Ilulissat

Ilulissat is sometimes referred to as the capital of Northern Greenland.
Being well above the Arctic Circle, Ilulissat enjoys the midnight sun from May 21 until July 24 and during the winter the sun does not break the horizon between Dec. 1 and January 12. On January 13 many folks from Ilulissat go to Holms Bakke to see the first sunrise in six weeks.

Ilulissat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (and deservedly so!) and we devote the entire day to our visit to this picturesque community.
Our day in Ilulissat was filled with sunshine. Everyone took full advantage of the glorious weather. Lots of people chose to combine the hike to Icefjord and all of the attendant beautiful icebergs with yet more icebergs via a boat excursion to Icefjord or a helicopter trip to the head of the fjord. After all of that there was still time to explore the town, visit the museum, pet a Greenland puppy or two, inspect fish drying in the wind, go shopping at Pissifik, sample beer brewed locally, or try a cappucino at one of the cafes.

Uummannaq and Ukkusissat

Heart-shaped Uummannaq mountain looms above the town of Uummannaq. Indeed, the word uummannaq is Greenlandic for heart-shaped. Each week we hike right by that impressive piece of rock and head into the ruggged rocky wilderness behind the picturesque community. As we head out of town we pass by many Greenland dogs, one of the oldest and purest dog breeds in the world. And each week 5 or 6 young Greenland dogs choose to accompany us on our hike to Santa's Hut. Without fail they run ahead - showing us the way. If we lag behind, they patiently sit and wait for us to catch up. At Santa's turf hut they either seek shade under the hut or soak up attention from all of the hikers.
After a great day in Uummannaq we turned our bow north to Ukkusissat. One of the many great things about our voyage in Greenland is the unrelenting spectacular scenery. The many large windows on the Fram and especially the Fram's Panorama Lounge allow us to take full avantage of the great views throughout the trip.
Upon arrival in Ukkusissat more than 40 people from town joined us on the ship where they entertained us with folk dancing and singing. On the last dance we were invited to join them on the dance floor. We gamely tried to learn the dance steps without treading on our partner too many times! What fun!!
Afterwards we were invited into the village where we were offered coffee and cake in the community hall.
A perfect end to anothe perfect summer's day in Greenland.