West Greenland

Duration: 9 days, 8 nights

Location: Greenland ( West)

Budget: €5000

Miles Travelled: 2,100

Part two of the Greenland journey sees us embark towards the west coast of the country – destination Illulisat. This is our base of operations for the coming week where we plan to do day trips from. We travel around the area in boats looking for calving glaciers, humpback whales, sunset cruises as well as walk around the area and do some hiking.

Day 12 – Reykjavik to Ilulissat
Date: 11 August 2018

We got a taxi to the airport at 08:00 and arrived around 08:30 and got to check in without any trouble. Bags were taken and we waited for the all to board. Flight left at 10:15 and we arrived in Ilulissat at 11:30 in the morning. We got our bags and got a taxi to the apartment for around 12:30 in the day. We dropped off our bags and then went for a walk around the town and got our bearings. We had some trips and tours to re-organise based on the delayed departure so we spent the afternoon doing that and then we got some dinner in the apartment and watched some tv. We headed out around the hiking trails this evening on the end of the Blue trail to see the Glacier and take some pictures and then back to town for some more tv and bed.

Day 13 – Eqi Glacier Day Tour
Date: 12 August 2018

We had this booked with World of Greenland before we came out and it starts around 09:00 and has you back around 18:00 to the harbor. We spent 3.5 hours sailing up and the same coming back and about 2 hours in front of the Glacier to watch it calve and marvel at the size of some of the bergs that were breaking off it . The day was impressive now as we had some good weather on the way up and when we were up there. Some hikers left the group when we got there and we collected some others that were returning to Ilulissat with us. We got back down around 18:00 and took it easy – went out for another walk via the Power Plant and the yellow trail. We got up there and saw approximately 10 humpbacks hunting in the bay in front of the glacier. The fresh water melting off the glacier and mixing with the salt water makes it an ideal location for fish and krill so the humpbacks come in here and hunt certain routes and areas. The sail and tour boats were out with their passengers looking at these huge animals feeding or sleeping in close proximity to the ice fjord.

Day 14 – Hike the Blue Trail and Evening Sunset Cruise
Date: 13 August 2018

We had planned to go to Ilimanaq for the day today but the boat was full. There are only 10 spaces available on the shuttle seemingly. Anyways the weather was nice so we decided to hike the blue trail instead – around 7km around from the quarry back to the Heliport location. We walked out to the Spar first and got some break for sandwiches and then walked over to the Quarry for 09:30 and started the hike . It was easy enough to find the start of the trail and most of the loops – blue, red and yellow – all have markings on the ground so it isn’t that difficult to navigate. We stopped at several viewpoints – denoted by cairns of rocks that dot the landscape as you walk – and got some nice images and drone footage. We proceeded to walk back to the apartment for just after lunch and got something to eat and relaxed for the afternoon. We got some diner and then went down to the harbour and met Philip. He was our driver for the sunset cruise tonight. We had 6 people on the rib and we got floating suits to put on before we headed out. These kept us nice and warm as well as keeping you dry and afloat if you happen to fall into the water. We went up to the bay where we saw the whales the night before and saw a few humpbacks – not as many as the previous night. Upon exiting the bay and heading further south for the Ice fjord we spotted some humpbacks out on the open water and one of them was breaching. We sped out and got to them in time to see some more breaching up close and the whales swam right under the rib on their way towards the south. It was really close and really special. And really exciting!. We continued on towards the fjords and stopped for coffee and hot chocolate and just sat and listened to the Ice popping and cracking all around us. We got back into the harbour at 22:00 and headed back to the apartment for a relaxing evening and bed before midnight.

Day 15 – Day Trip to Ilimanaq and Evening Sunset Cruise
Date: 14 August 2018

We got up and headed down to the meeting point at World of Greenland for 09:00 and headed down to the harbour. The cost of the day ticket – return – to Ilimanaq was 990 kr per person . There was a problem with the boat so it was 10:00 before we left and it took us 90 minutes to get down .We packed our own lunch as there is not a lot of options down there to eat and you need to book your lunch in advance of leaving if you wish to get something to eat there. We packed some food, grabbed our gear and headed out to the headland and sat down and ate it as we watched the icebergs floating by and the whales hunting. We saw several humpbacks in the 3 hours that we were there on the cliff. The weather was good and the mosquitos and smaller flies were not too bad as there was a nice breeze blowing. Six humpbacks came in close to the cliffs where we were sitting just near the end – around 200mtrs from our location. I got the drone up and over them before they swam away and captured their feeding. It looked quite different from this view. Then we headed back to the port and got the 16:00 boat back to Ilulissat. The journey time was about 35 minutes this time. We got off and headed back to the apartment for a rest and to drop off the gear. We got something to eat and headed out on the boat again with Philip at 20:00 hours. We saw fewer whales tonight but the icebergs and the views were very different from last night – even though some of the route was the same. The sky and clouds were shifting constantly so the views are always changing. We got back into the harbour at 22:00 and then back to the apartment for some tv and bed.

