HIGHLIGHTS
Zodiac Cruises
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ITINERARY
Day
01: Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
Kangerlussuaq
is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality
located at the head of the fjord of the same name (Danish:
Søndre Strømfjord). It is Greenland's main air
transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport.
The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War
II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and Sondrestrom Air Base.
The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse
terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons. The
settlement's economy and population of 512 is almost entirely reliant
on the airport and tourist industry.
Day
02: Kangaamiut (Qeqqata), Greenland
Kangaamiut
(the People of the Fjords) is a settlement which clings to the
shoreline of Greenland's Arctic Circle region, backed by some of the
country's most spectacular fjordlands. The nearby pinnacle-shaped
mountains gave the Danish-Norwegian colonial settlement its original
name of Sukkertoppen (Sugarloaf) and the town recently celebrated its
250th anniversary. Here, one can experience small-town Greenlandic
culture at its most authentic. The town is scattered across a small
hill, displaying all the colourful buildings of the town at once; it is
impossible to take a bad photo here. A system of staircases and
boardwalks leads to the top of the hill, an area used to helicopter
transport which offers jaw-dropping vistas of the wilderness around the
settlement. The locals are proud of their Inuit history and culture,
and the people of Kangaamiut are friendly and welcoming to vistors.
Depending on the day, one could see local men selling fresh fish or
reindeer meat from the surrounding fjords or flensing their catch on
the rocks of the harbour, local women selling intricate homemade beaded
necklaces and carvings, or even be invited into a local home to share a
pot of coffee with some of the friendly residents, who are always happy
to have visitors. Although the scenery is world-class, as in many towns
in Greenland, wonderful memories of the welcoming residents are the
most treasured.
3
Included Shore Excursions
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Expedition
Activities with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
02: Evighedsfjord, Greenland
Evighedsfjord
(Eternity Fjord) is a large fjord northeast of Kangaamiut in southwest
Greenland. The fjord has a length of 75 kilometers and several branches
with numerous glaciers coming down from the Maniitsoq Ice Cap to the
north can be seen. The Evighedsfjord has several bends and whenever the
ship reaches the supposed end the fjord continues in another direction
and seems to go on forever. Qingua Kujatdleq Glacier is at its
southeastern end. At the northwestern end a U-shaped valley has seven
glaciers coming down from the mountains but not reaching the water. The
glaciers had their maximum extent around the year 1870 and have gone
through several cycles of advance and retreat. The mountains on either
side of the fjord can reach in excess of 2,000 meters and the fjord has
a depth of up to 700 meters. Evighedsfjord's snowline is at 1,100
meters and the Evighedsfjord region is famous as one of Greenland's
best heli-skiing areas.
2
Included Shore Excursions
Zodiac
Cruise with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Day
03: Nuuk (Godthab), Greenland
In
the bustling capital city of Greenland, you could be forgiven for
forgetting you are in such a vast and isolated country. Nuuk is
Greenland's economic and social hub, home to more than a third of
Greenland's population, and although it feels like a world capital,
scratch the surface, and a uniquely Greenlandic character can be found
underneath. Nuuk Cathedral overlooks the gorgeous old Colonial Harbour
district and the Greenland National Museum, resting place of the
legendary Qilakitsoq mummies, the true highlight of the museum's
archaeological collection. Above the Colonial Harbour sits downtown
Nuuk, with lines of Scandistyle apartments, a bustling shopping
district, the Greenlandic Parliament, Nuuk City Hall (which welcomes
visitors to see its artwork) and even outdoor cafes selling locally
produced food and beer. These nods to modernity compete for space with
local artisan boutiques, the meat market selling the catch from Nuuk's
vast fjord-lands, and the stunning Katuaq Cultural Centre, where
blockbuster movies, as well as local and foreign performers entertain
the people of Nuuk. Although Nuuk has long been a melting pot of Danish
and Greenlandic ideas, this is a city where Greenland displays its
sophistication, with the Country's only traffic lights, roundabouts and
University. Most of all, expect to find a multitude of friendly people
who are proud of who they are, and equally proud of the city they call
home.
