Nanortalik

Thursday 1^st September 2016

It was only a short hop down to Nanortalik from Qaqortoq, so we arrived early and passengers were being tendered ashore at 7 am. The plan is to only be here until 1pm, and looking at the size of the town, that should be more than enough.

Nanortalik is the Southernmost town in Greenland and has a population of 1300. Fortunately we are the only cruise ship in town this morning, although it appears another will be arriving this afternoon. The name Nanortalik means “Place of Bears” and the town crest of arms features 3 polar bears.

As with Qaqortoq, this town survives on fishing and hunting, with the biggest buildings in town being devoted to fish processing.

It is very chilly this morning, not much more than 5 C and there is almost no wind.  There were a few icebergs floating around off the entrance to the harbour.

Entering the square off the tender service lands you in the centre of everything, with a tourist information office that is absolutely packed with people trying to get rid of their Danish Krone on a wide range of souvenirs etc.

Nearby is the supermarket, once again very well stocked for the size of the town.

There is a café that didn’t bother to open.

The Fish Market, which sold Salmon, and Musk Ox (caught locally we were told).

Smoko time

The power station

A local sculpture outside what we think was a school.

Once we walked past some of the key buildings we wandered off around the harbour in the direction of the weather station and helipad.

We did notice a bit of sea fog rolling in .

By the time we reached the “Airport” the fog had closed in and the foghorn from Zuiderdam could be heard all over town.

The local soccer field

They are pretty tough around here

Guard dogs are everywhere protecting the locals possessions.

Indoor / outdoor clothesline suitable for all weather conditions.

The fog is getting very soupy now.

We walked around the top of the town until we came to water and then turned back around through an outdoor museum of old houses that had been part of the original fishing settlement,  including the oldest house in town , a “sod” house.

We then came to the Church, where they had organized for the local choir to sing at various times during the day for admission of 5 euro.  We were too cold to hang around.

It was back to the wharf to wait for a tender to appear out of the fog.

Fortunately we had seen most of Nanortalik’s charm whilst the sun was shining, because once the fog set in, it was too late.

We sailed from Nanortalik at 1 pm as planned, still in heavy fog, on our way to Newfoundland. A few hours out the fog has cleared but is is very chilly outside.

Greenland was a real surprise, stunning scenery and small population making it quite unique.