Writes of Passage

Deck 8 on the Vega ship has sauna, whirlpool, two showers, and fee based spa.

Day 5 and Day 6 are at sea, crossing Davis Strait (D

^{A mini iceberg Sarah fished out of water for our drinks, on the way back from Ilulissat.}

Deck 7 on SH Vega

Observation lounge on Deck 7 is our town hall, where daily briefing, lectures, nightly entertainment take place. Opposite from the Club lounge, it has a bar that also serves the pool.

• an iceberg seen at 2pm on the 6th day, crossing the Davis Strait

Ren

Itilleq, Greenland

Day 4: Itilleq, Greenland. Population 89.

The highlight of the day is the true Polar Plunge.

Itilleq is a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. It

6V5Q+6XF,
Ilulissat, Greenland

The museum is about Greenlandic nature and culture. Walking on the roof of the aerodynamic building, with the background of symphony of the dogs, both are pleasant and unusual. Museum has bathroom and a cafe.

The building is shaped like a twisted structure miming the wingspan of a snow owl. Danish architect Dorte Mandrup (1961-) got her poetic design inspiration as a

^{Sarah’s ice – she fished it and it will be used for drinks tonight}
Day 3: Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland: the museum & unesco/icebergs. Champagne delivered on the Zodiac. Swimming.

~ BBC’s Global News podcast 2022.10.12, on Greenland’s Ilulissat @ 26:15 ~

Since waking up at 6am, I started seeing icebergs floating around our ship – this area is the capital of iceberg, as we’re sailing toward Disko Bay. Morning $499 helicopter ride cancelled due to weather, and we’re late to dock for about an hour.

Because of the icebergs, our ship couldn’t get too close to the port, and the Zodiac spent 45 minutes transferring us from the ship to the shore at downtown Ilulissat. A short bus ride takes us to their newly built museum Ilulissat Isfjordscenter.

A little glitch: the local bus company isn’t doing the scheduled pick up, which should be every ten minutes. We planned to take the bus back to the port to board the Zodiac because I don’t like going down hill. However, by 2pm, no bus was around and we got little concerned, and decided to walk back. Since we planned to bus back, so we didn’t pay any attention to the route, and got lost, at 2:30. The last Zodiac pick up was 3pm. My phone battery was running low and I got panic. Unfortunately, there was no way I could contact the ship or Zodiac. So I emailed my US booking agent. Oh boy… In the end, we arrived at the local port for Zodiac right before 3pm. I think the right thing to do with the local bus, is to reduce the frequency to every 30 min and set a last pick up time from the museum. Anyway, this episode shows that this route is very new to the ship as well, and they’re feeling their way around too.

We took an ice cube back, to be used with our drinks.

Our dinner

• lamb chop
• crab cake
• pasta
• veggie
• key lime pie
• Ryder Estate, 2019, Pinot Noir; Central Coast, CA
• Siete Fincas, 2019, Malbec, Mendoza, Argetina

At the Club lounge where they offer early simple breakfast and afternoon tea, a nice staff insisted to bring my better half some cookies. Within a day, the serving staff, almost all from the Philippines, calling us by name. Their cheerful manner is just  contagious.

One of the nice touches of this SH Vega is their wine and food, which are very decent. And they even provide loose leave Darjeeling (from Kusmi Tea, N 37 bio), and kind enough to give me a small jar in my room. Waking up to the hot pot of tea is heaven, especially starting today when the icebergs fill the water.

Over all, I’m  pleased with their tea selections from Darjeeling to the instant bag teas, and Bauscher cups they use.

Kusmi tea of Paris was founded in 1867, that also offers wide range of bag teas. I tried a few of them: Camomille, Vert jasmin, Vert gingembre-citron (ginger lemon green tea), AquaRosa, th

^{4:56pm on 2022.9.27 @ Qeqertarsuup Tunua} 

The foods, wines and the teas on board SH Vega, is pretty awesome – under the direction of executive chef Avhier Singh of South Africa (SeaTrade), and sous chef Ariel, our meals are both tasty and beautifully presented at Swan, aside from cheerful serving staff.

^{Chef Avhier Singh: kiss the fish} 

I always ask for half portion even their serving size isn’t big.

Breakfasts vary slightly. Pizza has constance presence. Lunches (buffet 自助餐) and dinners are always different. Club on Deck 7 serves light breakfast and afternoon teas, with the machine for various drinks on 24/7. Each room is equipped with illy coffee machine and water heater. Wines vary but repeat. The wines are decent (their reserved wine list).

Day 14

Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Austurbakki 2
101 Reykjav