Greenland – Day 7 – Unknown Longitude

Greenland – Day 6 can be found here.

Good morning, Greenland – heading north towards Nuuk:

We woke late on our sea day – 7:30 am, which is practically noon for the parents of two very active children. A further deal was struck, and the kids watched a documentary while the parents enjoyed a leisurely wake up. Then off to the Restaurant for a delicious breakfast of waffles, crispy bacon, yoghurt, eggs benedict, and bagels and smoked salmon.

When we re-upped for Greenland, we’d wondered how we’d pass two full sea days, but a quick look at the Chronicles revealed that this would be a complete non-issue – between enrichment lectures, swimming, trivia, and the much-anticipated “Expedition Couch” in which the host will interview members of the expedition team.

I dashed off after a quick breakfast to catch the last of Kristian Pederson’s lecture – which filled in the gaps around the departure of the Norse from Greenland – and then my wife and kids joined me for Olive’s lecture on whales and their importance to the ocean ecosystem.

Fun fact #1: Whales will engage in ‘bubble-net hunting’ in which they cooperatively use columns of bubbles to focus their food into a column, which makes for easier hunting.

Source: Whales in a Changing Ocean

Fun fact #2: Whale poop plays a vital role in the ocean ecosystem. It contains vast amounts of iron and other minerals, which are vital to the growth of phytoplankton and krill in turn. Over-hunting of whales can break this food chain, leading to vast and unpredictable consequences.

Olive’s entire documentary is available here – highly recommended:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BZIlPk5RZiE?feature=oembed

Next it was time for a swim. Thankfully, the pool temperature had increased significantly and there was plenty of room in the hot tubs. This – combined with the mild weather – made for some very happy kiddos. We even had time to enjoy a poolside beverage.

I’m not sure whether having a mimosa in the hot tub while overlooking snow-capped mountains and icebergs is my most luxurious experience, but it’s definitely in the top 10.

But it was soon time for lunch, and my wife came by to collect the kids one after the next so that there were no arguments over the shower. She then placed a quick call to room service, and we had a pair of piping hot pizzas a half hour later. (Silversea’s pizzas are cooked to order but worth the wait.)

Sometimes it’s just nice to having a break from dining in the restaurants, and the pizzas were a particularly good pairing with the Disney Bears documentary that was available on demand from the Silverseas TV system.

Though we did have a minor problem this time with Silversea collecting the pizzas after we were done with them – she must have paged our butler three or four times, but without result. Not a big deal, just a bit surprising given the otherwise stellar service we’ve had – and the trays were eventually removed during evening turndown.

Off to trivia, where we tied for first place. The tiebreaking question was Tom Hanks’ age. The other team guessed 64 and we guessed 68. He is 66, but turning 67 in a few days.

Daniel had been on the verge of awarding us the points but after some debate decided to do a second tie-breaking question regarding Steven Spielberg’s age. Sadly, we were off by an extra year – but still pleased with our second place finish.

This brings my son’s prize points total to 409. We’re hoping to save up for a world cruise. Not sure we’re going to reach that goal before the end of the trip.

Off to the Observation Lounge. Unfortunately, we still have not yet spotted any whales today despite the ideal conditions and appearance of some minke whales earlier that morning. We did, however, spot some hooded seals. The kids spent most of their time spotting their eReaders, with occasional breaks to closely observe some chocolate chip cookies.

We then headed down to the Explorer’s Lounge for ‘Expedition Couch’, in which the host asked members of the expedition team to recount some of their most memorable experiences. This was a new format, and it was really well done.

Some of the questions:

“What are you most proud of?”

One team member recounted how she had initially felt quite intimated by driving the zodiac, but then there came a moment – in really rough weather – where she felt like she the situation completely under control.

Another team member was proud of himself for pursuing his dreams and persisting in the job, even when it felt like he didn’t have the English skills necessary to succeed.

The third team member also struggled with English, but it wasn’t until midway through delivering her first lecture to the guests that she realized just how much she had to learn. But she persevered and was able to deliver a much more successful second lecture.

“What’s your favourite part of the job?”

Being out in the field, working with a truly competent team.

Being able to teach people about the environment – for instance, teaching people that often the smaller, less attractive elements of the eco-system, like krill, are often the most important.

“What advice would you give to your younger self?”

Don’t worry too much about doing the job well. Relax, and get on with it.

Don’t bring too much gear! You don’t need to have 10 different toques (beanie hats).

Study more English but relax – it’s going to be fine.

The last team member would have told himself to start earlier.

“What do you like to do when you’re off contract?”

One team member was a wood worker, and can’t wait to get back to his tools so he can cover himself in “man glitter” (aka sawdust).

Another team member likes to cook for herself – the food on the ship is exceptional, but she likes being able to make what she makes when she wants to make it.

The third team member is from Argentina – the “land of big meat” – and so he loves to host a barbeque and watch his favourite football team.

“Do you ever get tired of visiting the same locations?”

One expedition team member said no, because the places are always different – but the host noted that he didn’t always go ashore, even when he had the chance to do so. Sometimes it was a lot of work, and seeing the place too often took away some of its mystery.

“What do you miss about being on ship?”

For one team member – definitely having someone else do her laundry.

But the host was the exception, in that he always did his own laundry. For him, it was an important part of self care. Also, he felt that if he ever stopped doing his own laundry he’d never start up again.

“What is your favourite place to visit?”

South Georgia – the wildlife is just incredible.

The Falkland Islands – some of the best bird watching in the world, and a place where you can get unparalleled access to hatching sites.

Antarctica – no other place like it.

“What length of contract do you like to sign?”

There was a lot of discussion around this, but generally the team agreed that 2 – 3 months was a good length of time for an expedition contract.

The host noted that, by law, contracts could not exceed 11 months and then the employee needed a minimum of 2 weeks break but really it should be closer to 2 months.

He then rattled off a long list of contracts that he’d been on – something to the effect of “9 months and then a 2 week break, then 10 months and a month long break, and 5 months and a two week break. And now I’m on another 9 month contract, so… yeah.”

That “yeah” did a lot of heavy lifting.

We then took in the expedition briefing, where Darryn laid out the plan for Nuuk the next day – we would be berthed, and the Cloud would be laying on regular bus service into town, stopping at both the town hall / cultural centre and the church. There would be a long guided walk, a short guided walk, and a strenuous hike. This time, the strenuous hike would only be 4 km – though a significant elevation change. We signed up for the strenuous hike.

Off to dinner, where we had the foie gras, salmon trio, lobster Thermador, and puff pastry with creme Anglaise – followed up with a pre-warmed cognac.