Today we arrived in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland and the start of our mother-daughter Arctic cruise. At nearly 70 degrees, we quickly stripped out of our layers and enjoyed the surprisingly warm temperatures and bright sunshine. The coastline is beautiful with colorful buildings dotting the hillside.
We transferred to the port and boarded zodiacs to our ship, the Sea Adventurer. Enroute, one of the zodiacs was stranded on a muddy sandbar that extended into the fjord. Our zodiac motored nearby to assist. In the process, we also got stuck. First we tried to paddle our way out. Then I got into the chilling sea water to try and push us free. The zodiac lurched, but was too heavy to move off the sand bar. As the tide flows out, our zodiac became increasingly high centered on the sandbar beneath us. By now, we could see pockets of mud below us as our zodiac floated on only a few inches of water.
A third zodiac came by to assist, careful to stay at least 50 meters away to avoid also getting stuck. There's no time to get our boots, already delivered safely to our cabins onboard, so we all rolled up our pant legs and walked two by two from the stranded zodiac to the one motoring in open water.
Once we are finally on board the lovely Arctic cruise ship, Sea Adventurer, the first course of business is a lifeboat drill. The other passengers jokingly tell us that we don't need to participate. We've already practiced abandoning ship once for the day!
Read more of Mary's mother-daughter Arctic adventure. Click here!
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.