Thursday, September 24, 2015

Disko Bay - Day 14

After a truly memorable day exploring glaciated landscapes the day before, it was time to start to head west back towards the open waters.  The tide hadn't risen high enough to float the kayaks so initially we had to drag the kayaks through some rather sticky glacial mud.
Eventually with a falling tide and slight tail wind we made rapid progress through the narrows, reaching the open water relatively quickly.  For the first time on the trip we saw a number of groups of geese, close to the waters edge plus a some distant views of an Arctic Fox.
We finished for the day relatively early and some of us passed an hour or so rolling and rescuing.  Although the water was cold it wasn't as harsh as we had experienced on other days, which might have been because of the lack of ice floating in the water.
Whilst chatting about a particular rescue I swallowed 4 insects, which was an indication of what it might be like on the land.  That evening was the worst we experienced on the trip for insects.  To say they were unbearable would be an under statement.  It was impossible to be outside for more than a few seconds, the only refuge was in the tipi.  The lack of photographs for today, is an indication of what an impact they had that evening.  
It was an early night and probably 30 minutes was spent I nside the tent, ensuring that all the biting insects had been dealt with, before we settled down to sleep.
Probably the only negative aspect of kayaking in Greenland.
It wasn't that warm as we prepared to drag our kayaks across the mud flats in search of water deep enough to float them.
Looking west as we paddled out of the narrows.  The milky water indicates that we were still pretty close to the meltwater streams.
How often is that you across a roche moutonee, whilst out sea kayaking.  The glacial landscape was always revealing new features.
Lunch was taken on one of the small islands in an attempt to reduce our contact with the insects.  It seemed to work.
 The summit of the island was covered in a range of small plants and lichens.

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