Day 7 - Uummannaq August 28, 2028
Uummanannaq is Greenland’s 8th most populous city with 1,400 residents. Fishing is the main industry. Tourism isn’t as big a deal as yesterday’s Iluissat. There’s a small museum, a church, a sod hut and a blubber hut. Kids are told that Santa Clause lives here; you can post a letter from Santa’s post office. Lots of icebergs in the bay but nothing like Iluissat. You can do the town in an hour or two.
The museum has a display of evidence of habitation here dating from 2300 BCE. Five mummified bodies from the 15th century were unearthed here. We saw them at the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk, where they were taken and put on display.
But it’s the most picturesque town we’ve visited. The town is built on an island, perched on the side of Uummannaq Mountain. Uummannaq is “heart shaped” in Greenlandic and indeed the mountain lives up to that name. It occupies about half of the island.
Not only did we find Uummannaq to be picturesque but it also was the place we’ve had the most interesting interactions with local folks.
Our first stop was a visit to a Greenlandic dog owner who showed off his five young pups. Three months old and soft, cuddly and cute, they are being raised to be working partners with their owner in transportation and hunting. The 15 adult members of this man’s team are chained up away from tourists. In four months, these pups too will be chained and begin their training as dog sled team members. The adults are devoted to their owner. Other humans are enemies and will be attacked.
Like Alaskan Huskies, Greenlandic Dogs are strong but represent a different species entirely as Greenlanders are quick to remind you.
The man we met begins bonding with pups as soon as they are born, petting them while they feed on their mothers, for instance. By the time they are seven months old, the bond is complete.
The man uses his dog team for hunting. Food for the dogs is fish and reindeer in the summer and seal meat in the winter. He demonstrated the technique he uses to hunt seals - a shield that hides the hunter who creeps up on all fours across the ice until 100 meters away and can take a clean shot as the seal emerges from its breathing hole.
He didn’t say so, but this man’s occupation is leader of a dog team. I’ll bet he not only feeds game to his dogs, but also feeds himself. Dogs and hunting is a way of life for him. His pride in his dogs and his lifestyle was very much evident.
Outside the church was a local young man who had been hired to answer questions for visitors. He was struggling to put on his guide jacket, which was at least two sizes too small. I asked him if he was born and raised in Uummannaq. “Yes but I can’t wait to get out of here. I’m moving to Japan to live with my girlfriend/fiancee/wife” (I didn’t get the exact status figured out) and her family. Why? I asked. “There is nothing going on in this place. It’s too isolated.” I bet it gets really quiet in the winter, I ventured. “No, it really comes alive when the ocean ices over and people from surrounding towns can come and visit.”
His attitude mirrors what we heard this evening from a cultural ambassador who grew up and lived in a small town on the eastern side of Greenland. He talked about what it was like growing up in a community 500 Km from the next town and where supply ships arrive twice a year. Loneliness and isolation was the biggest con to growing up in such an environment. Thirty years old, he has lost 21 friends and family members, many to suicide. Learning self reliance was the biggest pro for him.
Outside the church several ladies had set up tables with handicrafts for sale. Never ones to leave a local without a sale, Judy picked out a set of earrings made by one of the ladies. While they spoke no English, body language did the trick.
As we like to do, we had lunch on shore, at Cafemma on the waterfront. We get tired of ship food and it’s fun to see what and where the locals dine. We weren’t disappointed. The place was packed at noontime and we were the only tourists. Service was fast and friendly and the food was good.
We got back on board in time for our 1:30 PM Special Operations Boat trip. It was a pleasant voyage up the west side of the island but no wildlife except a flock of eider ducks which, at first glance, might have been a seal breaching. But a new species for our trip nonetheless.
We ran into a couple from Sutton, NH, just down the road from our old home in Warner. We met up this afternoon for drinks on Deck 4 and then dinner on Deck 5. Small world! While on Deck 4 we spotted a whale plume breaking the surface and maybe a glimpse of its nose. We’re hopeful for a bit more wildlife than gulls which, while beautiful, are getting a bit ordinary.
Incidentally, we’ve been blessed with incredibly good weather. I don’t think we’ve been on water so smooth that one could comfortably use for water skiing, although the water temperature is prohibitively cold.
We’ve cast off from Greenland and have set sail for Pond Inlet, Canada on the other side of Baffin Bay. Windy shows blue and green with top wind gusts at 20 knots. Blue and green is good. Fingers crossed for a smooth trip.
Tomorrow, being a day at sea, means there won’t be much going on newsworthy wise so I’ll probably goof off tomorrow and skip the blog. Unless we see a whale or two.
