Whale Watching on Greenland's West Coast

They call our trip an expedition. Anywhere else in the world, it would be a tour, or even a cruise. But because of the extremes here, because of the remote and unforgiving environment, they call it an expedition. And it feels like one. We're traveling with Oceanwide Expeditions and from the second I board the 56-meter long schooner Rembrandt van Rijn and sail away from the tiny harbor town of Maniitsoq, I'm captivated. There is already so much to see.

From Mannitsoq we sail north. The ultimate goal is Disko Bay, where bowhead whales are known to feed this time of year. But that's 400 kilometers and 6 days north. Greenland is mostly ice cap. There are no roads apart from a few in the capital city of Nuuk, but even those don't really lead anywhere. The few towns are spread along the coastline. Roads don't connect them, the ocean does. The only real way to get around here is boat, plane or helicopter.

We travel up the Infinity Fjord then disembark and drive Zodiacs towards the glacier. We're mesmerized by the calved icebergs that float in the cold deep cobalt blue of the fjord. We are hundreds of meters away from the glacier, but it has an incredible hue to it. Varying shades of blue, turquoise and translucence shine from the massive formation as we sit in the boat quietly, just observing.

The majority of Greenland is covered in a massive ice field that compresses the land, crushing it and sending glaciers crawling outwards. The fjords themselves were created by those glaciers. They were once extensions of Greenland's ice cap; reaching out like arms, they bulldozed the landscape into spectacular geography.

It is incredible to be sailing amongst this. We sail past a large car and house-sized chunks of ice that have split off the glacier and float in the frigid waters. And then we hear it. The massive whoosh of a whale breaching. It is our first whale sighting and everyone runs from one side of the ship to the other, hoping to see these mighty creatures.

A mother and calf humpback whale circle us at a distance as we sail up the fjord.

We spend our last day in Disko Bay. This is where icebergs from the Ilulissat glacier gather and speck the sea with amazing surrealistic scenery. The blue and white ice floats in unreal shapes and patterns that you can stare at for hours.

For the rest of the day, the 23 passengers run from port to starboard, from bow to stern, with their cameras snapping away every time a whale surfaces. The captain lets the vessel drift quietly, occasionally turning the engine on to maneuver around icebergs.

"There's one!" shouts the Danish passenger.

"And another!" shouts the Briton.

Scanning from horizon to horizon there are whales absolutely everywhere. All of them Bowheads. All of them eating, breathing and diving, sending their massive tails into the air before they disappear.

And around us, the whales continue to surface. They're all keeping their distance now, but they're there. We see them in groups of twos and threes, surfacing, splurting out water and then showing their tails in beautiful displays of nature. We feast to the experience, to the adventure, but most of all we feast to Greenland.

This place captured my imagination the instant I saw it on a map in public school. Why was such a large white island called Greenland? I never thought I'd actually get the chance to visit the place, but I feel absolutely blessed to have done so. As does everyone on board.