Nanortalik

Prince Christian Sound (Weather forced abandonment of Nanotalik)

Because we couldn’t make it into our first stop in Greenland, our Captain mapped another route which allowed us to sail through the Prince Christian Sound. This narrow passageway connects the Labrador and Irminger Seas, separating mainland Greenland from the Cape Farewell Archipelago, which is a magnificent island group of soaring mountains. Its 60-mile length sometimes decreases to just 1,500 feet wide, made more dramatic by the barren rock slopes rising on either side. Waterfalls careen down the mountainsides and glaciers spill right into the Sound breaking into icebergs in the water. This was a 5-hour spectacular passage amid a starkly beautiful and hushed landscape. No one complained about missing our first day in Greenland. We viewed isolated villages of only a dozen houses along rock banks.

Qaqortoq

Greenland is the world’s largest island and three-quarters of it is covered in ice. The population hovers around 55,000. It is owned by Denmark and has limited self-government and its own parliament. All land in Greenland is owned by the government so residents have to lease/rent their homes, which dot the landscape in every color. Denmark contributes two-thirds of Greenland’s budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing.

The town of Qaqortoq has 30 miles of road that connect to nowhere. Planes, helicopters, or boats are the only transportation to and from the rest of the island. Most of the people are Inuit people similar genetically to the First People of Canada or Eskimos of Alaska. We were warned to not call them Eskimos with is an insult to the Inuits.

Today we opted to see firsthand how Greenland’s prized fur is made during our tour of the inside workings of the Great Greenland Furhouse. Fur trade, though illegal in some countries, is big business in Greenland and this Furhouse is one of the country’s biggest employers. We learned about the production, processing, distribution and valuation of fur and seal skins.  We saw skins of polar bear, seal, caribou, reindeer, musk, ox, and lamb. We actually have reindeer pelts in our Explorer Lounge which we all use for lap covers on those days when the air-conditioning is too chilly. They get the job done! We went into the sorting room, where workers determine the quality of skins and sort them into different piles. Then into the workroom to watch seamstresses sew beautiful coats, jackets, mittens, slippers, etc.

These animals are killed humanely by people who live off the land and hold a reverence for it which was impressed upon us during the tour. Fur pelts are a by-product of the seal meat, which is the primary source of nutrition for many people in the Arctic. All parts of the animal are used, in accordance with tradition and necessity. In 1972, the US Marine Mammal Protection Act banned imports and sales of all marine mammal products so NO, we will not be bringing home any reindeer pelts!

And, by the way, Greenlanders are #1 laughing at the idea of Greenland being for sale and #2 it being purchased by Trump.