Sisimiut, Greenland

Sisimiut is Greenland's second largest city. It is north of the Arctic Circle but the harbor stays ice free in the winter, their northern most harbor to do so. We took the tender into the pier. It was in a very tight location, they had to go in backwards. And we walked thru another small boat to get to the dock. Right across from the dock was an Arts and Crafts store. We went there first. There were about 10 different people set up inside with a workroom in the back. They had some beautiful things at good prices. Prices would have been even better if they had given us a proper exchange rate. We were paying with US dollars. They have to pay a high fee to change the money so try to get what they can. It was hard to decide what to buy, they had so many nice things. We made 2 purchases then went back to the pier to get the shuttle. 

We were again given tickets to the museum so we got off there. They created the museum with old buildings from their old harbor. There was a church, sod house, blacksmith shop and several other old homes with displays in them. It was nicely done. We had visited a museum like this one in another small town in Greenland last year. They had a Taste of Greenland set up for us so we figured we should at least try what they had to offer.  I decided that I should try the narwhal, when would I get that chance again? I can just say that it is not as bad as whale. They had dried fish also. I took a tiny bite and immediately spit it out and went for the chocolate I had in my bag for a snack later. I had to get the taste out of my mouth fast. It was AWFUL!!! I passed on the dried whale and another kind of dried fish. Mel had a few shrimp. They were fresh. They have a shrimp processing plant in town and ship tons all over the world. 

We took the shuttle into town. There was nothing there! Yesterday we had found a few nice gift/souvenir shops. Here there was a grocery/dept store, a large post office and a small fish market. There were only a few pieces of fish in the latter, not very active. We also went into a sport clothing shop, nothing very exciting. We decided to walk back to the museum partly to see if we had missed anything on the way up. We stopped at a flower shop and another grocery store, that was it. 

We visited the church on a hill overlooking the harbor then went down some stairs to the museum. Mel wanted to spend more time reading in one of the buildings. I had a hike scheduled so left him there and returned to the pier to meet my group. The hike was described as strenuous so Mel opted out. I was to meet on board at 12:15 so figured the group would arrive at 12:30. The group before mine actually arrived about that time so I joined them. A couple we have been friendly with was in the group so I was happy going with them. 

Our previous hikes have been pretty disorganized and uninteresting. Maybe it is the difference between the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. This time we had a nice young woman as our guide. She stopped once in a while to tell us about things. We passed the shrimp processing plant, easily identifiable by the smell. She said they fish for shrimp until the quantities decline then switch to halibut or cod. We also passed the kayak club. Kayaking was a dying sport in Greenland until some young people decided to renew it. Now it is very popular and they continue to use the old techniques. It was a nice, slow walk up a hill, I was thinking that Mel could have done this. Then we got to the end of the road and started straight up the rocks! It was not a difficult climb but we went up and down for over an hour. Our destination was the telecommunications antenna far out on a point. There were a few ruins with nice plaques telling about the sites. One area had 2 Inuit graves that were about 300 years old. They buried their dead sitting up with stones stacked around them. We could look in and see the bones. We also saw 2 different areas that had been sod houses and 2 more with stones stacked in a circle, used for storage of whale blubber. It was a beautiful and interesting walk. 

Our guide, Sarah, told us a lot about Greenland. We saw a ship laying a cable which will ultimately be hooked to Iceland. They had internet but it is not good enough to stream. That will be a huge upgrade for them! All international flights go out of their town or one south of Nuuk. Nuuk is the capital but the runway there is not long enough for the larger planes. The most interesting were stories about dog sledding. She has 13 dogs and 5 puppies. The only dogs allowed outside of Nuuk are Greenland sled dogs. They are descendants of an extinct wolf. (I am getting this from a young woman guide, no guarantee of validity!) She said she likes to use nylon pants when it is not too cold out because they dry faster. If it is cold, she uses her seal skin pants but they take a long time to dry. If it is really cold she uses her polar bear pants!!! The weather changed during our hike so I went from being bundled to unzipped jacket, then back again. She said they have to help the dogs when they go uphill. By the time they reach the top they are in their long johns because their clothes are so warm. She was delightful to talk to, it added a lot to the hike. We were gone for almost 3 hours. We arrived back at the pier just in time to get a tender back to the ship. Wonderful afternoon. 

The Shackleton left us today. They asked us to be on deck to bid them farewell. It was actually us that left! The Shackleton put out 3 zodiacs to race beside us as we left port. It had been wonderful having them accompany us with the equipment and to keep us safe. Now it should be smooth sailing! Can't believe this cruise is almost over.