Greenlander Edda Lyberth takes on the storyteller's role as she narrates an old Norse saga. [Photo by Bruno Cazarini/For China Daily]

Yesterday, that was a 90-minute foray around Thrym Glacier.

Today, we zip ashore to visit the indigenous village of Nanortalik, where small oil-heated houses painted in bright colors dot a mountain valley that clings to summer's last yellow wildflowers.

We explore an outdoor museum, watch a kayak demonstration at a traditional hunting camp, enjoy an Inuit choir performance in the church, and enjoy coffee and a folk dancing at the local culture center. Nanortalik means "place of polar bears" in the local Inuit language, but a fanged ivory skull in the museum is the closest we'll come to seeing this fearsome creature on this voyage around southern Greenland.

Tomorrow we're promised a landing near two thermal pools with a view of passing icebergs. Those swimming suits we packed will be used after all.

Each day, there is at least one lecture by an expert－a geologist, birder, Viking scholar, botanist, anthropologist or marine biologist. These informal talks are comfortably spaced between gourmet meals and free-flowing wine and spirits, all of which can be enjoyed in the collegiality of the restaurant or in the cozy privacy of your cabin.

The cabins are surprisingly spacious, and the butler assigned to my suite keeps the complimentary minibar stocked with my preferred beverages and snacks. He and the cabin valet will discreetly tidy up the room each day while I'm dining or sightseeing onshore.