Ilulisat, Greenland

We were not the first ones off the ship for a change. We had breakfast then bundled up again. The temp was 34. We had to tender in then catch a shuttle into town. Everything was open so we went into the few stores there. Ilulisat is the third largest town in Greenland so much larger than the tiny villages we visited last year. There was a workshop where we could see a few carvers. The carvings in Greenland are very different from the ones in Canada. They carve mostly caribou antlers and make gruesome faces. I had bought a piece last year so wanted something totally different.  I found a seal carving with the greuesme head, very unusual. There were several small shops which all had nice pieces. I also found a polar bear top similar to the one I found last year, but a different color. It was a successful shopping day. 

After shopping we went to the museum. It was in Knud Rasmussen's former home. He explored and studied the Inuit in the northwest passage. They had a lot of ancient tools, some native art and a lot about the Rasmussen's expeditions. We had been given tickets by the ship so of course everyone went and it was very crowded. 

We decided to head back to the ship to drop off packages and clothing. We were dressed way too warmly. With the sun shining and no wind, it was very pleasant out. We had lunch on the ship then went to wait for our hiking tour. We were sent to the tenders almost immediately. But getting off them in town was a different matter. They were using the same pier for the harbor excursions and tenders so we had to wait almost half an hour to get off. They should have been using different piers. The harbor tour was very popular and done in small boats so they were coming and going all day, more so than the tenders. 

A bus took us to a boardwalk to start our hike. It was a UNESCO World Heritage Site called Sermermiut. It was designated by UNESCO because of the cultural and natural history. Sermermiut was an ancient town of Inuit people. The people moved from there into Ilulisat in the 1800's after having lived there for several thousand years. The boardwalk took us past that area then up a hill to see the Icefjord. It was a WOW!!! We came over a hill and there were miles and miles of ice. The glacier that feeds the fjord moves 165 feet of ice a DAY!!! Pretty amazing. Some of the huge chunks of ice which have broken off are now stuck in the channel going out to sea. It was a beautiful place. And amazing to have a boardwalk over a mile long to get to it! The area was very wet and full of fragile vegetation, so they did not want anyone walking off the boardwalk. It was a beautiful afternoon. 

Back where the bus had left us, a guide told us a bus would be there at 3:15. It was 3:00. I told Mel that we should walk back into town, he was not up for it. At 3:15 a van showed up to take 8 people. There were about 25 of us waiting. She said another bus was on the way, then 15 minutes later said it had just left the pier. I decided to walk so sure enough, the bus passed me less than 10 minutes after I left. But it was a nice walk and I was able to stop and take pictures along the way. There was an open field where everyone kept their sled dogs. There were dozens of them. Somewhere I read that they have 5000 people in town, 4000 dogs. Apparently someone was bitten in town several years ago so the dogs were booted out. There were a few cute puppies laying around in the dirt. 

About half way down was a large store. I stopped there looking for marzipan. Since Greenland is owned by Denmark, they get mostly Danish products. I was not disappointed. I passed by a soccer field made of dirt. Kids had been playing there earlier. I finally made it back to town where I met up with Mel. We went to a few shops again then headed back to the tender pier. I think we were in the last bus. We were on board in time to shower and go to dinner. 

We have been told that there may be aurora borealis tonight. It has been too over cast to see it before this. We will watch the camera on deck from our room and possibly go out if some show up. We have another port tomorrow so we need our sleep!

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