Once again I’ve fallen behind which I have to confess is entirely due to laziness on my part. I can easily identify with a sloth, the critter that moves slowly and spends most of its time hanging upside down from a tree. So once again this is a compendium of things I’ve written along the way but never got around to finishing and posting contemporaneously.
Yesterday evening (August 29) we set sail across the Labrador Sea after spending the last two days in Nanortalik and Qaqortoq, Greenland. We had a mixed bag weather-wise with a nice day in the former and a pretty cold and raw day in the latter. I have been to both last year around the same time and I can attest that there isn’t a great deal in either place.
Nanortalik is the southernmost town in Greenland and has a population of around 1100 people. Because of its location it was one of the first places settled by the Norse in their explorations in this part of the world. Last year I went ashore briefly and found nothing open. This year I didn’t do that. Some friends did take a short walking tour, the highlight of which turned out unexpectedly to be a funeral. As probably happens in many small communities, everyone in the town turned out for the service, the flags were at half-staff and many things (as few as there are) were closed. A few people went on a tour in a RIB boat to see icebergs and whatever wildlife made appearances. They saw more of the former than the latter.
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| These photos are courtesy of a friend who went ashore and is clearly a much better photographer than I am. |
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| Greenlanders like colorful houses which probably brighten up their long winter days and nights. |
On August 29 we anchored off Qaqortoq, the fourth largest town in Greenland with a population of approximately 3300. When I was here last year I was intending to go ashore but I encountered several friends who had done so and been attacked by swarms of midges and other no-see-ums so I stayed on the ship. This time I was fully intending to go and see what there was to see. When I stepped out onto the deck there was a raw wind blowing and it was spitting rain, so once again I chose to stay on the ship. I guess I’m truly becoming one of the people I always wondered about who never go ashore and just keep on sailing. Anyway, there were lots of things to keep me occupied on board. I have gotten a few photos from friends who braved the weather so I can remember what the place looks like just in case I never come back here again.
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| This is Qaqortoq |
I did learn a few interesting things about these last two communities from a friend who is originally from Denmark who went ashore in both places. Everything the people here use has to be shipped in from someplace else. The exceptions are fish and other seafood and a few potatoes and rhubarb. The latter two are evidently about the only crops that can be grown in the limited growing season. My Danish friend Susan told me that she went into what was supposed to be a grocery store in both Nanortalik and Qaqortoq and she was amazed at what she found. She said things in Nanortalik cost twice as much as the same products in Qaqortoq. In the latter she actually found some items which cost less than what she would pay for them in Denmark. We both found that strange and speculated that the Danish government must be subsidizing prices in some way.
As I wrote at the beginning of this entry upon leaving we began crossing the Labrador Sea on our way to our first Canadian port on the island of Newfoundland. We had moderate seas with a little rocking along the way, but nothing bad. Once again the two days were packed with talks, games and shows. We have a speaker onboard who has been on some of my previous cruises and who is quite interesting. He’s a retired Maj. General from the army and talks about current world events. I enjoyed his talks in the past so I’ve been going to those. So far he’s talked about the war in Ukraine and the war with Iran. Although I can’t really say he’s said anything that I haven’t already read or heard on the news, it has been good to hear the facts put together in a cohesive fashion instead of just getting bits and pieces. My friends and I have invited him to dine with us in a couple of nights and we’re looking forward to that. One evening when I was sitting up in the Observation Bar before going to a show he came and sat next to me and it was interesting talking with him one on one. He told me that he has to be very careful to be neutral and apolitical in his presentations to be sure he doesn’t offend any passengers. He said on one cruise he had given a talk on China and its intentions in the South China Sea. Apparently there were two Chinese passengers affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party on who took offense at something he said and filed a complaint. I can imagine that for someone speaking about world affairs with an audience from many different countries it must be like walking on a tightrope to be sure no feathers are ruffled.
Anyway, today we made it to Newfoundland and here I was supposed to go on a tour to what is supposed to be the only undisputed site of the Norse presence in North America long before Columbus came. I was looking forward to it, but as sometimes happens it was not meant to be. Yesterday the captain announced that due to wind conditions we were having to change our port of call to someplace further away. That meant that the total of three hours of bus rides to get to the site would now be four. That meant we would only have one hour to visit the place. I decided to opt out. As it turns out when we arrived at our alternate anchorage off the town of St. Anthony we have had gale force winds off and on all day so tendering has been suspended several times, leaving people ashore waiting for an hour or two to get back. It made the tour problematic. My friends and I had planned to go ashore and walk around the little town, but the prospect of being ashore with no way to get back for an hour or two was unappealing. Instead we’ve had yet another sea day.
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| These two photos are from the Seabourn website of what I should have been seeing today. Sorry Katie. I'll have try again another year. |
Well, I’ve written enough for now and I shall upload this for the record. It’s pretty boring, I know, but that’s life sometimes.