Day 16 – Rest Day and Evening Kayak Trip
Date: 15 August 2018

Today there was nothing planned for the morning so instead of sleeping in we got up at 03:30 and walked up to the view point on the glacier to look out at the sunrise and take some photos. We spent about three hours up here taking images of the early morning light and watching the whales feeding. It was really something special .We headed back to town for 07:00 and went to bed for a few hours. We got up and got some lunch and then went down shopping for souvenirs before dinner. We got something to eat in the town to try out the Halibut and then went to PGI Greenland for our 20:00 kayaking tour. This cost 1300kr per person instead of the usual 1595kr so if you leave it late enough re booking you can save some money. We got our safety briefing, got into our dry suit and headed for the launch area near the church. We headed out on the water and kayaked down to the bay where all the whales were. We saw and heard them out in the water and we just sat there and enjoyed the experience. We got back on land around 22:30 and back to the apartment for 23:15 and headed to bed as we were to be flying home tomorrow.

Day 17 – Cancelled Flight to Reykjavik
Date: 16 August 2018

We got up and got some breakfast and then headed down to the Ice Cap reception and dropped our bags in there for the meantime while we waited for our taxi to the airport. Mike was flying home on a different flight so we all headed out to the airport with him and went into the check in area. A think fog started to blow in when we were there and little did we know that it was the precursor to a very bad day ahead. Mikes flight was delayed so we waited with him till noon and then we walked back into town – a distance of around 2 miles or maybe 30 minutes. The fog was chilling and cold as we walked back into town but the sun was trying to get through it and burn it off. We got back into town and got something to eat and then headed back out to the airport ourselves for our flight . Our original flight was cancelled that morning so we re-checked once we got int re the new flight via Kangerlussaq. The check in person told us that this flight was cancelled as well so we had to go back into town and stay with Ice Cap apartments for another night. We went back to town, dropped off our bags and just relaxed and slept for an hour or so before heading back out to the glacier view with the fog all around. We got back into town, got dinner and went back to the room and watched some tv and went to bed early. Hopefully there would be a flight tomorrow to get us back to Iceland and from there onwards to Copenhagen and the wedding.

Day 18 – Rescheduled Flight to Reykjavik
Date: 17 August 2018

We got up before 08:00 and got down to the Ice Cap office and called the Air Greenland helpdesk to see if we were flying today They said we were booked on a flight at 14:30 to Kangerlussaq and from there a later charter flight to Reykjavik around 18:15. We went back to the apartment and took it easy for the morning and watched some tv before we checked out at 10:00. The weather was wet and misty this morning – the first real rain we got since coming to the Disko Bay Area. We got an early lunch after this and then travelled out to the airport and waited for our flight. This was delayed – surprisingly – and left around 16:30 for a 45 minute flight to Kangerlussaq. We got in here after 17:00 and went into the airport proper and looked around . Got something to eat and then relaxed until the security check which opened at 20:00 for our delayed flight to Reykjavik at 21:10. It took 3 hours to get down and with a 2 hour time difference we were on the ground at 02:00 local time. The bags came through ok and we headed outside to chill out and relax before the next flight.

Day19 – Flight to Iceland via Kangerlussaq
Date: 18 August 2018

The next flight was at 06:30 to Copenhagen with Wow Air. The check in was open 3 hours before hand so we got to self check the bags and print the passes and tags before going through security. We got something light to eat and needed to the gate and boarded and flew the.3 hours to Copenhagen. We got some sleep on this flight ok as we were running on fumes now as we had been up nearly 20 hours at that stage. We landed, got our bags and headed outside to the platform and got the train to Malmo Central. It cost us 110kr one way and took about 20-25 minutes to get to the station . Once we got in, we met Mike and walked the 20 minutes to the hotel and checked in., Quick shower and change and out to meet Tracey off her flight and at the station. Then we got some pizza and headed to the church to meet Tommi and Anna and attend their wedding day. Church, reception and celebrations carried on well into the night and then it was back to the hotel and bed.

Day 20 – Flight to Copenhagen to Dublin and home
Date: 19 August 2018

We got up around 09:00 after a night of deep deep sleep. We headed down to breakfast and finished up with the packing and got the number 2 bus to the train station. From here we got another single ticket – 110kr – to the airport and went through a similar self check in process as that of Wow Air in Iceland. We got through security ok and headed to the gate where we got on the 14:10 to Dublin with SAS. A full flight but other than that it was fine.