JodockWorldTravel

August 4, 2025

Our itinerary tonight takes us from Nanortalik, Greenland to Isafjordur, Iceland, a straight shot across the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately for us, Viking chose a more round-about route through Prince Christian Sound, affording us 60 miles of amazing views of fjords, glaciers and canyons.

Prince Christian Sound separates mainland Greenland from the Cape Farewell Archipelgo, a collection of islands opposite the mainland. Along the way we will pass multiple glaciers, waterfalls and mountain peaks reaching as high as 7,000′.

Interestingly, the U.S. military built a weather station at the entrance to the Sound during WW2 to provide weather data. It remained in use after the war and is still in use today.

The sound is a narrow open channel between two pieces of land. It differs from a fjord in that a fjord comes to a dead-end; the sound is open-ended. At its narrowest point it is only half a mile wide. The sharp peaks of the mountains suggest this is a relatively young land formation not yet dulled by the weathering that happens over the passage of time.

We learn that the icebergs we’ve been seeing up until this point most likely came from Disko Bay, a large bay on the western coast of Greenland. Each year multiple icebergs calve off the glaciers there and make their way to Iceberg Alley, a strip of water between Newfoundland and Canada so nick-named because of the volume of icebergs that float through there every year.

The valley we are passing through was formed thousands of years ago, the result of plate tectonic shifts and the movement of giant glaciers. Some of the glaciers we see today are contained within valleys; others, known as tidewater glaciers come all the way down to the shore.

Although the area appears to be completely uninhabited, we learn there is one settlement in the Sound. The Aappilattoq community was originally established in 1922. The population has been steadily dropping over the years; in 1994 they had a population of 204. In 2010 it was 132, and in 2024 they reported only 90 residents. The average age is 31.4 years. The only access is by sea or air; nonetheless, they have a well-stocked general store, a maintenance shop, fire department, school, church and helipad. Most flights into the area carry supplies. The Aappilattoq rely on seal hunting and cod fishing for their income. The snowy period lasts 9-1/2 months, with January having an average snowfall of 54.7″. It’s hard to imagine growing up here.

The ship slowed almost to a crawl as the Captain navigated a small ice field and determined which direction would be best in making his way between or around two icebergs inconveniently place in the middle of the waterway.

He ultimately opted to go around the left edge, avoiding both of them. Looking at the size of them we were glad he didn’t try to split the difference going between them. We’d heard that multiple cruise ships run aground in the fjords every year and can take days to get unstuck!

In one of the areas we sailed through there was a clear distinction in the color of the water.

That gray or murky, brown-colored water you see is water that is filled with pulverized rock that has fallen off the glacier into the water.

We were so thrilled to have a clear day to experience the beauty of this area. Our guide said he was here three days ago and there was zero sun, and folks did not get to see any of these amazing peaks and had only partial views of the glaciers. Lucky us!