On our third day we reached Qeqertarsuaq – the only town on the island with the same name. Qeqertarsuaq means the big island. It’s also named as Disko – a name given by the Dutch whalers in the 1600s. The sea south of Qeqertarsuaq has always been an important place for whaling. In the 1900s foreign whalers killed too many whales – in Greenlandic waters as well in many other places in the world. The bpwhead whale and the humback whale were protected for 25 years from the beginning of the 1980s and today the number of whales have improved so much that IWC – The international Whaling Commission – has approved a small quota for sustainable hunting. Not for export but only for consumption in Greenland.
Qeqertarsuaq is a
little beautiful town with less than 1,000 inhabitants. 60 km away by boat is
the little settlement, Kangerluk with less than 40 inhabitants.
We did hikes to the
basaltic rocks and hike to Blæsedalen – the
Windy Valley - where the Red River during millions of years had formed a deep
canyon in the volcanic rock. At the
waterfalls a Canadian Goose-pair with their to small goslings lived on the
top of a rock column. Secure from foxes and other potential disturbances, but
so near to visiting tourists, that we had a really good look at them.
The hike to the
basaltic rocks followed the coast. It’s a dramatic scenery with the blue sea; majestic
white icebergs, black/brown/red cliffs and green vegetation. Not forgetting Fram’s guests turquoise jackets.
After nine hours in
Qeqertarsuaq we set course for Qasigiannguit - another town in the Disko Bay.