2
Included Shore Excursions
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Expedition
activities with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
04: Sisimiut, Greenland
Sisimiut
('The People of the Fox Holes') is Greenland's second city, the largest
Arctic City in North America, and a hub between the warmer South and
the frozen North of the country. With a young, dynamic population,
including students from all over the country, Sisimiut is one of the
fastest growing cities in Greenland. Inhabited for more than four and a
half thousand years, the Danish Colonial Era saw the rapid development
of the city into a trade centre, and the old buildings and artefacts
can be seen at Sisimiut Museum, a collection of beautifully restored
buildings displaying everything from ancient turf houses to modern
Inuit art. The local artisans are considered some of the best in
Greenland, and often sell their wares direct from their communal
workshop in the harbour, where they barter with hunters for raw
materials. Today, modern industry focussed on processing sea food and
shipping; KNI, the state-run chain of general stores operating in even
the most remote settlements is based in Sisimiut. Most residents still
live in the colourful wooden houses Greenland is so well known for.
Sisimiut's vast back country offers excellent opportunities for hiking
and fishing, and the locals often use sled dogs or snowmobiles to get
around their vast mountainous playground during the long winters. In
the summer, one can walk as far as Kangerlussuaq International Airport,
a trail also used for the gruelling Polar Circle Marathon, one of the
toughest endurance events in the world.
3
Included Shore Excursions
Sisimiut
Town Walk with a Taste of Greenlandic Specialties
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
1
Selected Shore Excursion
Flightseeing
Sisimiut
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
05: Ilulissat, Greenland
Known
as the birthplace of icebergs, the Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly
20 million tons of ice each day. In fact, the word Ilulissat means
“icebergs” in the Kalaallisut language. The town of
Ilulissat is known for its long periods of calm and settled weather,
but the climate tends to be cold due to its proximity to the fjord.
Approximately 4,500 people live in Ilulissat, the third-largest town in
Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut. Some people here estimate that there
are nearly as many sled dogs as human beings living in the town that
also boasts a local history museum located in the former home of
Greenlandic folk hero and famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.
4
Included Shore Excursions
Ilulissat
Iceberg Cruise
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Ilulissat
Town Walk
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
1
Selected Shore Excursion
Ilulissat,
Greenland Helicopter Tour
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
06: Day at sea (International waters)
Days
at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with
what you've been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym,
visiting the spa, whale watching, catching up on your reading or simply
topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to
busy days spent exploring shore side.
Day
07: Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada
Located
in northern Baffin Island Pond Inlet is a small predo¬minantly
Inuit community with a population of roughly 1 ,500 inhabitants. In
1818 the British explorer John Ross named a bay in the vicinity after
the English astronomer John Pond. Today Pond Inlet is considered one of
Canada's "jewels of the North" thanks to several picturesque glaciers
and mountain ranges nearby. Many archaeological sites of ancient Dorset
and Thule peoples can be found near Pond Inlet. The Inuit hunted
caribou, ringed and harp seals, fish, polar bears, and walrus, as well
as narwhals, geese, ptarmigans and Arctic hares long before European
and American whalers came here to harvest bowhead whales. Pond Inlet is
also known as a major center of Inuit art especially the printmaking
and stone carving.
3
Included Shore Excursions
Zodiac
Cruise with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Expedition
activities with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
08: Dundas Harbour, Devon Island, Canada
Austere,
remote and a rather severe, Devon Island is as close the closest thing
to Mars on planet Earth. The rocky terrain, dry, cold climate and
14-mile wide crater on the north of the island have made it home for a
team of research scientists from NASA, who live in the small research
station during the Arctic summer. Other than these few men and women,
Devon Island is completely unpeopled, and the largest uninhabited
island in the world. There was human habitation as recently as 1951,
when a Canadian Mounted Police post that had been on the island since
1924 to monitor illegal activities such as whaling closed. At 320 miles
long and 80–100 miles wide, it is the largest of the Parry
Islands. Dundas Harbour is found in the south of the island. Then
island is set in the icy Arctic Ocean, south of Ellesmere Island and
west of Baffin Bay. This make it Canada's sixth largest island.
Discovered by English explorer William Baffin in 1616, the island did
not make it on to any maps until William Edward Parry's exploration of
the Arctic in 1820. Despite the desolate conditions, the island does
show signs of having sustained human life as many as 3,000 years ago,
with the remains of a Thule settlement dating back to 1000 A.D.,
including tent rings, middens and a gravesite providing testament to
the fact. The island is named Talluruti in local Inuktitut language,
literally translating as “a woman's chin with tattoos on
it”, as from a distance the deep crevasses resemble
traditional facial tattoos.
