For The Love of Travel

Ilulissat, meaning “the Icebergs”, is the third largest settlement in Greenland with a population of 4,500 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The (Jacobshavn Glacier) Icefjord runs west from the Greenland Ice Sheet to Disko Bay, flowing at a rate of 20-35 metres per day, resulting in 20 billion tons of icebergs calved off and passing out of the fjord every year, eventually running out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Disko Bay has had a rich source of walrus for ivory, seals for pelts, and whales for a variety of materials, with these becoming the main exports and source of income for Greenlandic settlers, who otherwise would not have survived as long.
We transferred off the mothership to a small wooden boat and had an amazing time oh ahing…. and photographing the HUGH icebergs….seriously gorgeous!! Eric, the Ice Master, was on board to talk to us about the various iceberg formations and their probable history. A fascinating afternoon.

We felt a small bump this morning 🙂 and thought, oh the ship has just gone over the Arctic Circle….ha ha.
And then at 7am, the captain called over the loud speaker that he had sighted a hump back whale and her calf frolicking on the port bow….we all rushed up….what a gorgeous thing to enjoy before breakfast….they were both in a show off mood ….diving, coming back up and rolling over…..and we enjoyed their company for half an hour.

We visited Sisimiut, with a population of 6,000 (northernmost town in Greenland where the port remains free of ice in winter and it’s also the southernmost town in Greenland where it is possible to drive a dogsled in winter and spring!
Sisimiut means ” the inhabitants of fox holes”, founded in 1756 as a trading and mission station.
Fishing is it’s main industry.
We had an Arctic Buffet dinner tonight…..Arctic lamb……yummmm!!

Visited Nuuk today, capital of Greenland, with a population of 15,000. It is the worlds smallest capital city! “Nuuk” means the headlands and is situated at the tip of a large peninsula at the mouth of a gigantic fjord complex.
It was first inhabited by the ancient Inuit people known as Saqqaq around 2000 BC, later by Vikings in 10thC.
Had a great time walking around the city, stopping off at the National Museam to see the 15thC Qilakitsoq mummies, found near Uummannaq and the subject of a past National Geographic story.

And we saw hump back whales!!