Prince Christian Sund
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Last night, the Captain announced his grand entrance into
the narrow, glorious, glacier filled Prince Christian Sund, would occur at 7:00
a.m. this morning, and since one of the prime locations to catch a glimpse of
whales is this entrance of the Sund, we woke early and headed up to the Crow’s
Nest at 6:45. Passengers filled the upper deck, even at this early hour, vying for
first-rate seats to experience the icebergs, mountains, glaciers, and of course
the wildlife, and we were not disappointed!
As we entered the sund (pronounced “sound”), a large seal sunning atop a floating piece of ice approached the ship. My little iPhone simply could not capture the awe-inspiring splendor of my first ever view of a seal in the wild. Mainly, I watched. I smiled, feeling a bit giddy, and waited for him to exit his icy throne as the ship approached, but he stayed. As he passed the midpoint ship, he finally slithered off the ice and into the icy waters.
Stepping outside to view and photograph a large iceberg next to the ship, I gasped and smiled in wonder when it calved loudly and a huge portion fell into the water, leaving bubbles for quite some time. What a sweet gift, an incredible privilege to view Mother Nature in action, up close. I missed the only whale sighting in the sund so far while attending Bible Study (at 9:00 a.m. each day while at sea), but I’m trusting God – whales will surface again on this journey.
The mountainous rocky terrain this time of
year is mainly brown and green with white snow, waterfalls, and glaciers
smattered throughout. Icebergs slowly float through the calm emerald green
waters – tiny and huge, flat and pointed, solid and transparent.
This narrow gorge through the southern tip of Greenland is tricky to navigate and offers constant, yet constantly changing, glorious views! As an added bonus, the weather is perfect today - sunny, clear and chilly! The sund is only accessible about two months out of the year, and fog often fills the narrow passageway, so we feel incredibly blessed and keep thanking God for this once in a lifetime experience. For the exit later today and for the next several days of sailing in these icy waters, I’m adding an extra p.s. to my prayers – whales, please!!
As we entered the sund (pronounced “sound”), a large seal sunning atop a floating piece of ice approached the ship. My little iPhone simply could not capture the awe-inspiring splendor of my first ever view of a seal in the wild. Mainly, I watched. I smiled, feeling a bit giddy, and waited for him to exit his icy throne as the ship approached, but he stayed. As he passed the midpoint ship, he finally slithered off the ice and into the icy waters.
Stepping outside to view and photograph a large iceberg next to the ship, I gasped and smiled in wonder when it calved loudly and a huge portion fell into the water, leaving bubbles for quite some time. What a sweet gift, an incredible privilege to view Mother Nature in action, up close. I missed the only whale sighting in the sund so far while attending Bible Study (at 9:00 a.m. each day while at sea), but I’m trusting God – whales will surface again on this journey.
This narrow gorge through the southern tip of Greenland is tricky to navigate and offers constant, yet constantly changing, glorious views! As an added bonus, the weather is perfect today - sunny, clear and chilly! The sund is only accessible about two months out of the year, and fog often fills the narrow passageway, so we feel incredibly blessed and keep thanking God for this once in a lifetime experience. For the exit later today and for the next several days of sailing in these icy waters, I’m adding an extra p.s. to my prayers – whales, please!!
