Aka - Our Greenlandic trainee!

Our last landing has been in Itilleq. The sun was shining out of a clear blue sky again. Fram visits Itilleq since 2007 and the program in this little village became over the years a nice routine for the inhabitants and for our guests. In Itilleq our passengers have the possibility to visit the Greenlanders for a “Kaffeemik”. Later on we have always the very well known soccer game between Itilleq and FRAM. That has been a real nice adventure at the end of our trip along the west coast of Greenland.

Today we want to give our trainee Aka the possibility to write about her life aboard FRAM! Read, what she is thinking and feeling during her work with us. And Aka – thank you to be with us. You are wonderful and a big help!

Working aboard Fram: Exploring, learning, meeting other people and having fun!

Trainee onboard Fram!!!

I am Aka Simonsen from Qaqortoq, Greenland, a trainee onboard MV FRAM!!

I couldn´t believe my luck being offered to be a trainee ONBOARD MV FRAM!

But some dreams come true! Believing it or not, 4. June 2012, exited I went onboard. Checked in, got my own room!

Had a guided tour on the ship and was introduced to the staff onboard and received a uniform.

Working, Exploring, Learning and having fun, are the key words of being trainee onboard. Excites me a lot! You get to meet nice people with different nationalities, having fun. You get to learn some words like: Salamat = Thank you in Filipino. And the food! You get to eat very nice looking and very very delicious food: And I have to use the fitness center much more! You are able to swim in the sea with floating suits. Meeting HRH King Neptun and get to know in how cold water he lives in... You get to explore Greenland! Even me as a Greenlander, I hadn´t seen Greenland that far north before, beautiful exiting much different from south Greenland, where I come from.

Like now writing while I can just look out the window and admire the seals, whales and other animals enjoying the nature with me!

Being Greenlander and being a trainee onboard a cruise ship as MV Fram, I found out that having the uniform on when we are visiting settlements and towns, when people realizes I am a Greenlander, they admire me and they are proud of me, and glad because they know I will be able to say the right things about Greenland to the tourists. And that it is possible for Greenlanders to work in Hurtigruten!

So being trainee here onboard Fram = Exploring, learning, meeting other people and having fun!

In the valley of the wind!

The day we spent in Qeqertarsuaq. Out of a geological view we are now in a very young area. The typical table mountains were built approx. 60 Million years ago. Remember, we started our cruise in Kangerlussuaq and the stones in this fjord belong with more than 2 Billion years to the oldest stones on earth. 

The little village Qeqertarsuaq was founded as a whaling station in 1773 by Svend Sandgreen. At this time it was called Godhavn, the good harbor, as it was such a well protected bay and just perfect for the whalers.

Godhavn became a Danish colony later on and was used as a bastion against the German, Dutch and English whalers. We could still find the canons out of this period on our landing side.  

From 1782 until 1940 Qeqertarsuaq has been even the economical center for North Greenland. Today it is a very quiet village with approx. 1000 inhabitants. Most of them are working in the fishing industry for Royal Greenland.

Passengers used different opportunities to spend the very sunny day. Many went on a nice hike to the “valley of the wind”, some made their decision for a city walk and others enjoyed the nice iceberg panorama sitting on a bench next to the shoreline.

 

We left Disko Island in the early afternoon and sailed along amazing icebergs forward to our next destination.

Three Minke Whales have been another highlight in the afternoon.