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Mike's photos: some foraging
Sea rocket Nick picking rhubarb Karl picking sea peas Sea peas. All tender parts are good. Here, the young leaf & the flower. Dinner - mussels, and a salad of sea pea with its purple flowers, sea rocket and orache Orache Sour sorrel
Karl's photos
Nick and Bjorn Tegetmeyer, visiting Trevor. A family man and physicist, Bjorn took 5 months off to sail solo from Germany to Iceland, and is now on his way home to resume family life and work. Acoustic domes of concrete, Seydisfjordur. Karl played his trumpet in these, and found it deeply satisfying Stream of snow melt Puffin Tame lambs Seydisfjordiur Nick napping Powwow & boozums on Teddy L to R - Helen Gould and Mike Henderson of Pangey; Mike; me; and Tr...
To Greenland
This year the ice off the coast of east Greenland - the storis - mainly floes from the polar basin, plus the bergs calved off from the Greenland glaciers and running out to sea - is breaking up later than usual. In the past 10 days the storis made access for a small boat difficult or impossible to reach the coast from 66 degrees northwards. It is now opening up for the coast immediately south of the entrance to Scoresbysund which is at 71 degrees. We head out in the morning, to go there. The mouth of Scoresbysund currently remains congested with a band of 60% ice, though the Sound itself has cleared considerably. It is likely that this will change rapidly and very soon. In two days we hope to be in one of the many fjords nearby to the south of the entrance, and we will be well positioned to enter the Sound.
Westfjords
After Husavik we sailed westwards to the Westfjords. En route we passed through a school of humpback whales and dolphins cavorting in the sea. Twice a humpback leaped completely clear, and they partly breached many times. The dolphins leapt out and splashed down continuously in a show of exuberance. We rounded the northwesternmost point of the Westfjords and ran in up a fjord, Jokullfirdir, with its 5 wild fjords branching off it. Went to the head of two fjords and anchored at both. 3000' mountains lining the fjords. Snow banks at sea level, multiplying with elevation. Pure light. Many eider and whistling swans - what a great place to raise family. We walked up the slopes, crossing brilliant snow fields alternating with heaps of loose rock rubble. The beauty and the openness and the light pulling us upwards & onwards... never was climbing so effortless. All are extremely interested in eating wild fo...
Changes
At Husavik. Mike joined us here, and I look forward to working with him. His arrival overlapped with Ashleigh's difficult decision to leave us. By way of farewell we all went for a long walk up the semi alpine valley above Husavik. Magical as with our first walk. Then she took the bus out. That leaves three of us to proceed - me, Karl, Mike. The process of Ashleigh's leaving took a lot of energy out of us all. It overlapped with the continuing very mixed weather in Iceland. This is a pattern I have not seen in any of my previous visits. Today it is a very low heavy overcast with light rain. We'll go when things are a bit better.