And in the ice fjords off Ilulissat, the duo of midnight sun and stately 'bergs gave an unforgettable performance.

These photos, by the way, have not been altered.  They were taken with a Nikon D70 (old by today's digital standards, but still a great camera) using ambient light and a digital polarizing filter to capture the colors.  Lenses were a Nikkor 28-300 zoom and a Tamron 10-24 wide angle.

This August West Greenland saw an unusually long stretch of dry, sun-filled days and calm seas.  It was the perfect time to be there.  (But probably not the perfect time for the more-rapidly melting glaciers.) 

The sea was tanzanite blue.  The air was crisp and so clean my lungs thought they'd died and gone to an oxygen bar!

Our little ship -- wooden hulled, but iron clad -- is reflected against the huge icebergs as we pass.  This ship and her sister ship, which is also now an ice tour boat for the growing Greenland tourist trade, are  former ice survey boats.  The captains sweat ... but are accustomed to navigating with submerged 'bergs smashing the hull.  And me?  I couldn't get "Titanic" out of my mind!