Fascinating Greenland

Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30

We have spent 2 quiet and relaxing days at sea.  For us one of the highlights of a sea day is a cooking demo by the executive chef.  This time they did pastries.  As you can see not all of the guests found it exciting.

The big disappointment came on the second sea day.  We were supposed to sail through the Prince Kristian Sound in Greenland on our way to Qaqortoq.  Unfortunately the sound was blocked with ice so we weren’t able to go through.  It really wasn’t a surprise since we had heard that they could not go through when the ship came over from Greenland on the cruise before ours.  I guess we missed some beautiful scenery but we’ve seen plenty including great sunsets and a glowing Linda.

Monday, July 31

Port of call - Qaqortoq, Greenland.  Qaqortoq is a small village of about 3000 people set in a beautiful fjord.  When we arrived this morning it was completely fogged in.  I’d say the visibility wasn’t more that 50 feet.  The fog slowly cleared and the visibility was somewhat better when we took the tender in.  We walked around the town which has many colorful little houses and rock art.  We walked up to get some views and then went over to the tannery where they make sealskin products.  It was interesting reading about the history and controversy surrounding sealing but you have to realize that the Inuit people have been “harvesting” seals for generations.

Seal skins waiting for processing

After lunch we went ashore again to take a walk along the Great Lake.  By then the fog had burned off and the sun was shining brilliantly.  The temperature got into the upper 50’s and the walking was quite pleasant.  By the end all I was down to was just a shirt and still felt warm.  It was interesting seeing all of the local people out and enjoying the warm day.  The town square was crowded and we even saw kids swimming in the lake.  We stuck our hand in the water and it didn’t feel that cold. You can be sure that we didn’t jump in.  We did get into the hot tub on board the ship after the walk - it was hard to believe that we could be doing that in Greenland.

Sailing out of Qaqortoq was fun as we made our way through waters scattered with icebergs.  Eating dinner was a treat as we watched the icebergs go by.  And then the day ended with another colorful sunset.

Tuesday, August 1

Port of call - Paamiut, Greenland.  If Qaqortoq was small, Paamiut was tiny.  Its population is about 1500.  It has the same type of colored houses and a nice location at the entrance to a fjord although we couldn’t see much of it due to fog.  Much like yesterday morning, we were all fogged in when we arrived but, unlike yesterday, the fog didn’t clear quickly.  Because of the fog and the tiny harbor, the ship was limited to operating 1 tender with only 60 people on board for much of the morning.  By the time we felt that it had cleared enough and finally made it on a tender it was about 12:30 when we got to town.  The fog had mostly cleared in town so we walked around a bit and identified 2 spots that we wanted to walk to.  The first was a viewpoint high on a hill over the town but we thought the spotty fog would clear more later so we opted for number 2.  That was a hiking trail a bit out of town where there are supposed to be Giants Pots formed in the rocks.  The sky was mostly clear here and with the sun the temperature was pleasant though about 10 degrees cooler than yesterday.  The trail was a bit boggy in places so we never made it to the pots.  We found a nice spot for a snack and then headed back into town.  

We miscalculated.  By the time we got back the fog had started rolling back in.  We climbed to the view point and got some limited views.

 By then it was time to get a tender back so Linda could make it to her massage appointment.  Paamiut is definitely a quaint little town and we enjoyed our short visit.  By the time we got back to the ship the fog had engulfed us again.  Looking out we could not see much but what we could see of the water was astounding -  it was as smooth as glass, maybe the smoothest I’ve ever seen cruising the seas.  I’m not sure if we’ll see many icebergs tonight and, hopefully, we won’t hit one!

Wednesday, August 2

It’s my birthday so this must be Nuuk, Greenland.  This is the capital of Greenland and the big city with a population of 17,000.  It was, of course, foggy when we sailed in.  We were able to get on an early tender with a goal of walking around town and having a birthday lunch.  The first stop was a hilltop overlooking the city with a statue of Hans Edege.  With the fog we got a view of the city but could not see much beyond.  Later in the day we discovered what surrounded it.  There was also a school group on a field trip at the top.

We then walked north of town until we got to a place where we could get views of the fjord and icebergs.  As we headed back to town the fog finally started lifting, the sun came out and the temperature rose.  And then we started seeing the mountains surrounding Nuuk.

When we got back to beautiful downtown Nuuk we stopped for lunch.  It was time for a Greenlandic lunch.  I opted for the tapas plate - shrimp, gravlax, scallops, dried cod, a musk ox hot dog and a whale steak.  The dried cod was awful - barely edible.  The musk ox hot dog was good and tasty.  The whale steak had a liver-like flavor.  I know some people might not feel right about eating whale but I thought of it as a cultural experience.  The Inuit people have been eating whale for thousands of years.  It was a large part of their sustenance.

After lunch we climbed back up the hill in the sunshine and were rewarded with the views we had missed in the morning.

Before and after the fog

Before and after the fog

Birthday dinner was in Polo Grill with, of course, a special 7-layer chocolate cake for dessert.  When we got back to our cabin it was decked out in balloons, another nice surprise.

I’ve celebrated birthdays in many interesting places - the Grand Canyon, Montreal, twice in Valdez, Alaska, Arhus, Denmark and now Nuuk, Greenland.  Nuuk has to be the most unique.