Takuss Greenland!
We were in Nanortalik today, our last port of call in Greenland. Mind you, we could have been anywhere when we opened the curtains, for it was a completely white and foggy world outside.
Our tender pilot negotiated his way to the harbour which was surprisingly near and we began our tour in the mist, beside the fish factory.
Our guide, Inni, was ready and raring to go having already completed one tour. We were lucky, she said, because hopefully the mist would clear and we would see more than they had.
Though right now, we weren’t sure what Nanortalik was going to offer in terms of sightseeing.
Well, first of all, Inni pointed out a large clump of purple flowers, the national flower of Greenland she said. I didn’t recognise it and thought I’d look it up (or ask daughter in law Amy!) later. It was a splash of colour in an otherwise stony landscape.
There was colour in the buildings of course. Just like all the other Greenlandic ports we’ve visited - and those we’ve sailed past - the towns are all painted in bright primary colours with white trims.
Here, though, were huge boulders all over the place, left by a glacier a long time ago and simply worked around rather than moving them.
As we walked we noticed a creative marketing approach!
We puzzled over one sign on the front of a large building - Greenlandish isn’t easy to guess the meaning, is it?
It’s a sports hall - the clue was the all-weather football pitch alongside it - paid for by FIFA, Inni told us.
We, however, were not so interested in the pitch right now but were looking more hopefully at those islands which were coming into view minute by minute.
Our next stop was by this little blue structure on the street corner. Too small to be a village hall, what could it be, we wondered?
The answer came when Inni pressed the button and filled her water bottle. She explained that many of the houses here don’t have running water and these blue huts around the town are communal “wells”
As we stood a little further on, I gazed over the view and this rather more contemporary looking house in front of it. It seemed like an image that could tempt a magazine reader to come and settle in Greenland. After all, here’s the peace and tranquility, the beautiful view and plenty of space to enjoy. Perhaps living “off grid” wouldn’t be so bad?
But the reality wasn’t far away. Other houses along here were small and were not quite so inviting. The pallets forming the steps to this house suggest the creativity and practical skills required to make life here comfortable. Plus, of course, we were seeing the town on a summer’s day.
I’m not sure that gardening would be a successful hobby here, though these lupins were adding a splash of colour to the edge of this pathway.
For the third time this week we found ourselves standing by the cemetery which was in a similar situation to the others we’ve seen, overlooking the water. Inni told us that each Christmas Eve, the people in the town gather around the large cross and sing. I imagine that would be quite a special evening to witness.
By now, those early morning mists were almost cleared and the view of the mountains was quite spectacular. In the next inlet were quite a few icebergs too.
Hardly a good drying day, but the washing was all hanging out to dry anyway. Inni explained that those living without mains water can access communal laundry facilities in town. I wonder if they have tumble driers too?
When we take a walking tour, we frequently find ourselves wondering if we could have done better by getting a map and doing it ourselves. After all, we could go at our own pace (groups are usually rather slow) and we could see the main sights. But here was the perfect example of the benefit of having a local guide: we stood and listened to Inni as she explained the sign above.
It’s for a children’s club called “Brothers and Sisters” and was a place for them to get together and have fun. The sign’s of a boy and girl dressed in Greenlandic dress, the girl in a fine patterned sweater and boots. Inni pointed out the boy’s blue sweater to us though - in Greenland, the favourite son (not the oldest, youngest, most successful or whatever) is given a blue sweater to wear. We heard her say this and checked to make sure we’d heard right. Favourite? She confirmed that yes, that was right…and yes, that did create interesting situations in a family!!
Ooooo!
We walked up to the viewpoint by a youth centre and learned about the support offered to young people living here. Pretty good really and probably the envy of many communities back home.
Though the shopping opportunties were probably not so enviable. This, one of two clothing stores in town made me wonder where people like Inni did their non-food shopping. Sadly, we were coming to the end of our tour by now and there wasn’t a chance to ask questions like that though she did say that the internet service here was fast and reliable enough for people to work remotely from home. I doubt that Amazon Prime operates here however.
Our tour would end at the church, from where there was the possibility to continue to the museum a little further up the street. Right now, we were undecided whether we’d go on further or return to the ship for lunch and a snooze. We were leaving mid-afternoon, so couldn’t hang around too long.
We took a seat in the lovely little chuch, admiring the candleabras and enjoying the peaceful ambiance. When we stood up, we realised that we’d had enough walking this morning and since it was a fair walk back to the pier from here, we’d leave the museum for next time ;-)
We returned to the pier along the main street and I popped into the tourist office/souvenir shop/post office to see what’s what. In there, I admired a beautifully knit qiviut cowl. Very tempting, but I was more prepared to “be inspired” by it than to buy it when I saw the price. Also here were cute sealskin slippers and some lovely, well made sealskin bags but in this case, I was not quite so easily tempted.
We carried on to the pier and hopped onto the tender boat back to Splendor. As we did, we spotted one of those Greenlandish words again. According to my translator, inniminnigaavoq = reserved. Another word for my collection.
Actually, Inni had given me the perfect one to use when I was in the souvenir shop. “Qujanaq” Thank you. The lady resonded with Illillu , you’re welcome and smiled. Takuss I said (being the Greenlandish speaker that I am - not!)
But Qujanaq, then, Greenland. We have loved our visit here and meeting such delightful people has been an enormous prvilege. Taatsiaq (Taxis) , Karl, Etta, Anguteeraq and Inni were the finest ambassadors for their country and we were so fortunate to spend time with them. We leave with fond memories and rather a lot of photographs!
