Sunday, September 18, 2016

Voyage of the Vikings Cruise - Cruise Day 30 – Nanortalik, Greenland

After our cruise through Prince Christian Sund yesterday we were quite close to Nanortalik so we spent the night slowly cruising in circles until it was time to make port this morning.  Our scheduled arrival was 7:00 and not surprisingly we were there right on time.  When I got up early to look out the window this morning I saw blue sky, but when we got up it had turned cloudy.  Nanortalik is a tender port so just after 8:00 we made our way to the tenders and we were soon back on Greenland soil (rock is a better description).  It was very cold this morning so we bundled up in our winter coats and we were very glad we brought them.

Nanortalik has a population of around 1,300 and is much smaller than 
Qaqortoq, our first stop in Greenland.  Nanortalik is actually an island and like most of Greenland we've seen, it is a very rocky and mountainous area.  Once on land, our first stop was the Visitor’s Center to try to find a Greenland t-shirt, which I failed to find in Qaqortoq.  We heard that the local people were going to be doing a show of traditional Greenland singing and dancing so we made our way to the Culture Center to watch.  It was a very simple show, but we appreciated the opportunity to see and hear the traditional music of Greenland performed by the people who live there.

A tender heading to the dock.





The Culture Center
We heard traditional songs of Greenland from the local choir.
Some young locals.



The town isn’t very big so it was easy to walk around and see most of it.  We visited a supermarket, which looked very much like a small supermarket that we might have in our own town.  We continued walking around the harbor and town and found an open air museum where old homes and buildings had been preserved.  It was also very interesting and we spent quite a while walking around it.













 













After we finished seeing most of the town we headed back to the tender dock to return to the ship.  There were some tables where local arts and crafts were being sold, but Val didn’t find anything interesting.  Before going to the tenders, we returned to the Visitor’s Center so Val could buy a sweatshirt and it was time to leave.  There was a long line for the tenders, but it moved fairly quickly and we were back on the ship by noon.  The last tender was at 12:30 as the ship was leaving at 1:00 so we had made the most of our time on shore.

We put our things in our room and then headed for Lido for lunch.  After lunch we went back to the room and watched the incredible scenery go by from our balcony as we left Nanortalik.  Greenland is such a beautiful country with it's high snow capped mountains and rugged coastline.  As we left we passed quite a few icebergs, but most of them were relatively small to medium sized.  We did see one huge one off in the distance that looked as big as a large building and were glad the ship wasn’t heading in that direction (think Titanic).  The cold got to me and I went back inside, but Val stayed out quite a while longer photographing the passing islands, mountains and icebergs.

We sail away from Nanortalkik and Greenland.
 

A very isolated fishing camp or village.
There were lots of icebergs as we left.  Off in the distance on the right side is a huge iceberg.
 



There was a slot tournament today so Val and I went to the casino to participate.  We had coupons where we could buy two entries for the price of one so we both did that, but we didn’t come close to qualifying for the finals.  After that it was time for Val to head for her team trivia and I went back to our room to work on the blog.

After Val returned from trivia we spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing until it was time for dinner.  Tonight is another formal night so it took a little longer to get dressed, but we made it to the MIX for trivia before dinner, and after dinner finished the evening as usual in the casino.  Tomorrow is a sea day so it will be another day of relaxation.

Glen and Richard our dining room neighbors.
Ken and Mary Beth our other dining room neighbors.
Val and I

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