4
Included Shore Excursions
Zodiac
Cruise with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Expedition
activities with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
09: Devon Island (Radstock Bay), Canada
Devon
Island is Canada's sixth largest island and was first seen by Europeans
in the early 17th century. The Thule culture had already settled there
many centuries before, and left behind qarmat homes, made of rocks,
whale bones, rock and sod walls, and skins for roofs that tell a story
of over 800 years of human habitation. Other striking finds in this
area are the many fossils of corals, crinoids and nautiloids that can
be seen. Just across Lancaster Sound is Prince Leopold Island, a
Canadian Important Bird Area, a federally listed migratory bird
sanctuary, and a Key Migratory Bird Terrestrial Habitat site with large
numbers of Thick-billed Murres, Northern Fulmars and Black-legged
Kittiwakes that breed there.
1
Included Shore Excursion
Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Day
09: Beechey Island, Canada
Beechey
Island is a small island off the southwest coast of Devon Island,
separated by a narrow waterway called the Barrow Strait. Captain
William Edward Parry was the first European to visit the island in
1819. His lieutenant, Frederick William Beechey, named the island after
his father, the artist William Beechey (1753–1839). Beechey
Island played a significant role in the history of Arctic Exploration.
During the winter of 1845-46, Sir John Franklin and his men camped on
the island as part of their ill-fated quest to find the Northwest
Passage. Mummified remains of three of Franklin's crew were discovered,
giving a better understanding of what happened before the disappearance
of the expedition. In 1850 Edward Belcher used the island as a base
while surveying the area. Later, in 1903, Norwegian explorer Roald
Amundsen stopped at the island at the beginning of his successful
voyage in search for the Northwest Passage. Subsequently, Beechey
Island has been declared a "Territorial Historic Site" by the Northwest
Territories government in 1975 and a National Historic Site of Canada
in 1993. It now is part of Nunavut.
1
Included Shore Excursion
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Day
10: Resolute, Nunavut, Canada
Resolute
is one of the northernmost communities in Nunavut and Canada with
slightly more than 240 inhabitants. The name goes back to HMS Resolute
which was trapped and abandoned in the ice in 1850 while searching for
traces of the lost Franklin Expedition. On the southern coast of
Cornwallis Island it has long winters and as such is known as
Qausuittuq (place with no dawn) –with darkness from early
November to early February. Although Pre-Dorset, Dorset and Thule
remains indicate the area had been used for some 2,500 years, it was
only in 1953 and the government enforced High Arctic relocation of
Inuit that residents were not related to the weather station or the
Royal Canadian Air Force base. Immediately north of Resolute's
strategically important airport is Tupirvik Territorial Park where
fossils can be found on the beach, a former old seabed. The waters
south of Resolute are part of the core area for migrating beluga
whales, while neighboring Bathurst Island has the Polar Bear Pass
National Wildlife Area, permitting polar bear travel in spring and
summer. Rocky coastal bluffs, rolling hills, moraines and small lakes
are habitat for arctic birds, including King Eider Ducks and Greater
Snow Geese.
1
Included Shore Excursion
Expedition
activities with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
11: Cruise Peel Sound (Nunavut), Canada
Peel
Sound is a 30 mile wide, 125 mile long channel separating Prince of
Wales Island to the west and Somerset Island to the east. It was named
in 1851 by explorer Vice Admiral Horatio Austin in honour of Sir Robert
Peel, a former prime minister of Great Britain. Austin, however, was
not the first person to sail through the sound. Five years earlier, in
1846, Sir John Franklin had passed through the strait, just before his
ships became icebound. Peel Sound is not always open. Several
explorers, including Francis Leopold McClintock in 1858 and Allen Young
in 1875, were unable to pass because it was blocked by ice.
Day
12: Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, Canada
King
William Island's flat coastal terrain holds only one settlement.
