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Into the Arctic: A Voyage to Greenland and the Canadian Arctic
Have you ever seen a sunrise above the Arctic Circle? The violet light ripples down over the brown-black cliffs of Greenland and beams crimson and peach hues to the high clouds. Then all the ice turns golden. There’s nothing like it on this planet, and very few people ever have the chance to see it. That’s why we’re headed Into the Arctic this summer, toward the glacier fjords of Ilulissat aboard the elegant 100-guest, all-suite expedition cruise ship Clelia II, and we hope you will join us. This unique itinerary departs from and returns to southern Canada—beyond question the most easily-accessible route available to the Arctic ice. You’ll experience far more than sunrises, of course. On this epic voyage of nearly 3,000 miles, the rugged, remote coastlines of upper Labrador and Baffin Island will be on epic display during the long light of the Midnight Sun.
We’ll keep watch for beluga, minke, and fin whales as we voyage to Red Bay, established in 1550 as the world’s first whaling station. All around, puffins nest and gannets swoop upon the cliffs. Polar bears roam on the ice floes. And since so few harbors exist in this rugged expanse, we’ll get a close look at the wildlife with expeditions aboard Zodiac landing craft, guided by our expert naturalists.
We’ll have a day to explore Auyuittuq National Park, which defines the word sublimity with jagged 7,000-foot peaks, arctic foxes, and polar bears. Within tundra and moraine valleys stretching to the horizon, we will likely be the only humans in sight.
More than anything else, however, we will have the rare opportunity to explore the mammoth fjords and glaciers of western Greenland, transiting a narrow, 114-mile fjord to the settlement of Kangerlussuaq; at the other end of our journey, we’ll follow the entire length of the St. Lawrence Seaway, threading the beautiful Thousand Islands en route.
Throughout the voyage, we’ll learn about our effect upon the Arctic, and the Arctic’s effect upon us, during talks with researchers on the cutting edge of their fields. In addition, we’ll be joined by superb naturalists and field guides for an informed discovery of this deliriously beautiful environment.
If you’ve ever wanted to visit Antarctica, but were daunted by the distance, this voyage Into the Arctic is ideal. This itinerary is unique—the experience, sublime—and just a short flight away.
Itinerary
Day 1 • FLY FROM USA | TORONTO, Ontario, Canada | EMBARK
Day 2 • THOUSAND ISLANDS & THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY
Day 3 • MONTREAL, Quebec
Days 4 & 5 • AT SEA
Day 6 • RED BAY & BATTLE HARBOUR, Labrador
Day 7 • CAPE HARRISON
Day 8 • HOPEDALE
Day 9 • HEBRON
Day 10 • MONUMENTAL ISLAND, Baffin Island, Nunavut
Day 11 • PANGNIRTUNG & AUYUITTUQ NATIONAL PARK
Day 12 • AT SEA
Day 13 • DISKO BAY & ILULISSAT, Greenland
Day 14 • SISIMIUT
Day 15 • KANGERLUSSUAQ | DISEMBARK | MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada
Day 16 • MONTREAL | FLY TO USA
View Detailed Itinerary
Day 1
FLY FROM USA | TORONTO, Ontario, Canada | EMBARK
Day 2
THOUSAND ISLANDS & THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY
Clelia II navigates the renowned Thousand Islands, a popular vacation spot for over a century. Then enter the St. Lawrence Seaway, a system of lakes, canals, and locks that provide a deepwater passage from Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence River—and a glimpse of North America’s heartland.
Day 3
MONTREAL, Quebec
The second-largest French-speaking city in the Western world after Paris, Montreal is one of North America’s most cosmopolitan metropolises. Stroll through cobblestoned Vieux-Montreal (the old quarter); resplendent Notre Dame Basilica; and Mont-Royal Park, where the Iroquois established their original settlement. The afternoon is at leisure.
