Greenland

Greenland

Up anchor and away!  Our first port of call is Sisimiut, Greenland’s second largest settlement.  Our small group walking tour takes us by brightly coloured houses and the usual shops and services you would expect to find.  The friendliness of the locals gives it the feel of a small fishing village, and the 18th century colonial buildings, now housing galleries, museums and artisans workshops, maintain the history and culture of the country.  Prices are very expensive as most things come from Denmark…nothing is manufactured in Greenland.  A small Greenland flag cost 150DKK (Danish Kroner) or $US29.  (I usually pay $US2-5 for these souvenirs.)  Did I buy it?  Of course I did!!

While many folk now use snowmobiles as transport, some still retain the traditional sled for transfer of goods, and some for recreation - weekend camping and hunting trips and visits to Grandma across the frozen lake.  Dogs are kept strictly as working dogs, chained up during the summer.  They are very aggressive and are certainly not pets.   Sisimiut is also the home of Royal Greenland cannery.  Of interest are the children…as well as schools, there are 23 day-care facilities!  And a very active kayak club retains the art of kayak making – each member makes their own kayak using traditional methods, and where possible, traditional materials, although canvas has largely replaced seal skin.

As we prepare to sail from Sisimiut, we are treated to a demonstration of about 20 different techniques of eskimo rolling by a local hunter in a traditional self-made timber and canvas kayak and wearing a ‘drysuit’ of seal skin.

Our next port of call is Ilulissat.  When we go on deck at 6.30am, there is a slight wind and it is 6C. There are some icebergs around and a small whale is spotted.  We go ashore in the rain – some on a long walk, others to the Museum for a comprehensive social history of settlement before undertaking a shorter walk. Among other things, this walk visits some ‘graveyards’ of early cultures, where remains were buried above ground, layer upon layer.  The bones of the Saqqaq people are still obvious. Thick mist spoils the view of icebergs cluttering up the entrance to Disko Bay.  These are calvings from the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier some 20+ kms away, one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world.  The ice breaks away quickly, some get grounded on a shallow bar at the entrance to the fjord, they jostle for position banging and scraping, hence the “log-jamb.”

John has opted to join the kayaking group… unfortunately both the kayaking and zodiac cruising cannot go ahead after dinner tonight because of thick fog;   the ship’s progress is also slowed because of icebergs as we sail out of Disko Bay and into Davis Strait.
More photos available on https://www.flickr.com/photos/112494332@N04/14921979382/in/set-72157646163237338