Thursday 14 June 2012

A day in Uummannaq and Ukussisat north of Nuussuaq!

If you struggle at home with the right pronunciation of all these Greenlandic names you can be sure, it is not so easy for us too. But we try to do our best and our Greenlandic lecturers do a good job to teach us.

 


Uummannaq is the town with the huge heart shaped mountain as its landmark. People welcomed us so nicely that we had the feeling that all inhabitants of Uummannaq have a big heart too. It was easy to walk through the city and get in contact with the residents. Some of us had even a meeting with some citizens and they got a lot of information about the life in a Greenlandic little town.
Others have been more interested in the geology of the region. By boat they sailed along the icy coastline to the so called “Red dessert”. This place is famous for it´s special rock formation. As there is so much sulfur on the Island the region looks slightly like a moon landscape.


At lunchtime other passengers used the possibility to taste Greenlandic food. Food is always a good option to get more impressions about the way of life in a country.

In the afternoon the hikers got their chance again. Along the “heart mountain” they reached “Santa´s Cabin”, a little hut that was built as a film coulisse for a Christmas film at the Danish TV.




Back on board our Chef Eric was waiting for us on Deck 7 to give us an explanation about dry fish. Of course we could get a taste of it also. For most of the guests it has been a new experience.


In the evening, after a wonderful cruise through a world of ice, we reached Ukussisat – a small settlement nearby –. As HURTIGRUTEN visits this little village since years the inhabitants were waiting and waving for us when MV FRAM arrived. But before we could discover Ukussisat by ourselves many inhabitants visited us aboard and gave us a nice demonstration of their singing and dancing.