Viking Cruises – Dave and Kay's Travel Adventures

Monday, August 26th, 2024

Today was a day at sea as we traveled from Greenland to Newfoundland, Canada across the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. We left the fog and today was sunny.

Besides walking outside and reading, our highlight of the day was the Premium Wine tasting. It was fun learning about these 5 unfamiliar wines and tasting all of them. Three from France, one from Spain and one from Italy. We also had a variety of cheeses, nuts, grapes, and craisons that were paired with particular wines.

This evening we enjoyed the Viking vocalists show, “The Sound of the Seventies”!

Tuesday, August 27th, 2024

This morning we arrived at L’Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada. It was located at the tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland.

We were anchored around 8:00 AM and used tender boats to visit.

One of the tenders that transported us to L’Anse Aux Meadows

L’Anse Aux Meadows was the site of the first Norse settlement in the Americas. It was a national historic site and UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) named it a World Heritage site in 1978.

By the statue of Leif Eriksson was this quote on a memorial plaque: “Son of Iceland, grandson of Norway, Ancestor of all who emigrated from the Nordic lands”

The area was discovered in 1960 when a Norwegian explorer and writer, Helge Ingstad, came upon L’Anse Aux Meadows. A local, George Decker, took him to an overgrown area that had bumps and ridges. Ingstad and his archaeologist wife, Anne Stine Ingstad, spent the next eight years here. They had an international team of archaeologists from Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and the United States.

We visited the Visitor’s Center that had displays and artifacts that were found here.

Model of the Viking Basecamp that was discovered at L’Anse Aux Meadows.

The path from the Visitor Center to the archaeology site.

They found the remains of an 11th century Viking basecamp and the remains of 8 buildings that were either dwellings or workshops. These buildings were built of timber as the frame and sod over it.

The area was still an active archeological site. We watched a group working in an area that was fenced off. It was interesting to watch their precision and small steps and digs that they made as they worked.

Another area we walked to was the Norstead Village.

It was a replica of a Viking port of trade and depicted what life would have been like about the same time as the discovered UNESCO site 1.2 miles away.

The village consisted of Snorri, a full scale replica of a Viking ship built in Maine. The name Snorri was the name the Vikings gave the first child born in the New World. It was transported to Greenland and then a crew sailed it to L’Anse Aux Meadows with just powered by a square sail and oars! This sailing was to simulate Lief Eriksson’s voyage here. The boat was 54 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. It was stored in the boat shed at the village.

“Snorri” a Viking ship replica

There was a chieftain’s hall, a church, and a blacksmith’s shop. We saw locals portraying different Viking roles and many tools and items from that period. You could spend a lot of time here. It was an interesting open air museum and the locals made the experience authentic. They had a axe throwing, weaving and games that you could participate in doing.

Chieftain’s Hall

Outside the church and then inside the church

The Blacksmith shop was next. It was located near the church.

After we visited the Norstead Village we hiked the Iceberg Trail.

Once we were all back on board, we sailed away!

Friday, August 23rd, 2024

Today was a “Day at Sea”. We had a chance to read. So it was a quiet day. There were three lectures that we attended in the afternoon and evening.

The first lecture was by Rear Admiral John Lippiett. His presentation was called “Sailors Discover the Unknown World 500 Years Ago”. He explained how early maps revealed information about the European explorers who tried to find “riches in the East”.

Not long after Lippiett’s lecture, we attended Dr. Ronald Orenstein’s presentation called “What to See at Sea- Seabirds and Other Creatures”. He presented on the birds we have seen or might see as we sailed on our cruise.

The last presentation we attended today was Sue Stockdale’s talk on her “Crossing the Greenland Ice Cap- A Lesson in Teamwork”. This was another epic adventure that she did with a team of other adventurers. Her trek was quite fascinating as the team crossed the Greenland Ice Cap.

Saturday, August 24th, 2024

We didn’t arrive in Nanortalik, Greenland until 2:00 PM but this morning from 7:00 AM until 11:00ish we sailed in Greenland’s Prince Christian Sound. Sue Stockdale, a guest lecturer on our ship who skied the Greenland Ice Cap, gave a commentary about what we were seeing as we sailed.

The sun was rising over the fjord of Prince Christian Sound.

The sun was relecting off the mountains and the icebergs. It was stunning!

Prince Christian Sound was approximately 60 miles long and located in Greenland’s southern edge and was a narrow passage. Below was a map that illustrated the sound as we sailed through it.

map of the Prince Christian Sound and it showed where some of our pictures were taken!

Prince Christian Sound was named after the prince, later he became king Christian VII of Denmark.

We watched from our deck for part of the time and then went to the front of the ship so we could see both sides of the Sound.

The view was absolutely breathtaking. We saw many waterfalls, icebergs of all sizes, glaciers, and some glaciers that reached the sea!

We had so many fabulous pictures it was very difficult to choose a few for this post. The icebergs we saw reminded us a little of Antarctica. Of course, Antarctica had more.

We saw glaciers as we sailed. They were magnificent.

The terrain was filled with steep mountains and a rugged terrain.

The snow melted and we saw many waterfalls that flowed all the way down the mountains.

We saw snow-covered mountains.

There was one settlement in Prince Christian Sound called Aappilattoq. The name meant “red” after the red mountain. There were 100 inhabitants living there. Aappilattoq people fish and hunt and were isolated except for when a boat stopped by or a helicopter flew into the settlement.

The settlement had colorful houses. One can see how isolated this town was along the Sound.

We still saw icebergs when we left the sound into the North Atlantic ocean.

Sailing up to Nanortalik, Greenland.

When we arrived at the island of Nanortalik we tendered in to the town. The sky was clear but the air was windy and chillly. Nanortalik was Greenland’s southernmost town. Its name meant a “place of polar bears”.

Some of the boats tied up in the Nanortalik harbor.

The town’s main industries were seal hunting, hunting crabs, fishing and service and administration with about 1,000 inhabitants. As we walked around, a celebration was happening.

Locals celebrating and enjoying food and drink.

The homes were painted bright colors. We loved walking among the town’s homes.

We had a self-guided tour of the town and its open air museum. Locals were out selling their handcrafted items. We purchased a Christmas ornament from a woman who had maded it from beads. She told us she had made the ornament along with six more!

A street sign along the gravel road and rocky terrain in town.

The Nanortalik Open Air Museum had buildings that housed different aspects of the history of the area with nine historic buildings. One building showed the Viking way of life.