A snapshot of life in Greenland

Our last evening ended with a very special art exhibition done by nature as wonderful icebergs in different shapes and in pastel colours - created by the midnight sun - were passing by our windows in a sea that looked nearly like a mirror as we had no wind. A very special evening that we will never forget in our life.

In the early morning we reached our northernmost point on our journey: Upernavik. The sun was shining from a clear blue sky when we anchored and resonated with the meaning of the name of today's destination. 'Upernaaq' means spring and "Upernavik" means the place to be in spring. The fog is as much a part of spring in Greenland as is the sun and later in the morning the fog came down from the mountains surrounding Upernavik and finally reached the water just as we were departing in the afternoon.

Not only the weather but also the inhabitants of Upernavik welcomed us today as a cultural event including the local choir singing a number of Greenlandic songs and dancing Kalattuut, a Greenlandic folk dance tradition inspired by European folk dance (Polka etc.)  

Today is election day in Greenland, but neither for the municipal councils nor for the Greenland Parliament (Inatsisartut). The votes that are cast in Greenland today are for the two Greenlandic seats in the Danish Parliament (Folketing). The change of the Danish constitution in 1953 implied among other things that both Greenland and the Faeroe Islands became part of the Danish Kingdom with the right to be represented in the Danish Parliament by two members each. The two Greenlandic members of the Danish Parliament will be elected by the, roughly, 42,000 voters in Greenland among 14 candidates from the five Greenlandic parties.

Many passengers went into a little house where two Greenlanders had their handicraft workshop. We felt so sorry that we could not choose everything to bring with us home as many works of art were produced out of Walrus Ivory and we are not allowed to bring this to Europe or to North America. 

Tupilak: Today art, in the past used to carry a message to another person

In the museum in the old colonial part of Upernavik we received lots of information about the historical time in this northern part of Greenland. We have to say, we did not expect such a good museum in a small city so far away from everything.

On our stroll through the city we got a very good impression about the life in North Greenland. Everything looked different when we compare it with the towns we visited in the Disko Bay before. Here we could see that hunting is still a very important part of their economy. Have a look at our snapshots we have made during our stay in Upernavik and you will hopefully understand what we mean.

The National Costume hanging in the fresh air. 

Tomatoes are expensive in the super market; here they grow perfect behind the window.

After a successful day of seal hunting 

The Polar bear, the "King of the Arctic" hunted by a Greenlandic hunter

Hurrah: The last school day before the long summer holidays

On a visit in a ghost town

After our last ice cruise with our comfortable Polarcirkel Boats yesterday evening in the wonderful and golden midnight sun, we sailed north through the Vaigat Strait where we planned a visit in Qullissat, an abandoned coal mining settlement in the NE of Disco Island. We landed in calm but cloudy conditions but over the morning we were there, the sun started to break through.

Qullissat was not a traditional Greenlandic settlement. Those were usually centred on good hunting and fishing areas with easy access to the sea. Qullissat was founded in 1924 as a mining settlement around extensive coal deposits. By 1965, the mining population including managers, workers and children numbered 1407 making it the third largest settlement in Greenland at that time! The mine was closed by the Danish government in 1972 due to unprofitability, this despite the fact that an estimated 100 million tonnes of coal were left in the ground in the general area. After closing the inhabitants, were forced to leave rather quickly and dispersed over the adjacent coastlines of Greenland.

Although the theme of the landing was the "ghost town", there was a lot of birds and most importantly, flowering plants to see. The lack of snow in the area suggested a warmer micro-climate and this was reflected in the several species of flowering plants that were seen.

Woolly Lousewort

Purple Saxifrage

We were thrilled to see Canada's gift to the world, the Canada Goose! Several were feeding above the shoreline.

Several of us were also lucky to see a very tame Arctic Hare.

Qasigiannguit

Today we remained in the Disko Island area. Overnight we circumnavigated half the island and ended up this morning in the town of Qasigiannguit. As with most towns and settlements in Greenland there is a long pre-history of use of the area by ancient native cultures. In "modern" times, the present settlement was founded as a trading post in the 1700s. Economically important activities today are fishing and growing tourism.

Although the skies were cloudy and some fog hung around, our spirits were not dampened as we ventured forth into the town- and what a fascinating place! Along the roadside, some Greenlandic dogs were lazing around. One female had a litter of pups, about 14 days old. They were totally adorable and seemed to be at home in the cool, outdoor conditions. From the very beginning of life, Greenland dogs have to get used to the cold!

Farther down the road we came to several old colonial buildings that formed the museum complex. The various stages of immigrations of Inuit peoples from Siberia through Alaska and Canada to Greenland were very nicely presented, as well as traditional clothing, local birds and many other topics.

On the way we saw many Snow Buntings, Lapland Buntings and Common Redpolls, like this male below.

In the afternoon, we had two taste-treats. On deck 7 the local Royal Greenland fish plant presented a tasting of the totally toothsome Greenland Halibut. It was amazing to taste the fresh fish prepared in different dishes. We got even a very nice and informative talk done by one of the managers of the fish factory. He was open for all our questions and now we feel like fish specialists. In town, a Kaffemik of coffee and traditional cakes was hosted by the Kindergarten Kulunnguaq in celebration of its 35th anniversary.

In the evening we cruised by the iceberg field off Ilulissat. The light was golden, the air was calm and there was a perfume in the air made by the plants of the sea. The massive icebergs stuck along an undersea ridge towered above the water. Some very blue ones floated by.

Some lucky guests were able to take a Polarcirkel boat cruise in amongst the ice!

Qeqertarsuaq

Now that Greenland is warming up a bit as the summer is about to start, we are venturing farther north along the coast of west Greenland. This morning, Fram anchored off the town of Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island and from there we took our Polarcirkel boats ashore to explore the area. Through the day some of us we lucky to go on an ice cruise in one of our larger Polarcirkel boats. Conditions were a little cool but calm, which made all the difference.

The name Qeqertarsuaq in Greenlandic means "big island" and refers to the locality and Disko Island itself. If you see "suaq" at the end of any Greenlandic word it means "big". "Qeqertar" means "island". There is a long history of habitation here dating back to the paleo-Eskimo time, 4500 years ago. The modern town was established as a centre for whaling in the 1700s. In colonial times, Godhavn (the Danish name for the place = Good Harbour; we get "haven" from the Scandinavian "havn") was the administrative capital of north Greenland, while Nuuk was the capital of the south. This administrative importance came to an end in 1940, and Nuuk took over as capital of the whole island.

There were several options for our guests to enjoy the day and learn more about this great country of Greenland. Hikes, boat cruises and a tour of the city really gave us a clear overview of Greenlandic life in a small town. We present these images as an illustration of this beautiful day.