After a day at sea, we encountered our first iceberg on July 26th in the Davis Strait. We also learned that Greenland has more ice than Iceland and Iceland has more green lands than Greenland, so the names bemuse the indigenous people. Our first port of call in Greenland was in Paamiut where we tendered ashore to this small village.
There was supposed to be two cruise ships moored off the port. For two ships, they would open the museum; one ship, no. So, because the other ship did not stop then the people decided not to open the museum on a Sunday. Also, the beautiful church was closed to us because of a funeral. So this stop became an observation for wildlife (we saw a whale tendering back) and wildflowers. (It was also the place where I saw a whale breaching just off the side of our tender boat--first whale sighting of the trip)
However, I also bought a pair of local gloves as I had forgotten my many pairs, paying $20 US currency and purchased from an Inuit lady who was elderly and kept directing me to look at an intricately carved piece of bone about a half inch wide and less than inch tall--from gestures, I believe this elderly lady carved it herself. I told her it was very pretty. Outside, we walked around the buildings, which were brightly colored with each color coded for the building's occupation/business. We were to see this pattern repeat throughout Greenland and the Sund villages to come.
The flowers were similar to ours, but just a little different--like the dandelion above. Pollinators were busy, as they needed to work fast and furious in the few months of summer!
Tomorrow, we encountered the vast icebergs as we journeyed to our next port. But that's a post for another day!
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