Although the area around Gjoa Haven had already been used by the
Netsilik Inuit, the Scandinavian name was given to it by Amundsen
during his crossing of the Northwest Passage when he overwintered for
two years with his ship Gjøa in the natural harbor on King
William Island's southeastern side. 250 kilometers above the Arctic
Circle the average temperature hovers around 0 degrees Celsius in
September. Amundsen's presence (with a ship full of interesting
supplies specifically brought for trade) attracted Netsilik from camps
in the vicinity. The Netsilik had been here at Usqsuqtuuq -meaning
“place of plenty blubber”- because of the fat fish
and sea mammals in nearby waters. In 1927 the Hudson's Bay Company set
up a trading post and the community has grown from then on. Today some
1,500 predominantly Inuit inhabitants live in Gjoa Haven. There is a
path connecting several sites forming the Northwest Passage Territorial
Trail, including the Heritage Centre, the Hamlet Centre where one can
learn about the early European explorers and their fate, and places
used by Amundsen. Artifacts relating to Franklin's expedition were
found near Gjoa Haven and the wrecks of his two ships Erebus and Terror
have recently been located not too far away. Although there are some
muskoxen and caribou on the island, a different attraction for some is
a nine-hole golf course, known to be Nunavut's most northerly.
1
Included Shore Excursion
Expedition
activities with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
13: Jenny Lind Island, Canada
Southeast
of Victoria Island and in Queen Maud Gulf, Jenny Lind Island is roughly
20 kilometers in diameter and covers an area of 420 square kilometers.
The uninhabited island is named after a famous Scandinavian opera
singer and was put on European maps in 1851 when Dr. John Rae of the
Hudson's Bay Company was searching the Canadian Arctic for indications
of the fate of Sir John Franklin's Northwest Passage Expedition. The
island is a Canadian Important Bird Area with large numbers of Lesser
Snow Geese and Ross's Geese breeding there and a Key Migratory Bird
Terrestrial Habitat recognized by the Canadian Wildlife Service. The
island has a mix of flat and undulating terrain with low-lying wetlands
and sedge meadows and supports a small herd of muskoxen. The island has
been the site of a Distant Early Warning Line radar station until the
1990s and still is part of the North Warn System.
1
Included Shore Excursion
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Day
14: Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada
The
area around Cambridge Bay was seasonally used by Pre-Dorset, Dorset,
Thule, and Copper Inuit to hunt and fish. It was only after the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police and the Hudson's Bay Company decided to set up
posts on Victoria Island in the 1920s that outsiders settled, while the
Inuit community only came to live at Cambridge Bay in a more permanent
way after World War II when a LORAN tower was built. Today Cambridge
Bay is one of Canada's northernmost villages with close to 1,800
residents. It is the administrative center for the Kitikmeot region and
an important transportation hub for cargo by sea and air. Arctic char,
which is caught in rivers nearby, is Cambridge Bay's major export
article. For many years Cambridge Bay was the home to Roald Amundsen's
ship Maud. Having served in the Arctic for several years, the ship was
brought to Cambridge Bay by the Hudson's Bay Company where she was
beset by ice in 1926 and sank in 1930. The Maud was eventually raised
and transported to Norway where she is to be exhibited in a museum.
2
Included Shore Excursions
Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Expedition
activities with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Day
15: Cruise Dease Strait, Canada
Found
north of Kent Peninsula and south of Victoria Island, Nunavut's roughly
160 kilometer long Dease Strait was named after Peter Warren Dease of
the Hudson Bay Company. Sir John Franklin, who had been sent on an
early attempt to map northern Canada and to search for the Northwest
Passage, had received useful information from Dease at Fort Chipewyan
before heading north during his first expedition. Traveling down the
Coppermine River, Franklin then took 3 canoes entering Coronation Gulf
heading northeast. Reaching Cape Flinders and continuing on to Point
Turnagain in August 1821, he had effectively entered Dease Strait which
continues on east to Cambridge Bay, Victoria Strait and Queen Maud
Gulf. Seals, white foxes and rabbits were hunted on Kent Peninsula and
73 bird species recorded. Musk oxen as well as the endemic Dolphin and
Union Caribou, which are different from the wide-spread Barren-ground
caribou, can be occasionally seen on both sides of the strait.
Day
16: Cruise Amundsen Trough, Canada
At
the northwestern end of Amundsen Gulf and the Northwest Passage, the
Amundsen Trough is a submarine glacial trough leading into the Beaufort
Sea. South of Banks Island and its Migratory Bird Sanctuary, northeast
of the Anderson River Delta Bird Sanctuary, and north of Tuktut Nogait
National Park, all within the Northwest Territories, the submarine
feature and gulf are named after Roald Amundsen. Plough marks of
iceberg keels with a width of up to 150 meters and a depth of up to 10
meters have been identified on the sea floor. Seismic research in 2014
has shown that at least nine Quaternary ice streams advanced through
the Amundsen Trough, implying it was a major route for ice and sediment
towards the Arctic Ocean.
