Greenland

Our second Greenland port was also accessed by tender, but there were two docks and the ferry time was much shorter. As a result no line ups in either direction. Steve had had enough walking and decided to stay on the ship while I went into port. I sat up top in the tender and took a few pics.

Qaqortoq was much larger (>2500) and clearly more prosperous. The supermarket was well stocked, but the prices were high.

And I bought a T-shirt at the Great Greenland fur company.

The houses were similarly brightly coloured and the town was very hilly. I walked up and down every hill and every linking staircase. It was safer on the stairs as there are no sidewalks and the cars are faster than you’d expect.

Whale meat just carved for sale. Apparently, tastes like beef.

This is the town square and fountain.

Qaqortoq is known for its carved stone art near the dock.

Before heading back to the ship, I wanted to sample Qajaq, the local beer. There was a wheat, which I didn’t try, but I enjoyed a small glass of each of the IPA and the dark beer, and then one of the men I was chatting with bought us another beer, so I was quite happy as I ferried back on the tender.

Very happy with the visit to Greenland, especially seeing the difference between the two towns. Would have liked to compare Nuuk as well, but enjoyed the visit. There was disappointment that the weather remained overcast so no chance of northern lights. I’m glad we saw them in Iceland in April.

Looking forward to St. John’s, Newfoundland as our next stop.

Our three days at sea turned into five, after the captain announced the weather was bad and it was too rough to go to Nuuk, our first port and Greenland’s capital. This was to be the “best” port with the most to do and also the only accessible port for those with mobility issues. Everyone was understandably disappointed and some disgruntled, but most just hoped for better weather in the other two ports, both further south than Nuuk.

Nanortalik and Qaqortoq both required tenders. Nanortalik was small (pop < 1500) with only one tender dock and a 30 minute boat trip to shore. The process was glacial. We picked up our tickets at 10 and didn’t get on the tender until after 1pm, but had been told it would only be an hour wait. Then the line up to get back on the boat was very long, but a local entertained the line.

Nanortalik: view from the tender & pics of the small village. It was pretty and quaint, but seemed a bit run down and the kids were begging for dollars.