Stefanie Waldek
Sunset on Greenland's west coast.
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Two trips on Lindblad Expeditions' National Geographic Endurance show how different the Arctic and Antarctic can be.
On my first trip to Antarctica, I sailed on Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Endurance and found my passion for polar expeditions. Two years later, I reunited with the 126-passenger Endurance on the other end of the planet, in Greenland, for a nine-night sailing from Kangerlussuaq to Reykjavík, Iceland. While the beautiful ship and many of its crew were familiar to me, my expedition in Greenland was almost nothing like my experience down south.
Though the polar regions are both blanketed in ice and difficult to reach from major population centers, they are remarkably different. For starters, the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents, while Antarctica is a continent surrounded by ocean — and that difference radically alters the environment in both places. For travelers considering their first (or next) icy adventure, here's a primer on the distinctions between polar adventures in the north and south.
Penguins on a mission.
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The Wildlife
Each continent has its own starring wildlife: penguins in Antarctica and polar bears in Greenland. While penguin sightings are common, polar bears can be hard to find. They love sea ice and typically stay in North and East Greenland. We didn't see any polar bears, but we did come across a group of some 50 humpback whales.
Beyond that, mammalian wildlife was sparse: We spotted musk oxen in Kangerlussuaq and reindeer deep in Neria Fjord. On a lucky day, an arctic fox or hare might make a brief appearance, according to Endurance’s naturalists. Seabird sightings were plentiful, and binoculars (which many luxury ships provide) are a must.
In Antarctica, wildlife gathers in larger numbers. Besides penguins, whales and seals thrive in the Southern Ocean’s frigid waters, and seabirds often trail cruise ships.
Greenland's green.
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The Landscapes
There's a reason they call Antarctica the White Continent – even at the peak of austral summer (November through February), most of it is covered in snow and ice. Later in the season, much of that snow melts at the Antarctic Peninsula’s rocky landing sites (and is replaced by puddles of mucky guano), but the mountains are almost always white.
Greenland, on the other hand, has much more diversity in its landscapes. Nearly 80 percent of the country is covered by an inland ice sheet. But towering granite cliffs, sweeping glacial valleys, fertile green fields, and vast mossy tundras line the coast, bringing ample opportunity for hikes of all intensity levels. In summer months, there’s not much snow, though icebergs are everywhere. On our Greenland voyage, we had a chance to kayak around some big bergs – one of which rolled in front of our group.
Traditional Inuit sealskin boots.
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The Culture
Antarctica has never been permanently inhabited by humans, so there's no Indigenous culture to speak of. The only people on the continent are scientists and support staff working at research stations or the crew staffing Port Lockroy, where the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust maintains a museum and an operational post office.
Greenland, however, has a robust human history, from the Inuit to the Vikings, and on our voyage, Lindblad’s expedition team introduced us to both parts of this cultural heritage. In Nuuk, we toured the Greenland National Museum and Archives, and in Brattahlio, the ruins of Erik the Red's settlement, glimpsing what life might have been like via a reconstructed Viking longhouse.
As for contemporary life in Greenland, sheep farmers Carl and Ellen K. Frederiksen, who also operate a bed-and-breakfast, welcomed us into their home in Qassiarsuk, organizing a kaffemik, a traditional Greenlandic social occasion where hosts provide coffee, tea, and snacks for guests, including visitors from expedition ships. We also called at Qaqortoq, the largest town in South Greenland with a population of about 3,000, where we sampled local cuisine, from reindeer stew to dried cod – and a few Greenlandic beers.
The National Geographic Endurance.
The Weather
Because the Arctic and Antarctic are only accessible by expedition ships during their respective summers, the weather is on the milder side in both destinations. Antarctica is certainly cold – around 30 degrees each day, though wind and snow can make it feel much colder. Greenland, however, is balmy by comparison, with summer temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Late-summer sailings also bring the chance for potential northern lights viewings.
On our sailing, we had the misfortune of encountering a massive storm in the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland. For nearly three days, we pressed through tremendous seas – and even attended a lecture on the differences between waves in the Drake Passage (the waters between Cape Horn and Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands) and the ones we were experiencing. Since there's no land around Antarctica to inhibit waves as they travel the Southern Ocean, they frequently grow to massive heights. But they also usually come from the same direction in a rhythmic manner. By comparison, in Greenland we experienced "confused seas" of 25- to 30-foot waves (with the occasional 50-footer) that came from multiple directions and created chaotic motion. Fortunately, Endurance and other polar-bound ships are designed for these conditions, with an X-Bow that slices smoothly through the waves.
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