Day
17: Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, Canada
Sachs
Harbour is a small community of some 130 residents on the southwestern
side of Banks Island, Canada's fifth-largest island. It is the only
settlement on Banks Island and the northernmost community in the
Northwest Territories. The name goes back to the 30-ton schooner Mary
Sachs, one of three ships in Stefansson's Canadian Arctic Expedition
1913-1916. Sachs Harbour is surrounded by the Banks Island Migratory
Bird Sanctuary No 1. To the west dry mud cliffs can be found, while the
tidal mud flats, river deltas, wetland meadows and barren grounds with
Dryas are used by some 95% of the Western Arctic's Lesser Snow Geese,
apart from Ross's Geese, Black Brants, an estimated 25,000 King Eiders,
several thousands of Long-tailed Ducks, Tundra Swans and Sandhill
Cranes as key species. Banks Island is also home to more than half of
the world's muskoxen, found mainly on the northern side, and Sachs
Harbour has been called the “Muskox Capital of
Canada”. For the Inuvialuit Sachs Harbour's indigenous name
is Ikaahuk "Place to which you cross" or “Place where one
crosses”. The community was started in 1929, when Inuit
families from the Mackenzie River Delta came to settle hunting mainly
white foxes.
Day
18: Smoking Hills (Northwest Territories), Canada
The
Northwest Territories' Smoking Hills show a natural phenomenon which
has probably been active for thousands of years. The hills close to the
Beaufort Sea were seen by John Franklin in 1826 during his second
Canadian expedition looking for indications of a Northwest Passage.
Franklin observed that the rocks and soil around Cape Bathurst seemed
to be on fire and produced acrid white smoke. They were therefor named
“Smoking Hills”. The reason behind this phenomenon
is neither human-induced burning nor volcanic activity, but the
subsurface exothermic reaction between the bituminous shale, the sulfur
and the iron pyrite of the area. The heat being released through the
oxidation of pyrites in the Cretaceous mudstones along the sea cliffs
leads not only to high ground temperatures, but also to hot sulfurous
gas being driven off and the possibility of spontaneous combustion. The
fumes that are seen contain sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid and are
noxious.
2
Included Shore Excursions
Zodiac
Cruise with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Moderate
Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
ACTIVITY
LEVEL: Extensive
Day
19: Cruise Beaufort Sea (International waters)
Take
advantage of the brief summer thaw and enjoy the spectacular
peculiarities of the Beaufort Sea. Frozen for most of the year, the
Beaufort Sea is only navigationally possible during the short summer
months of August and September when a channel near the Canadian and
Alaskan shore opens up. Despite the sea being frozen for a sixth of the
year, it is home to a myriad of wildlife, so lucky Northwest Passage
travellers will be richly rewarded. Be on deck with binoculars and
cameras at the ready for sightings of fish like Arctic char, birds like
the king eider, marine mammals like beluga and bowhead whales, and, if
you're lucky, predators like the polar bear. However, circumstances in
the rapidly changing Arctic might soon change the species habitations
and have many scientists and ecologists are worried that the future of
the wildlife of the Beaufort Sea hangs in the balance. Dispute has
arisen regarding how long the shores have been populated by humans.
Some say that the Beaufort Sea supported human life as long as 30,000
years ago, while others disagree, saying that the livelihoods and
cultures of the Inupiat, Inuvialuit and Gwich'in peoples who live on
the shores is much more recent. In any case, recorded discovery is less
than 200 years old. The sea is named after Sir Francis Beaufort, the
British 18th century naval officer whose observation of the wind and
sea state resulted in the Beaufort scale.
Day
20: Herschel Island (Yukon Territory), Canada
Three
kilometers off Yukon's north coast, only Workboat Passage separates
Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk from Ivvavik National Park. The low-lying
treeless island of 116 square kilometers was Yukon's first territorial
park. Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk has been declared a National Historic
Site of Canada in 1972, classified as a Nature Preserve in 1987,
designated a Natural Environment Park in 2002 and as an example of the
technologies and techniques used for living and construction over the
past several millennia it is now on the tentative UNESCO WHS list! The
island is also an important area for Ice Age fossils. Normally
snow-covered from September to June, the island shows abundant and
diverse wildlife, with many migratory birds, including the largest
colony of Black Guillemots in the Western Arctic, caribou, muskox,
polar bear, and brown bear on land and bowhead and beluga whales,
ringed and bearded seals, and occasionally walrus in its surrounding
waters. Seasonal hunting possibilities from spring to fall have led the
Inuvialuit using the area for hundreds of years. When Franklin arrived
in 1826 he saw three of their camps. Remains of their old dwellings are
still visible near Simpson Point. This is where in the late 1800s,
American whalers established a now abandoned station. At the height of
the Beaufort Sea whale hunting period there were 1,500 residents.
