Mother Nature Rules Life on the Ocean Diamond

Day 5 begins with more rain and gray skies. After breakfast we Zodiac to Sisimiut, which is a much larger ‘city’ than Uummannaq. It’s colorful although not as quaint and has a much larger variety of shops, including an indoor sports arena and apartments in addition to single-family homes. It was nice to walk up the big hill and get some land-time in even if it was in the rain and the locals drive like an Indy 500 race.   Back onboard there was a very informative lecture on whales, sea birds and other land animals of Greenland by a professor of marine biology. Spent a lot of time talking to other guests and the common question to my name has been, “Kiki, like the bird?” Apparently there is a children’s book popular in Europe with either a parrot or cockatiel named Kiki. Hikes for tomorrow in the capital city of Nuuk have already been cancelled due to the amount of rain. I have been reassigned to the city tour with museum visit and having “kaffemik” with an older woman who invites travelers into her home.

Day 6 – guess what? It’s gray and drizzling as we pull into the Nuuk harbor, but with hints of blue sky over the mountains. The city tour was interesting as we drove out of the city to look at the new, very modern suburbs. There’s a population boom with people moving to work in this capital and a subsequent housing shortage. Many multi family homes and apartments have been built and are brightly colored, which must be beautiful against the winter white snow. We ended up in the city center with the rest of the day to explore and shop. The museum was quite interesting with lots of Inuit artifacts, history, clothing, kayaks, mummies, etc., and a nice little museum shop.

Shopping was somewhat of a disconnect as what you expect in a country city of 16,000 people is not what you get. Remember everything is shipped from Denmark so the kitchen stores, clothing, etc., are all very Danish modern – the same kind of sophisticated design you find in any big American or European city….quite fascinating! Items are expensive – a hair dryer cost $68.00 as I checked in this very cool home store. Our local city guide told us the average non-fishing/hunting salary is around $90,000. 42% of income goes to taxes but that gets one free health care and education with generous payments to those who attend university, exactly like in Denmark. The library in city center offers free wifi to everyone, including tourists, which was rather generous.

My afternoon was spent with 8 others at the home of Pauline for the “kaffemik”. She had baked sweets, made fresh coffee, tea and opened her home to share how the Greenlanders socialize. She’s a widowed, retired teacher who has traveled quite a bit (not overly fond of my former home, Manhattan) and was quite animated and personable – she even sang several songs for us. Her house was built in the 1950’s but has been modernized with indoor plumbing and a thoroughly modern Danish kitchen complete with stainless steel refrigerator in between the size of an American and European one. Her dining room window looked out over the bay where she said she could sit and watch whales in the summer. It was fascinating to listen to her talk about her childhood, teaching career, marriage, kids, grandkids – one of whom was there, how the Danish influence is changing Nuuk, but the kids are becoming interested in preserving their heritage. A lovely day! By the way, the rain was intermittent with bursts of sunshine – it even rained while the sun was shining. (photos of Nuuk, Pauline in front of her son’s photo)  (kiki)