This morning, we landed for a short visit to an ancient cemetery at Qilakitoq. Then, back at the ship, we had our polar dip, but it wasn’t too cold… about 5ᵒC.

Spent the afternoon in the town of Uummannaq, Greenland walking around, talked to people, had a coffee and of course, made photos. There is an orphanage in this town, and the woman who runs it opens her private home to everyone. The door is always open, and she just tells you to go in and explore. The place is like a museum, full of art and all kinds of stuff, and is very interesting. Yes, I remembered to take my shoes off. In fact, in many public places, like libraries, they ask you to remove your boots. Oh, and Barbie showed up!

Something I noticed immediately was that the homes were all painted and had curtains, whereas in the Canadian Inuit towns, there was no paint and no curtains. I’m not a culturalist or a sociologist, but my feeling is that the Canadian Inuit still have much of the nomadic nature as opposed to the Greenlandic Inuit, who maybe have more of a European influence and for a longer time. The Canadians, however, did seem more friendly, which could be due to the nomadic characteristic of sharing and helping one another. Some people say that Denmark pours more money into Greenland, but I don’t know about that.

[click on any image for slideshow]

600 year old human skull at Qilakitoq ancient cemetery

Getting ready for the polar dip

Going for a swim in the Arctic Ocean

Cemetery at Uummannaq

Inside the cafe

View from front of cafe

I helped this fisherman pull his boat in

Catch of the day

Elvis is in the ship.