Nanortalik, Greenland

August 11 - Weather: Rain, wind, high temp in upper 40s

Everyone on the ship was happy that we were able to go ashore in Greenland.  We went by tender and walked around the town of Nanortalik (translates to "place of polar bears").  The town is on an island near the mouth of the Tasermint Fjord.  Greenland is the world's largest island, but has a small population of around 56,000.  The town of Nanortalik was first settled by the Inuit--Norsemen who arrived in the 18th century.  People make a living crab fishing, seal hunting and fishing.  The speaker yesterday said that mineral deposits have recently been found, and gold is being mined and there may be a lot of oil.  The people may all be wealthy someday, but the homes here now are small and modest and most are painted in bright colors.  Tourism is growing as people come to enjoy the pristine wilderness and wildlife.  The best way to travel is by plane or helicopter.  There was a steady rain the entire time (around 2 hours) that we were ashore and it was hard to keep the camera lens and our feet dry.  There was one building that was a tourist center/souvenir shop and it was almost impossible to find and pay for things because most of the people from the ship were shopping.  We won at trivia today (surprising how many people know the sign of the zodiac that Elvis was born under--Judy had it right with Capricorn).  We stayed in the Crow's Nest for the sail away.  An iceberg flipped over right in front of us around 3:00.

© Jay 2020