Time and Technology taunt the Travellers

Diva admits that being an hour ahead of ship time on the first morning was because she misread the instructions. But she was baffled when two days later they were an hour ahead again and they entered a breakfast Dining Room empty of all but crew laying tables. And the day after that they were an hour behind official ship time.  It turned out that in the night the phones were choosing which time zones to communicate with and they were resetting the time themselves. The phones have now been instructed not to do this again.

Microsoft and Google have also introduced obstacles. By demanding passwords, refusing to recognise correct ones, switching to recovery accounts and generally delaying use of IT by many hours. At one stage, TSH’s iPad went into ‘loading’ mode for many hours and had to be reset by the wonderful Guest Services officer. Some of the issues might have been cause by timing – the Internet on the Spirit of Adventure is extremely slow, even by maritime satellite standards.

TSH and Diva have now crossed the Arctic Circle and are wearing extra layers, especially when walking around the outside deck. They have been invited to ‘an exclusive event’ to see a glacier with the ship’s officers. ‘Bring warm clothing’.

Arctic Adventures

Fortunately, crossing the Arctic Circle was nothing like last time. Hurtigruten hold a ceremony with Neptune putting ice down people’s tops. TSH and Diva were shocked and did not join in. No party, no ceremony, no Greek Gods this time.

The early morning call was too late for TSH, who got up at 05:30 in a frenzy of expectation to watch the arrival and docking. Diva was not well pleased when the bath plug (one of those with a plunger) did not work and there was no proper bath, in spite of using many gallons of excess water. And then when en-suite breakfast was delivered, the butler had forgotten her bread roll, although this was quickly put right.

TSH’s early venture on deck delivered the useful information that it was quite warm and both changed to lighter clothes. Silver Cloud docked but Voyager had to anchor in the bay and use the tenders.

The Lofoten Islands matched expectations. The scenery is a bit like Greenland with much less snow and no icebergs or whales to be seen. But plenty of rocky jagged peaks. And coral beaches!! It was not known until the sixties or seventies that coral could survive at these latitudes. Lots of oyster catchers and lupins. None of the cows had mattresses. The cod drying frames were empty except for the heads, which were awaiting export to Africa.

Lunch was the second pizza of the holiday and the second with no red wine, which is normally ‘the law’. TSH was so full he did not have pudding but Diva had cherry clafoutis.

First sail away of the voyage where TSH and Diva drank champagne on deck.

Journey justified

The approach to Greenland presented a stunning panorama. Completely smooth sea and a view of rows of high jagged peaks. The colours ranged from black rock through shades of grey and cream to snow white, highlighted by shafts of sunlight. There were no apparent flat areas to be seen, as everywhere was steep slopes. The first iceberg drifted past the ship. A shape could be seen on the horizon, and TSH used his zoom lens to verify that it was another iceberg.

This part of Greenland is below the Arctic Circle but some definitions would include the whole area within the Arctic region.

TSH took a picture of a small brown bird which had hitched a lift on the Silver Whisper.

The ship slowed down because of the increasing number of icebergs, one of the largest of which appeared to be blocking the entrance to the Prince Christian Sound. We were all reassured because there is an ice pilot on board, assisting the Captain with the safety of the ship. Also, the water in the Sound is very deep everywhere, so there is no problem with finding the correct channel.

Just before entry to the Sound, a number of whales appeared. White ones appeared to be floating on the surface but darker coloured ones could also be seen on the surface at times and a lot of water spouts dotted the water around the ship.

Lunch was taken on deck as the ship sailed for six hours through spectacular mountain scenery and innumerable icebergs. The bergs were a variety of shapes and textures, like sculptures in an outdoor park. Many were smooth white, with a metallic shine, but a few were rougher, with a regular pattern of ridges.  It was (sorry) some of the Texans who appeared on deck in shirt sleeves for the outdoor lunch. They lasted outside for less than two minutes. TSH and Diva each had about four serious layers of clothes.

At one stage, a small iceberg disintegrated just in front of the ship and the speculation was that the ship’s heat had caused this to happen.

The general scenery, below the snow line, consisted of steep rocky surfaces, a bit like Wastwater screes, punctuated with the occasional glacier. It all looked extremely inhospitable but in one place where the Sound widened out and a few waterways met, there was a village whose means of transport was solely on the water. The village looked typically Scandinavian, with brightly painted wooden houses.

Like in a well organised firework display, some of the best was left until last, and the Silver Whisper exited the Sound through a large number of larger bergs.

Everyone on board agreed that it had been a spectacular day with ideal weather. The only thing missing was a polar bear. And one woman was hoping to see a penguin (!!). TSH took 400 pictures.

During the night, the ship’s spotlight could be seen in constant operation, scanning for icebergs. This is really continuing the Titanic theme which began in the exhibition in Belfast, or earlier this year in Cherbourg, which was Titanic’s first port of call after Southampton.

The next morning was when TSH and Diva set foot on Greenland soil, in the small town of Qaqortoq. The houses here were also brightly coloured, but this settlement is large enough to have a school, church, supermarket and more police than you ever see in a UK town of much greater size. No trouble was apparent so maybe they were there because of the ship. A lot of 4 wheel drive vehicles for a place with no roads out.

The captain has cancelled his dinner with guests tonight. Many large bergs are expected and he wants to be on the bridge with the ice pilot. No weather forecast for the Labrador Sea yet.