The Fram dropped anchor at approximately 8:30. Shortly after 9:00 our Polar Cirkle boats were zipping people to shore. We gathered outside of the small museum located just beside the dock while we waited for our shipmates to arrive before beginning the hike to the Valley of the Wind. What a great day for a hike. The temperature this morning was a cool 11˚ C - perfect.
Soon we were walking through the sleepy Saturday morning community and heading to a dark sandy beach on the edge of town. Here several icebergs were grounded, patiently waiting for high tide when they could resume there stately journey propelled by the prevailing currents. It was a perfect place to stop for photos. There were many Greenland dogs along the beach area. The expedition team informed us that the Greenland dog is not only one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world, but also one of the purest.
Soon our hike led us to a soccer pitch that was being prepared for a very important match later in the day. The championship match for all Greenland! It was Uummannaq and Qeqertarsuaq in the final. The pitch was well groomed gravel. Not a blade of grass was growing on that field. Very carefully, the gravel was rolled, watered and chalked in preparation of the afternoon's big game.
We pressed on into the rolling hills behind town. Very impressive deep brown stratified cliffs of volcanic origin rose in front of us and to the sides. It was definitely inspiring scenery. Before we knew it we arrived at the waterfall where our hike ended. We all paused for a few more photos and took the opportunity to rest up before starting to hike back to the ship.
The ship set sail at 16:00. It was a beautiful evening for scenic cruising. We admired hundreds of icebergs as we headed to our next adventures in Uummannaq and Ukkusissat.
Stay tuned for more adventures in Greenland tomorrow.
