Day 13: Sisimut, Greenland, a very cool place

We had a very rocky night. Ooo, so much fun. Even with the stabilisers, the boat rocked and swayed and made it easy to sleep. Except for Fernando, our shipboard travel consultant. Later today, after all the activities, we met with him again and heard his story. Miserable. His cabin in in the bow and last night was so awful, that he gathered a blanket and came to midships to sleep on his office couch, but with the boat rocking so much, he couldn’t stay on it, so back to his cabin. No sleep for Fernando.

We, however, slept well. At 9am, we went to breakfast and were delighted to see the ship near land. We arrived at the delightful town of Sisimut, just 200 miles north of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.

Our first view of Sisimut– gorgeous– from the zodiac as we buzzed to shore!

We decided to skip our SOB fast ride around the small bay, and go right into town on the Zodiac. Great decision. The hillside is just covered in brightly colored houses with a working dock and boats below. The mountains behind were tall and sharp and dusted in snow from Sunday’s flurry. We were taking as many pictures as we could, most of mine with my nose since it was too cold to take my gloves off.

The little gray gangplank to the left is where we’re heading. From there, around the large building to the road behind, down the street with zooming trucks passing by and up the hill!

Once on shore, several of our favorite team explorers were there to greet us and help us. Good people, all of them. We had a chance to exchange a few stories and ask directions. If we just followed the road around, where there would be more shops. That’s all I needed to hear. I’d been signed up for the craft event, which was canceled because it turned out there was no craft event, and shopping was free—— unless you bought something. So buying we did go. First the first shops, then a long walk in the wrong direction, and then the second shops up the ship. On the way, we heard from other travellers that there were lots of quiviut products available. Oh goodie. The warmest, softest wool, musk ox.

This cute little shop was full of handmade seal skin crafts and earrings made from reindeer antlers.

A delightful salesgirl in the shop at the top of the hill helped me select all sorts of earrings, all made from reindeer bone, a legal purchase. John had to come into the shop to stop me from buying cozy sealskin mittens, so lovely and perfect….but so illegal. He took a nice photo of me pretending to wear them; however, that will do. He bought a Greenland flag for future parties. Good job, John.

Frederick, our guide and storyteller. Probably 25, already a lifetime of hunting and conquering. Check out his boots. No laces. He says these are best for staying dry—even though they aren’t at all comfortable!

Back at the

boat, we ate a leisurely, but well-timed lunch so we could go back ashore for our next event. Never rushed, we arrived 30 minutes early with plenty of time to chat with our favorite guides— all of them. Then we met our native guide, who was actually Danish but was born here. Frederick. What a guy. He’d had an earlier group of stronger, younger passengers, and now us— equally strong, but not as young. And he had no Viking team member escorting, because all the Viking people were out practicing rifle shooting in case of polar bears.

This is a many-thousand-year-old Inuit grave with the bones still inside. They liked to bury their loved ones in places where they had a view and were close to the sea.

So there was tall, handsome, young Frederick with all 17 of us. By the time he got to the end of the paved road, way up the hill, three were already to go back to the boat. That left 14. Up rock and down muddy trail, we hiked and listened as Frederick told us about grave sites, mud and grass houses, and dog islands. It was delightful, until I noticed the time. Whaaa? The ship wouldn’t leave without us. Would they? We really should head back. But not until we heard one more long story. Frederick was quite a charmer.

Sisimut, walk to the shore, Dog Island in the background. The foreground is the remains of a settlement, half-buried underground. The trenches were to keep the cold out. (I took a step and fell inside!)

When we got back to the road, with still a long way to go to the Zodiac dock, John realized there were only 10 of us. We’d left 4 people back at the Inuit graveyard! Frederick really shouldn’t have been left alone with all of us. We all went ahead while he ran back to help the slow, slippery four. And so our wonderful, scenic, cultural hike was over.

Back aboard, we met with seasick Fernando and bought another trip, then raced to pack and prepare for our last dinner aboard ship. We were hosting another lovely dinner in The Restaurant, one of the two fine dining options aboard ship. Our six showed up—David, Kathy, Dan, and Jackie—when the maitre’d reminded us that we had booked for 8 and so would have a big, showcase room! How lovely.

Here we all are: John, Patti, Dan, Chris, Don, Jackie (Fowler), Kathy, and David (Fowler)

It only took me a minute to invite another couple to join us, and we had 8 congenial guests, a fine menu, plenty of champagne and wine, and lots to talk about. What a lovely evening.

Then, to pack, roll out the suitcases and snuggle down for plenty of sleep. Tomorrow is going to be busy!. Good night.