I would like to say I am checking off a new country today when I step foot in Greenland, but its classification is a bit tricky. Technically it is an autonomous territory that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. I guess it is a country within a kingdom. Greenland’s citizens do enjoy the benefits of residents in the European Union since they are part of the Kingdom. Regardless, it is still pretty exciting to say I have been there. Yesterday, we took a breathtaking cruise through the Prins Christian Sund, named for the Prince who would later become the King Christian VIII of Denmark.

The territory is vast, more than 3 times the size of the US State of Texas, a comparison that works for this Houstonian. In spite of the fact that Greenland is the world’s largest island, it is the least densely populated country in the world with 0.026 people per square kilometer. Why? 80% of the country is covered by an ice sheet that is second to only Antarctica’s in size. Yes, it would be far more appropriate if Greenland was named Iceland and Iceland was Greenland. There is a reason that Iceland is a popular tourist mega and Greenland has very few visitors. Cruises ships running aground in the northern fjords of Greenland and taking more than three days to get unstuck doesn’t help the tourism cause. Today, Natasha is one of the lucky few. First, our ship didn’t get stuck and second I get to step off and into a country most people will never visit.

Two thirds of the island lies within the Arctic Circle. At one point, Greenland is only 500 miles from the North Pole. “Seals and whales are found in the surrounding waters and were formerly the chief source of nourishment for the Greenlanders.” -Britannia Activism and world views have changed this habit and livelihood. The 56,609 people that live in Greenland (2023 numbers) have settled along the coast and are mostly fisherman and hunters. Some sheep farming is found on the southern coast.  

“The first humans to set foot on Greenland arrived some 4,000-5,000 years ago…No less than six different Inuit cultures have migrated in distinct waves. Greenland’s current population is descended from the last migration, the Thule culture, who began arriving in the 1200s AD. At the same time, Norsemen led by the Norwegian Viking Erik the Red settled in Southern Greenland. The Norse population disappeared around 1500AD.” —Denmark.dk

Today we are anchored in the harbor off Nanortalik, Greenland, the southernmost city on the island. Most of today’s excursions are iceberg tours and they were all sold out months before we got on board the ship. We saw so many icebergs yesterday, I don’t feel like I missing out not going on an iceberg tour today. Nanortalik is a great place from which to visit the Qinngua Valley, the only natural forest in Greenland. We are taking the tender in to visit the city’s open-air museum in the colonial area of Nanortalik.

Nanortalik is “place of the polar bears”, although today polar bears are rarely seen in the area. The primary industry is based at the local fish factory. This was one of the first places settled by the Norse and more recently the Inuit. The Inuit people are found in Greenland, Quebec and Labrador, Canada, and Alaska. The Greenlandic Inuit are descendants of the Thule.

While yesterday was foggy and cold, today rain was predicted. We got up and had breakfast and then went to grab a priority tender. These priority tenders were offered on the other tender day as well, but we were on an excursion and didn’t need it. This service is for those who frequently take cruises on Celebrity. We were walked directly down to the loading ramp by Celebrity personell as soon as the next boat came in. To be on the safe side, I grabbed my rain jacket and Boris took the umbrella the ship had provided (one per cabin).

We needed it. By the time we reached the shore, the rain was coming down hard. As we got off the ship, we were given a “day pass”, essentially a ticket for the open air museum. Boris had done his research and really wanted to see this museum. Local regulations require everyone leaving the pier to have a day pass. There are not a lot of roads in Greenland. Access to most communities in Greenland is via the water. The town buildings all appeared to be constructed with function in mind. There was very little beauty until we got to the old colonial area of the town. We didn’t see any signs in English to indicate what was a store, a school, etc. (Of course everyone that lives here knows what is what.) The only marked building was the tourism office. The area is not large, but you need to be prepared to walk. Nothing is very far away; it was just uncomfortable due to the rain. We did not see any buses, bus stops, taxis, or car rental agencies, so be sure to arrange your transportation before you go.

When Boris and I reached the church we went right in, as much to get a break from the rain as to tour the inside. It was actually quite lovely. Of course everyone had the same idea and it was a small space so things were crowded.

We reached the open-air museum and handed over our day pass and were give a sticker as access for the museum. This was paid for by the cruise line. The museum is actually a series of buildings each with a different focus. One was on the whaling history; another was on the medical issues faced by the people who live here: a third was set up as traditional home; etc.

The museum was very well done and each stop provided us a chance to get out of the rain. I had not thought about it ahead of time, but my tennis shoes have holes to provide air circulation and keep my feet cooler. Unfortunately that meant my feet and socks got wet, actually soaked. The rain was pretty bad and people who were wearing hiking boots said their feet got soaked too. I could have used some rain boots. I would also have liked to have rain pants. I had ordered some before the trip, but even the women’s variety were not good for a curvy woman. They were either too big or too small so I sent them back. If you can find them in your size, I suggest taking them along when touring Iceland and Greenland, even in the summer.

After we completed our tour of the open-air museum, we doubled back toward the pier again. This time we made a stop in the tourist office which had a shop. It was so crowded with people that you couldn’t even move inside. There are also toilets inside the building which was part of the reason for the crowd. Boris decided to do his shopping outside. Some of the citizens had set up tables along the road, although not all the vendors we saw on the way down to the museum had stayed outside due to the heavy rain. Of course Boris found something unique. He got a hat made of seal skin and fur. He came walking back to me wearing it, but it was kind of just sitting on the top of his head. It was actually designed to be pulled down over the ears. The hat was too small for Boris. I told him to see if they had a larger one so he could exchange it, but that hat was actually the only one the vendor had for sale. It was really made for a woman or older child. I modeled the fit for Boris on the tender back to the ship. I think I just got a seal hat.

After our outdoor touring, we were drenched so we went back to the pier and waited for a tender to take us back to the ship. I was hoping we didn’t make a mistake going out in the morning. It would have been the wrong choice if it cleared in the afternoon. Another ship was anchoring at 2 pm and Nanortalik only has a single pier for the tender boats so we knew it was going to be very crowded later in the day and we had wanted to do our touring early. We had taken the first tender we could that morning.

We got back to the ship and immediately went for dry clothes before a late lunch. It ended up raining all day. I took a nap wrapped in my extra plaid blanket I took from the upper deck. The cruise director joked about all the clothes the guests and staff had hung out to dry all over their staterooms.

My photography was limited by the rain and needing to protect my equipment, but I was still able to get some pictures and attempt to capture the feel of this southernmost city in Greenland. In spite of the rain, I had no regrets about heading out and setting foot in Greenland. It was still a great day.

Our cruise west on the North Atlantic continues. After a couple of sea days we will reach the easternmost coast of Canada at St. John’s, Newfoundland.

–Natasha