Nuuk, Greenland



Nuuk is Greenland's largest city and it's capital. We were actually docked which was a great change after so many tender ports as well as zodiac excursions. They provided a shuttle into town which continued on to their old harbor and museum. This is the third museum we have seen in Greenland that uses old buildings to show displays. They have all been very nice, this one was no exception. Unfortunately most people did not realize that there were more than one building so missed most of the displays. One building held transportation exhibits. There were many old kayaks, including several small ones for children. I can't imagine putting a small child in one of those things, especially in this climate! They also had a dog sled with the hunters attire. There was a ful outfit made of polar bear fur. Mel was very happy to see a skull of a narwhal with 2 tusks! He had heard they exist, cool to see one in person. Too bad we never saw one alive. 




Rather than take the shuttle back we opted to walk. The cathedral was right up the road then a main street with shops further up the hill. We went into a gallery first. The owner said her father opened the place 40 years ago. He had bought out several galleries that had closed and was now the largest in Greenland. The place was actually pretty tiny but there was art everywhere, all by Greenlandic artists. It was stacked against all the walls, 10 or 20 deep! I was attracted to,one artist in particular who did Arctic animals. We bought a beautiful polar bear painting. Looks like one of my Tinker Bell pieces will be going on eBay soon to make space. 

After the art gallery was a very nice art glass store. It was pretty full with people from the ship. We had really not had much shopping for days, so it was nice to see stores again. Next to that one was a tourist shop, it was packed!!! They had a lot of souvenir items as well as native art. Very nice store. We were able to get gifts for people at home, postcards, etc. My favorite purchase is a carved crochet hook, very Greenlandic with a tupilik (like a demon face?) on the end. 



The downtown shuttle stop was just a block away by then. We went into the visitor's center and several stores. We were told that the cultural center had exhibits but we were told there were none at that time. We continued on to the mall. There were probably 15 stores on 2 floors in a building. There was one store with nice art but not much more of interest. We decided to just head back to the ship. It was only 1 which was really early for us. Not a lot to see and we had to be back at 2:30 anyway. It had been cold in town, colder than the day before. It felt good to get into the warm ship. 




Nuuk was our last exotic port. Next stop, USA! It has been a cold but wonderful cruise. Getting to go to small communities where few people visit is really an honor. All the people were so friendly and happy to see us. Crystal did this cruise for,the first time last year. This is the last time they are doing it, they will use their yachts in the future. It is just too hard logistically for them to move so many people with zodiacs which fit 10 or 12 people. They did an excellent job doing it, but do not want to deal with it in the future. We were told that we really lucked out with the weather this year also. Last year it poured rain in Nome. We had sunshine. When they cruised the fjord it was totally fogged in. We had sunshine. Port Inlet was also rainy last year, we had clear weather. They never made it into Ilulisat last year because of high winds. The entrance to the harbor was very narrow. We had a beautiful day there. It is always a crap shoot when cruising, you never know if you will get to all the ports on the itinerary or if the weather will be good. We were exceptionally lucky. Now we just need to pack and be ready for 3 weeks on the road. 

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