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Sydkap, Scoresby Sound, Greenland

Entering the broad Scoresby Sund in northeast Greenland, and bearing to starboard, we trace the northeastern coast of the fjord at its broadest reach, before it splits into three smaller fjords. Just there we come upon a headland intruding beyond a small bay. This is Sydkap, or South Cape. The slopes are rounded, made up of glaciated floors of stone interspersed with colorful tufts of tundra vegetation. On the headland stand two huts, one sturdy-looking red one, and another ruinous and bleached. This is a likely place to inspect the hut, still used by people hunting musk oxen or fishing the nearby rivers for arctic char. The slopes offer places to contemplate the majestic parade of icebergs, including some tabular specimens as large as two kilometers long, proceeding out of the Nordvestfjord and passing our review point bound for the Greenland Sea. The scenic scale of the panorama, the colors of the sky, the sea and the tundra plants, and the patient parade of ice giants in the sound comprise another perfect Greenland experience.