We arrived by helicopter to Ammkassalik, which turned out to be a little bigger than Kulusuk, if harder to reach. It’s Greenland’s largest city with a population of 1,900.
Our accommodations were nice, which was a good thing considering we weren’t sure how long the weather would keep us there. Fog grounded the helicopters as often as not, as the most dangerous part, where they fly between two mountain peaks, must be done by sight. They had split our group into separate runs and the tour guide came in on her own, which left us sitting around waiting for her to get us checked in. The next day we explored the Tasiilaq
Some of us hiked up to the new church and others took a bus. It’s hilly and I was still limping from the previous day’s hike, so I rode. The new church in town is quite spacious. Though it has modern feel, you’ll notice the places you kneel at the altar are still pads covered in seal skin
They have a story about strangers who arrived on a boat and brought religion. To honor them, the church has little figures of boats and people suspended from the ceiling.
From the new church we wandered into a tourist shop. This had a display of native clothing, winter coats, scrimshaw, jewelry, etc. Frankly, until I saw the down coats I thought it might be the museum we were supposed to be visiting, That came next,
The museum is located in the “old church” which didn’t just looked like an old wooden building to me. It boasted a good range of the kind of artifacts you would expect – from kayaks to traditional clothing to hunting tools, etc.
The main thing I got from our guided tour of the museum is that Greenland has killed off successive waves of Inuit for as far back as they can find. A tribe will move into the area, flourish for a few years then die out. Many years later, the cycle repeats. It’s like it looks hospitable to them, but turns out to be deadly.
Greenland history mentions the Vikings, but not Eric the Red. To them, the Vikings mysteriously appeared, then mysteriously vanished. They didn’t notice when Leif came back through, going the other direction, and wonder what ever happened to those strange people.
Right next to the museum is a reconstruction of a traditional lodge, which was in the process of being remodeled as we visited. They were using modern chemicals in the construction, but remained true to the original shape. This includes low ceilings, built in sleeping platforms, and an entrance specifically designed to keep cold and snow out.
That night we watched a movie that was made locally based on a story about an Inuit family group who suffered a love triangle. It was pretty florid even through English subtitles. A young man falls in love with a young woman – fine and well – but his best friend also loves her and threatens to kill him. The friend is run off through a drum dance, but comes back and steals the girl. Then the young man has to take her back. All with vivid scenes of daily life fishing and chewing hide etc.
The next morning featured a boat ride into the bay to look at the icebergs that flow form the Arctic Ocean. I was kind of hoping we could watch icebergs calving. Apparently later in the year we might be able to reach a glacier to see this, but the water was too full of miniature icebergs for us to get that far, Instead we zipped in among them until there got to be so many that the boat nearly touched. Then we headed back. Not exactly scintillating, but still fun in it’s way.
The rest of our group went off to hike through a meadow of wildflowers. Considering I’d had hip replacement surgery four months before this and way overdid it at the previous stop, I elected to skip it. I wandered around town and hung out in the hotel and was happier for it. The people who hadn’t minded the previous hike found this one a challenge.
That evening we were treated to a demonstration of an Inuit drum dance. This was a traditional dance that was intended to insult a target. One of the men in our group was dragged up to the front to stand there while this old man sang insults at him that none of us could understand. No translation was offered, but the old Inuit man seemed to enjoy himself quite thoroughly,.
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