton

I loved Borgvig, but when researching further for this blog, I got a pang of disappointment. I found posting after posting of Polar Bears spotted in Borgvig.

Photo: Michelle Valberg

Photo: Kay Fochtmann

That would have been a great ending to a wonderful trip.

But, hey, we saw so many beautiful things; Let's not get greedy

Ship Portrait

But, we weren't done for the day. After we got on the ship, we all gathered on the deck for a photo session.

A party atmosphere; Left: Scott Stevens

Scotty powered up his drone ...

... and took both stills and video of all the passengers gathered together

Scott and I are right in the middle

Pretty cool. Watch below ...

With the bad(ish) weather, I thought this was the worst possible day for a portrait.

But, it turned out OK

On the Ship

I have given you a good overview of the excursions we took while in Greenland on the Ocean Explorer. But, what happened while we were onboard the ship?

Our ship

Of course, we had three great meals a day and an afternoon "tea" after we returned from our late-day excursions.

Warming up with tea; Photo: Graham Gibson

Some days it was tea, some days hot chocolate, some days hot cider. There were usually some cookies, cakes or min-sandwiches. There were hors d'oeuvres and a new signature drink each day before dinner and a bar. Yes, there was plenty of yummy food. No complaints there!

They had lots of vegetarian, vegan and international options; Photo: Quark

During the down times -- when crossing the Denmark Strait, some evenings and during ship repositioning -- Expedition Team members gave presentations about on a wide variety of topics about the Arctic and Greenland, including geology, photography, Greenlandic history and culture, Arctic birds, Ittoqqortoormiit, Polar Bears, Greenlandic science programs and some personal presentations from guides about their previous adventures.

Oh, and, of course, safety!

Plus, we had daily pre- and post-briefings about our destinations (it's amazing I didn't remember more) and a couple of nights with funny games. I really enjoyed the presentations and was relieved that it never got hokey like it can on big ships.

Our Expedition Team entertaining us; They seemed to really love their jobs

Most nights there were activities in the bar, including performances by a band comprising ship staff members.

The final night ended with an art auction benefiting Seabird Watch. Scott bought a cool vintage Greenland poster. Other items included clothing items, blankets and the ship's flag (reasonably tattered at this point).

We bid on and won a vintage poster, left

I would have liked this (the bidder paid a ridiculous amount!)

We ended everything with a champagne toast and screening of a slide show featuring predominantly Scotty Sinton's photos plus submissions from passengers and other team members. I had quite a few in the show. And, many of the photos I've used in the blogs came from the photos used in the slide show.