Saving the Best for Last – Skjoldungen Fjord, Greenland

During a special dinner, have you ever saved the tastiest bite for last in order to savor that final morsel?

Skjoldungen Fjord was on our itinerary, but I hadn’t a clue what it was until we went to our Greenland “port briefing” two days prior. The photos of the rugged mountains and glaciers were breathtaking. My excitement mounted. I couldn’t believe we were going to spend a whole day journeying through the fjord.  My camera trigger finger started to tingle, a whole day of photography and we didn’t even have to pay for an excursion!  Due to arrive around 6am, I  set the alarm 2 hours earlier in hopes of having coffee before seeing the first light on the entrance to the Fjord. I sensed this was going to be the highlight of the cruise.

Instead, I awoke to the same fog horn that had haunted us for the last several days. Although the captain had promised sunshine, I peered through the suite curtains to see dense fog. So much for a day of photography. We crawled back into bed.

Opening my eyes a couple of hours later as Jeff handed me my morning coffee, I could see total whiteness out the window behind him. I wanted to have a small tantrum, “the captain promised”, I whined in my head.

Deep into our daily 2 page newspaper, Seabourn’s “USA Times”, Jeff hollers, “I can see”.  The fog was lifting and icebergs were stationed outside our window, guarding the gateway to the Fjord. The photography moment I had been waiting for caught me off guard. 

“But I have to shower”, I replied. Jeff responded, “you have 30 seconds”. Knowing this was an impossible feat, I told him to go up the Observation Deck without me. And here’s what I missed:

Iceberg in the mist (photo by Jeff)

While most people were still sleeping, the fog lifted. (photo by Jeff)

As we entered Skjoldungen Fjord, all the photographers were out on deck with all the shutter clicks sounding like a manual typewriter doing 90 words a minute.

Icebergs stationed like sentries at the mouth of the fjord

Both sides of the fjord had sentries

The day turned out to be the most glorious day of the cruise. Glaciers and mountains were reflected in glass-like water. Seals, whales and an assortment of birds kept the nature lovers busy.

Deep into the fjord, the waters calmed

The waters were almost like glass

The reflections were amazing

Jeff thought this was nature’s version of PacMan (photo by Jeff)

To celebrate, the chef was on deck serving coffee and hot chocolate with a kick at 9am. My coffee had more kick than coffee, and my trigger finger was “oh” so happy.

Capturing the iceberg in the shadows made it appear to be floating in the darkness

 

Panorama of the first glacier we encountered in the fjord (photo by Jeff)

Meals were skipped and the only breaks we took were to download photos and clean off our chips so we could start again.

The good light was fading, but it was hard to stop photographing

Panorama of Thrym’s Glacier at the deepest point of the fjord (this was about lunch time and the light had become a bit harsh)

Remember, It’s all about the light and skipping the shower.