The Dog Equator

Today we arrived in Sisimiut, the second largest city in Greenland after Nuuk. It has 5,350 residents and is immediately north of the Polar Circle, which is also called the dog equator.
Because of the importance of dog sledding and maintaining their local breed of Greenlandic Huskies, no other breeds of dogs can cross the dog equator or they will be shot.
I find that a bit brutal, but understand their need to preserve their time-honored tradition and respect their culture. These dogs are not considered pets and have to be leashed after the age of 6 months.
As puppies, they are as cute and playful as any but once they grow up they are referred to as “wild” and are not to be approached.
In some of the settlements we visited, there are more tethered sled dogs than human inhabitants.
In Sisimiut we took an optional “Hike back in time” and visited the ruins of winter homes and whale blubber storage huts from the 1700’s. The families who lived in these dugout houses crowded in to keep warm and in the summer folded up their wooden roofs and took them with them on fishing expeditions. There are no trees so wood is so scarce that they couldn’t afford to leave the roof on the winter house. At that time most of the wood was found when it washed up on the shore.

Much of our time of the Fram is spent at sea between ports of call and there’s nothing much to do except watch icebergs float by. There are two Jacuzzis on the observation deck along with a decent sized gym that aside from an elliptical machine, a treadmill, a stairstepper and a couple of bikes, it’s not very well equipped. I do miss my New York Yoga!

Reading is the primary form of entertainment, although a smattering of lectures are very interesting.
Last night the Filipino crew put on a show with karaoke and waiters in drag. It was kind of cute and reminded of my first cruises when glitzy Broadway style shows at sea didn’t exist. It was really kind of charming.
A couple of nights before, some local Inuit families from Ukkusissat came on board to sing and dance for us.

Ilulissat

Today we reached the settlement of Ilulissat which means Icebergs in Greenlandic.
And its an apt name because there are icebergs every which way and loose. The icebergs come from the glacier Sermeq Kujalleq which moves about 60 feet per day. The icebergs are so amazing that the area known as the Ilulissat ice fjord was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 2004. The best ways to view the icebergs in the fjord is either on a helicopter ride or a boat trip.

Midnight Sun

Today we spent all morning at sea in the Davis strait and arrived in the late afternoon at the Equip Sermia glacier, about half way up the west coast of Greenland in the Arctic Circle. The front of the glacier is about 3 miles wide and it moves about 6 feet a day.

We took the ship's polar cirkle boats—glorified zodiacs-- ashore to a small island where the crew set up a BBQ. It was quite buggy and several people were wearing mosquito nets on their heads. A short walk took us up a hill for a wonderful vantage point to see the glacier. We were about 3 miles away from it, as close as we could safely get, out of range of the waves that are caused when the glacier “calves” or breaks off into the water. The sound is like thunder.

Later that night, I went out on deck to experience the midnight sun, when the sun is still above the horizon after midnight. The ship was gliding effortlessly through the water, past blocks of icebergs. Because I was the only one on deck, there was plenty of room for my new friends silence and serenity.

UUmmannaq

Day 3 of the Greenland cruise took us to UUmmannaq, an island with a mountain that is about 3500 feet tall. The locals say the mountain looks like its shaped like a heart, but I couldn't make it out. There’s only 1500 people in the town which has the same name. It seems to be a pattern that all the small wooden houses are painted in cheery crayola colors. We chose to take an optional excursion called the “Boat Trip to the desert.” There were two groups on two boats, and unfortunately our boat was the smaller and dingier of the two. It was cramped and the seats were visibly moldy and smelled. It was about an hour rocky ride to the desert—
an island that is mineral rich with granite, sulfur, iron and supposedly even rubies, but we didn't see any.
It is a geologic anomaly, a result of a volcanic eruption eons ago that spewed the minerals in a concentrated area.
We walked around and the views of the cobalt blue sea and meringue topped icebergs were fantastic. For the cost of the excursion, although very remote and interesting, was not worth the $200 or so cost per person.
After returning to the Fram, we sailed to a very small settlement of Ukkusissat, where the locals came onboard and performed a few songs and dances.
The town only has 150 people living there and probably as many sled dogs. In the summer they are tied up and fed every other day or so. We watched the dogs go crazy at feeding time pulling on their chains to catch the fish being thrown at them indifferently by their owner.
We learned that there are only huskies in Northern Greenland and no other breeds are allowed.
They are used to pull the fisherman over the ice to their fishing holes when the sea freeze. A couple of puppies approached me but I didn’t get too close because their mother was right behind them.

Iceberg City

Arrived at our first port of call in Qeqertarsuaq- known as Disko Island. Its a colorful village on a protected harbor. On the way in, we passed icebergs the size of houses. In the distance we heard icebergs calving, and to this New Yorker it sounds like a dump truck parting with its load. Most of them were white icebergs which are the least dense and let a lot of light through. The ship’s excursion was a three hour "Hike to Valley of the Winds," a gradual incline through paths lined with a carpet of buttercups. The most difficult part of the visit to this settlement was not being allowed to pet the sled dogs that were tied up behind several of the homes. Also saw some whales, but was saddened later to learn they were being hunted by the local Inuits. Returned to the ship for a
Jacuzzi and sauna, with the sun still burning brightly.

Arrival In Greenland

Left Copenhagen, in what has just been rated the happiest country on earth, and flew four hours to Greenland on Air Greenland. We arrived in Kangerlussuag meaning “the long fjord” because this settlement is situated at the end of the fjord.
It was once the home of the American airbase in WWII when more than 8000 military personnel were stationed here and it served as a base for bombers and cargo carriers flying between North America and Europe. The airstrip has become the international airport in Greenland and the gateway to this Danish-owned country.
I am traveling on a six night cruise on Hurtigruten’s MV Fram, an 11,647 ton ship. Hurtigruten used to be called Norwegian Coastal Voyages. The Fram carries about 230 passengers when it’s full and we are sailing with 212 or so, mostly a mix or Germans and Danish with about 10 Americans.
When we arrived it was much warmer then expected, like March/April weather in New York, but the sun feels very warm. In fact, it’s the time of year when its round the clock daylight, which is very weird.
Luckily the curtains in the cabins block out most of the sun so you can create your own dark cocoon when its time to go bed.
Today we are sailing to our first port of call Qeqertarsuaq, (huh?!) better known as the non-Greenlandic name of Disko Island. Enroute, we heard our first lecture on the “Qualities of Ice,” learning about the different densities of ice that create white, black, blue and even green icebergs.

Eurodam Christened By Queen Bea

Long time no blog.

I'm in Rotterdam, Holland today, attending the christening of Holland America Line's newest signature class ship, ms Eurodam.

It's 86,700 tons, not too big by today's standards. The interior is somewhat like Cunard's Queen Victoria, very understated and classy.

It's a bright sunny day and the ceremony took place in an open air seating arrangement, within sight of HAL's original headquarters, which is now the hotel New York.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands did the honors and the champagne bottle smashed on cue.

Holland America has another tradition when inaugurating a ship. Champagne is also poured over the ship's bell.

Queen Bea seems to have quite a personality and appears more affable than Queen Elizabeth, whom I witnessed christen QM2.

Tonight there's a formal dinner followed by fireworks at 11:15 p.m. That late because it just gets dark an hour earlier!