IT'S
always a magical moment to see your ship for the first time.
Typically
that happens in a big-city port somewhere, with the holiday vessel towering
above the cranes and stacked cargo containers, but my first glimpse of the
Clipper Adventurer came as we drove down into Kangerlussauq's humble port after
doing a quick lap of this Greenlandic settlement.
The ship, with its blue hull and white decks, was anchored in the fjord while a fleet of black zodiacs zipped around ferrying passengers and freight on water so calm it reflected the surrounding mountains as if it were a mirror's image.
The
Clipper Adventurer will be my home for the next two weeks as we explore these
waters inside the Arctic Circle and we started tonight by heading out of the Sondre
Stomfjord which is the second longest in Greenland at 180km.
The
captain weighed anchor just before dinner, so his new passengers could enjoy
the journey along the fjord while dining, and the sheer granite slopes of the
surrounding slopes filled the ship's windows while we ate.
There was
time before the sun drained from the day to head onto the deck and snap a few
pictures of the sunset, and there was a thin layer of cloud hovering across the
peaks in the distance as the sky blushed turning a shade of pink far too subtle
for this extreme part of the world.
