Saturday 4 July 2009

Sisimiut

The sun broke out of the clouds this morning to welcome us to the small harbour in Sisimiut. The air was fresh and brisk today with new snow on the mountain tops and hillsides. The warming rays of the sun were most welcome.

Sisimiut is the second largest city in Greenland with almost 6,000 people. This region has been inhabited for approximately 4,500 years. It is also 75km north of the Arctic Circle making Sisimiut part of "the real Greenland" according to some local Greenlanders.

It was a beautiful day to go on a boat excursion or on one of the historic hikes on offer from the Fram. In the second photo you can see grassy hummocks which are the remains of habitations from 1650 to approximately 1800.

In the third photo the pile of rocks in the lower left corner are an ancient grave. It was possible to look between the rocks and see old human bones inside the grave.



Immediately outside of the dock there was a group of five or six Greenlanders selling whale meat on the side of the road. It was another reminder of the importance of subsistence hunting and fishing for the local population.