The Polar Travel Company

� OEX

Experience history, dazzling glaciers, and search for polar bears in aurora-lit southeast Greenland

Duration: 10 days
Starts: Narsarsuaq, Greenland
Ends: Keflavik,, Iceland
Language: English speaking voyage

This itinerary includes flight from Copenhagen to Narssarsuaq

Included

East Greenland is among the most remote and least populated areas of the Arctic, a wild place of dramatic fjords, small Inuit settlements, and ancient remains from Viking and Thule cultures. Sail and explore the coastlines of this ruggedly beautiful region, enjoying its impressive rock formations and colossal icebergs while keeping an eye open for Arctic wildlife.

PLEASE NOTE: All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. Landings are subject to site availabilities, permissions, and environmental concerns per AECO regulations. Official sailing plans and landing slots are scheduled with AECO prior to the start of the season, but the expedition leader determines the final plan. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises. The average cruising speed of our vessel is 10.5 knots.

� Louwrens Hacquebord

� Arno Luft

� Alexey German

Day 1: Erik the Red�s Base
We arrive by plane at Narsarsuaq and board the ship, preparing to start our Greenland adventure. In the evening we visit Bratthalid, where Erik the Red lived about a thousand years ago.

Day 2: Uunartoq hot spring
Today we reach Lichtenau, a lovely though nearly deserted Greenlandic village, where the Herrnhuters had a mission in the 18th century and where some of their large German-style buildings still remain. We will then try to get to Uunartoq, where we can bathe in a large hot spring surrounded by icebergs. Across at Vagar, we find the remains of a Norse homestead.

Day 3: Prins Christian Sund mountains
Our eastward passing of Prins Christian Sund is surrounded by mountains of over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) and is one of the highlights of the voyage. We will try to make a landing at the small village of Augpilaqtoq, where we can still meet some hunters of the area. As an alternative, we may make a landing at Svaerdfiskens Havn.

Day 4: Fjords and glacier fronts
Sailing northward in the East Greenland Current, we aim for Igutsait Fjord or Napassorsuaq Fjord. Both feature glacier fronts and small icebergs, where an isolated population of polar bears was once found hunting seals.

Day 5: Abandoned settlements
Today we land at Tingmiarmit, seeing an abandoned Greenlandic settlement and remains of Thule houses at the north side of the island. Deep into the Tingmiarmiut Fjord, we are again in the area where polar bears hunt seals among the drifting glacier ice.

Day 6: The valley of Mariedal
Next we visit Skjoldungen, one of the most spectacular fjords of southeast Greenland. Our aim is to land at Qornoq, where we�ll see houses from the Thule culture, then visit Mariedal and a beautiful valley where Greenlanders used to collect berries in autumn.

Day 7: In the steps of Nansen
We sail to today�s landing at Umivik, where the explorer Fridtjof Nansen ascended the Greenland ice sheet. Here you may even be able to walk a short distance in his steps.

Day 8-9: Denmark Strait�s wildlife and auroras
As we sail in Denmark Strait on our way to Iceland, the going can be rough. But be sure to spend some time on deck looking for migrating whales, seabirds, and the magical lightshow of the aurora borealis.

Day 10: Farewell Greenland, hello Iceland
We return from our adventure with memories that will last a lifetime, arriving at the Icelandic port town of Keflavik.