đź“ťTouring Ilulissat’s Icebergs

Passengers looking through windows of an iceberg tour boat with reflections visible on metal walls.

The cabin where we stayed in Ilulissat was built for watching icebergs. From the deck and the dining room, we had a full view of the bay and the icebergs jostling around in it. It even had a little sun room, only a few feet wide, enough to fit a couple of chairs, covered in pelts, and a side table, all facing a large picture window that looked out onto the bay. It was by far my favorite place of the entire trip to sit, write, and read.

The weather was calm, keeping the icebergs crammed into the bay, occasionally changing positions, but generally staying put. So during our morning coffees on the deck (and a few evening nightcaps) were got to know some of these magnificent lawn ornaments.

But nothing prepared me for the awe and wonder of seeing these icebergs up close. We took an evening boat tour throughout the bay, circling the towers of ice, getting to know their stories and makeup. A group of Danes had been scheduled to be on our boat as well, but their flight had been delayed by weather, so it was just our small group and one other man.

That meant we had plenty of room on the small boat to maneuver around, going outside to get unfettered views and feel the cool crisp air, returning inside when we got too cold or needed some coffee, tea, or some cookies.

  • View from inside an iceberg tour boat in Disko Bay, Greenland, with colorful houses of Ilulissat visible through the window.
  • Deep glowing blue cracks in an iceberg floating on dark water in Disko Bay, Greenland.
  • Tourist leaning from a boat doorway to photograph a red fishing boat passing an iceberg in Disko Bay.
  • Two icebergs floating side by side in Disko Bay with sunset reflected on calm Arctic water.
  • Passengers looking through windows of an iceberg tour boat with reflections visible on metal walls.
  • Iceberg showing diagonal bands and layers of compressed glacial ice.
  • Close-up of a boat captain steering an iceberg tour vessel, compass tattoo visible on his arm.
  • Extremely long iceberg with peaks, brown sediment streaks, and blue ice in Disko Bay.
  • Cell phone resting on a hardback ship's logbook aboard a boat in Greenland.
  • Blue and white iceberg reflected in calm water beneath sunset-lit clouds in Greenland.
  • Man gesturing while telling a story inside an iceberg tour boat in Greenland.
  • Aquamarine ice visible below the waterline of an iceberg floating in black Arctic water.

After about an hour, the other guest on the trip used google translate to introduce himself and share his travel stories. Years ago a Greenlandic man had taught him how to ice climb and they’d done several treks together in Antarctica. He had finally made it to Greenland, from mainland China, to visit his old guide. He was quite emotional, and we all felt invested in his journey. I hope he was able to make contact with his friend.

All in all the tour lasted a little over two hours and was one of the highlights of the entire trip. And given how much the icebergs can change, I would definitely do it again on a return trip.

https://albatros-arctic-circle.com/ilulissat/tours/winter-icefjord-sailing

Naturalist’s Notebook
hand drawn magnifying glass

Notice the signs of change

Look for dripping water, collapsed sections, cracks, rounded surfaces or debris in the water. An iceberg is not a static object that happens to be floating there. You will be looking at it at some point in its transformation.

hand drawn ear

Listen

Listen for the sounds of the ice in the water. It cracks, fizzes, knocks the hull of your boat.

hand drawn question mark

Ask

How much time am I actually looking at? What can the bands, bubbles, sediment, fractures, and textures tell me about the ice before it became an iceberg?

Posted In: Greenland, Ilulissat, Place as Story, Stories, Tracks & Traces

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