Days 4 & 5
AT SEA
Day 6
RED BAY & BATTLE HARBOUR, Labrador
Sail to Red Bay on Labrador’s mainland, established 400 years ago by Basques. Explore this national historic site and learn about its fishing and maritime traditions. Then sail to Battle Harbour, a small island near Labrador’s coast. Founded in 1759, it prospered from fishing and maritime activities, becoming Labrador’s capital in 1848. As the fishing industry faded so did this town, abandoned in the 1960s. Declared a protected national historic site, the island is now under the care of the Battle Harbour Historic Trust.
Day 7
CAPE HARRISON
Discover the stunning Labrador coast via Clelia II’s Zodiac landing craft. Dotted with small settlements accessible only by sea or by air, the mountainous coastline is one of the most unspoiled regions of North America. The coastline is known as “Iceberg Alley” for the thousands of icebergs that traverse these waters every spring and summer before melting in the warmer waters off Newfoundland.
Day 8
HOPEDALE
Sited on a peninsula and surrounded by hills facing the Labrador Sea, Hopedale was founded by Moravian missionaries in 1782 in the Inuit village of Agvituk (“place of the whales”). Spend the morning exploring this isolated community and look for polar bears, which are frequently seen on the ice floes.
Day 9
HEBRON
The northernmost of the communities founded by the Moravians (1829), and abandoned in 1959, Hebron was declared a Canadian National Monument in 1970. Beautifully situated at the entrance of Hebron Fjord, explore this evocative spot and the surrounding area before sailing along the fjord-lined coast of North Labrador.
Day 10
MONUMENTAL ISLAND, Baffin Island, Nunavut
Explore tiny Monumental Island, just off the southeast coast of Baffin Island, and look for polar bears and walruses, which frequent the waters around the island.
Day 11
PANGNIRTUNG & AUYUITTUQ NATIONAL PARK
The Inuit village of Pangnirtung, built on the side of a spectacular fjord, is our gateway to Auyuittuq National Park. Ice-capped jagged peaks reaching to 7,000 feet, tundra, fjords, and glacier-scarred valleys mark the area. Explore this magnificent region and its abundant wildlife. Arctic hare, arctic fox, caribou, and polar bear are common here. The waters off the park are home to ringed, bearded, and harp seals; beluga whales; narwhal; and walrus.
Day 12
AT SEA
Day 13
DISKO BAY & ILULISSAT, Greenland
Sail into Disko Bay and explore the Ilulissat Ice Fjord, an extension of the Greenland Ice Cap, the world’s fastest flowing glacier outside Antarctica. Cruise via Zodiac among icebergs and floes. Later, arrive at the Inuit village of Ilulissat, at the mouth of Ice Fjord. Explore the Royal Greenland Processing Plant, where the bounty of Greenland’s seas is processed; the Knud Rasmussen Museum, named for Ilulissat’s famous son, with exhibits on Inuit artifacts and Rasmussen’s expeditions; and the restored Turf House. Visit the Danish-style timber Lutheran Mount Zion Church, from 1779.
Day 14
SISIMIUT
Cruise along Greenland’s fjord-lined west coast to Sisimiut, an important fishing center. Set above the Arctic Circle, the midnight sun is visible here during the summer. The region was once occupied by the ancient Saqqaq culture that, archaeologists believe, migrated from Canada 4,500 years ago. See what locals call “Legoland,” a section of town with multicolored houses, and stop at the Sisimiut Workshop for Arts, an old warehouse-turned- artists’ studio. Continue to the Old Town, whose oldest house dates to 1756. Visit Sisimiut Museum and the meat market.
Day 15
KANGERLUSSUAQ | DISEMBARK | MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada
Disembark in Kangerlussuaq and transfer to the airport for a chartered flight to Montreal. Upon arrival, check in to the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel, our accommodations for the night.
Day 16
MONTREAL | FLY TO USA
Please note that this voyage operates in the reverse direction from Greenland to Toronto on the August 13 - 28, 2010 voyage.
