15-Day Greenland, The Torngat Mountains & Labrador Coast

Warmed by the Gulf Stream as well as by highly active thermal hot springs and volcanoes, Iceland is somewhat misnamed. While it is a stark and barren country with three huge areas of glaciers, one theory is that early Norsemen sought to mislead other potential settlers by giving a pleasant name to fierce, inhospitable Greenland, and a forbidding name to the imminently habitable Iceland. Irish monks and hermits established themselves here in the 8th century, but left a century later when the pagan Norsemen arrived. Europe’s first Parliament of General Assembly, the Althing, was established in the year 930 and still functions as the legislative body, although it was suspended by the Danes at the end of the 18th century and not reconvened until 1843. Reykjavik was the site picked by the island’s first permanent resident, Ingolfur Arnarson in 874, and is home to more than half of the island’s total population. The world’s northernmost capital, Reykjavik is proud of its virtual lack of air pollution. Both electrical power and home heating are derived from the geothermal activity on the island. The city’s large swimming pools are always warm, and in the countryside exotic fruits such as grapes and bananas are cultivated in greenhouses made cozy with the help of underground hot springs.

The largest town in South Greenland with over 3,500 citizens, Qaqortoq was founded in 1775 and still reveals some examples of colonial-period architecture. There is not infrastructure to support shore excursions here, but guests can explore the town and its museum, or possibly arrange a visit to a nearby hot springs. Like other towns in Greenland, there are also possibilities to buy examples of traditional Inuit arts and crafts, including items crafted of bone, soapstone and wild-harvested furs.

Twelve miles by Zodiac up the Hvalseyjarfjord from Qaqortoq, the largest community in South Greenland, lies the most prominent Norse archaeological site in Greenland. The so-called Eastern Settlement lasted from the 10th until the mid-15th century. Your expedition team archaeologist can interpret for you the ruins of the great halls and church at Hvalsey that hint of a prospering medieval farmstead. The site evokes an era when the Norse were trading with the indigenous Thule people of the area for furs and ivory, which were a prized commodities in Europe. A wedding held in the church in 1408 comprises the last written record of the Norse adventure in Greenland. Within a few years, Hvalsey and the rest of other Norse communities of Greenland withered as immigrants returned to the more established communities in Iceland and Norway. The site’s meadows of wildflowers sloping up from the fjord give a sense of the peaceful community that existed here in that long-ago summer.

Located at the most northerly tip of Newfoundland, LAnse aux Meadows is nestled near the fishing village of St. Anthony. It is the site of the first European settlement in the New World, approximately 500 years before Columbus arrival. Other Norse groups had relocated from their homelands to the New World. In 1961, explorer and writer Helge Instad discovered a group of large mounds in the countryside. These mounds were excavated revealing the remains of a Norse settlement. This site became LAnse aux Meadows National Historic Park in 1977 and is noted on the UNESCO World Heritage List of important cultural properties. The site at LAnse aux Meadows has been completely excavated allowing visitors to see the remains of the homes, a smithy, and various worksheds. The parks interpretive center displays Norse artifacts from the excavation which include iron rivets, a flywheel and the floorboard of a boat. Researchers still debate as to whether the site at LAnse aux Meadows is Leif Erikssons Vinland, a lush, beautiful area where he settled in for the winter around the year 1000. Parks Canada will greet you on disembarking the ship and you may explore at leisure this first settlement of the New World.

St. John’s is the most easterly point in North America and closest point of land to Europe. Due to it strategic location, St. John’s has been vitally important for centuries to explorers, adventurers, merchants, soldiers, pirates, and all manner of seafarers, who provided the foundation for this thriving modern day city. Explore this, one of the oldest cities in North America, and a city unlike any other. This “City of Legends” is cradled in a harbor carved from granite, and surrounded by hills running down to the ocean. Quaint side streets of a thousand colors are home to friendly faces that wait to greet you.