Several of the historic buildings by whalers, and later missionaries,
traders and the RCMP are still standing –although some had to
be moved further inland to escape the rising sea level.
Days
21-22: Day at sea (International waters)
Day
23: Point Hope, Alaska, United States
Whales
dominate life at Point Hope (Tiki?aq) settlement in the extreme
Northwest of Alaska. Tiki?aq, the Inuit name of the settlement, means
finger. It describes the shape of the point jutting out into the sea
upon which the settlement sits. It is a good location for hunting as
Bowhead Whales and other marine mammals swim close to the shore as they
round the point on migrations. The Inuit people of Point Hope still
rely on hunting for much of their food. Techniques have changed a
little, but the targets and community involvement are the same. Seals,
Walrus, Belugas and birds are taken. A few of Bowhead Whales are killed
each year under a subsistence hunting permit. People from Tiki?aq hunt
with two sealskin boats, each with a dozen crew under a respected
captain. Whales are harpooned, dragged onto the ice, and cut up. Whale
meat and blubber is divided amongst the community, with most stored
frozen in the permafrost for winter meals. Inuit culture lives on,
specially through the whales. The biggest festival occurs at the end of
the whaling season. Whales appear in many of their artifacts. Look for
the biggest whale feature of Point Hope—the dramatic picket
fence of large whale bones surrounding the cemetery. It is a historic
site, as are two archaeological digs (now finished). One excavated
sunken Inuit houses. The other site revealed the earlier Ipiutak
culture present from 500 BCE to 100 CE. Tiki?aq is the oldest
documented continuously inhabited settlement in North America at 2,500
years.
Day
24: Day at sea (International waters)
Day
25: Nome, Alaska, United States
Nome
is located on the edge of the Bering Sea, on the southwest side of the
Seward Peninsula. Unlike other towns which are named for explorers,
heroes or politicians, Nome was named as a result of a 50 year-old
spelling error. In the 1850's an officer on a British ship off the
coast of Alaska noted on a manuscript map that a nearby prominent point
was not identified. He wrote "? Name" next to the point. When the map
was recopied, another draftsman thought that the
“?” was a C and that the “a” in
"Name" was an o, and thus a map-maker in the British Admiralty
christened "Cape Nome." The area has an amazing history dating back
10,000 years of Inupiaq Eskimo use for subsistence living. Modern
history started in 1898 when "Three Lucky Swedes”, Jafet
Lindberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson, discovered gold in Anvil
Creek…the rush was on! In 1899 the population of Nome
swelled from a handful to 28,000. Today the population is just over
3,500. Much of Nome's gold rush architecture remains.
(Click image to view Ship details)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Transfers
(between airport, hotel and ship)
- 1
night pre-cruise and 1 day-use post-cruise (on 2021 voyages)
- In-country
flights when required by itinerary
- Guided
Zodiac, land and sea tours, and shoreside activities led by the
Expeditions Team
- Parka
- Enrichment
lectures by a highly qualified Expeditions Team
- Spacious
suites
- Butler
service in every suite
- Unlimited
Free Wifi
- Personalised
service – nearly one crew member for every guest
- Choice
of restaurants, diverse cuisine, open-seating dining
- Beverages
in-suite and throughout the ship, including champagne, select wines and
spirits
- In-suite
dining and room service
- Onboard
entertainment
- Onboard
gratuities
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES
ADVENTURE
OPTIONS
- Zodiac
Cruise with Silversea Expedition team
- Hiking
with Silversea Expedition team
- Kayaking
with Silversea Expedition team
- Expedition
activities with Silversea Expedition team
- Sisimiut
Town Walk with a Taste of Greenlandic Specialties
- Ilulissat
Iceberg Cruise
- Ilulissat
Town Walk
Paid
Activities
- Ilulissat,
Greenland Helicopter Tour
- Flightseeing
Sisimiut