Greenland - Finally!

 

Evelyn Moe was my fourth-grade teacher. Now, nearly 65 years later, she remains my most influential elementary teacher because she challenged us with new thoughts and ideas, and in some cases fantasies about faraway places.

When Astronaut Alan Shepherd became the first American to fly into outer space on May 5, 1961, Mrs. Moe made sure the radio in her classroom was tuned to Wisconsin Public Radio so we could live the experience. From countdown to splashdown, Mrs. Moe made sure we were as much a part of the flight as was Shepherd.

Every Monday morning (I think it was at 9:00 a.m.) Dr. Carl L Ellerson, a wildlife biology professor at the University of Wisconsin talked to students all across the state about nature through a program on Wisconsin Public Radio. He recounted stories about his discoveries over the weekend near Madison – the first Northern Cardinal nest of the year; the return of Sandhill Cranes to a marsh in Sauk County, bumblebees on the dandelions in his front yard. It didn’t matter what Ellerson saw, he told us about it and made us think about the wider world around us. Every Monday morning Mrs. Moe made sure we had the opportunity to learn what Ellerson was seeing.

Because of a reason now long forgotten, one day Mrs. Moe told us about a U.S. Air Force base at Thule in Greenland. A map of the world hung in a corner of Mrs. Moe’s classroom. She pulled it down to show us where Greenland was located and pointed a finger at where she thought Thule was located (it was so far north even she didn’t know exactly where it was located). On the map, Thule seemed just inches from the North Pole.

I no longer remember the conversation that day, but in the evening I was glued to my world atlas studying every nook and cranny in the geography of Greenland, fantasizing about the Polar Bears that must live there, and wondering why on earth the United States built an Air Force Base so far north and away from the United States.

I read what I could about its mile-thick glaciers and endless snow fields and how in winter there was no daylight for months at a time. I was fascinated that Eric the Red from Iceland, who discovered Greenland, decided to name the place “Green” when 95 percent of the landmass was covered in ice every day of the year. In my young and wanderlust-filled mind, Greenland became one of the places I had to see “someday.”

My fascination with Greenland began in a classroom in northern Wisconsin in 1961. It wasn’t until 1996 that I finally saw it but then only from the window of a jet 36,000 feet above the surface.

In the mid-1990s, the travel section of the Washington Post carried an advertisement almost every Sunday paid for by Icelandair. The advertisement featured two Atlantic Puffin’s talking to each other and one saying to the other “Come Up and See Us Some Time.”  “Come up” meant traveling to Iceland. The airline was offering seductive air-hotel-rental car fares for short trips to Reykjavik and eventually we could no longer say no. I purchased two 5-day four-night air-hotel-and-rental car packages for $499 US per person and about a month later we lifted off from Baltimore bound for the volcano island.

Following an all-too-quick trip to Iceland we reboarded Icelandair and headed back to Baltimore. The flight to Iceland was overnight and we saw nothing but darkness until we were on approach to the Keflevik airport at dawn. Our return was in mid-afternoon and I was seated in a starboard window just forward of the engine. Maybe an hour after lifting off from Keflevik airport the pilot announced that we would be passing over the southern tip of Greenland in five minutes

My anticipation limit was off the charts as my 25-year-old quest to see Greenland was about to be satisfied. Then reality struck. The entirety of southern Greenland, and specifically the stretch we were passing over, with its endless mountains and with too many glaciers to count, was covered by clouds. 

A few months later, during summer, I made my first trip to England. The Continental Airlines DC-10 was scheduled to depart Newark, New Jersey at 9:00 a.m. This time I was in a port window forward of the engine and as we flew north along the Polar Route to Europe conditions appeared good for seeing Greenland and this time they were. We passed a few miles north of the southern tip of the island and for as far as I could see in any direction there was nothing but endless beauty. Huge mountains. Extensive glacier fields and best of all not a single blemish on the landscape caused by humans. It was like a frozen paradise.

Since that eventful day in June 1996, I have traveled from Europe to the United States 36 times during daylight hours offering me 36 chances to see Greenland. Only once, on a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, was Greenland hidden by clouds. Each glimpse has been immaculate – mountains, glaciers, no roads, and no humans.

Despite all of the excitement of seeing Greenland from the air I still have not seen it in person and never stepped foot on it.

Until now.

The Norwegian Star from Reykjavik Iceland to New York City with two Stops in Greenland!

Because of age and increasing mobility issues, I no longer feel safe making extensive trips to far away locations alone. Long gone are the days I would spend 5 weeks traipsing around South Africa by myself. The thought of again taking the rickety old train from New Delhi to Goa, India, gives me hives. A safer and more secure way to travel and see things I’ve not seen before is from the balcony of a cruise ship bound for a new port.

The venerable Norwegian Star has taken us from Copenhagen, Denmark to the Azores to Miami, and twice from Buenos Aires Argentina to Antarctica.  In July 2024 she will carry us to Greenland and the High Arctic

Now instead of hiking up the side of a mountain in Chiapas, Mexico, looking for Horned Guan, we make a minimum of three treks each year from the confines of a cruise ship. One trip is in or near February to celebrate Cathy’s birthday. Another is near July 1 to celebrate our wedding anniversary and the third is around Halloween to celebrate my birthday. Twenty-two of these celebratory cruises have taken us to Antarctica (twice), Hawaii, the Azores and 40-foot seas in the North Sea off Germany and countless other locations.

About a year ago while scanning the cruise offerings on Norwegian Cruise Line I noticed they offered a 12-day cruise from Reykjavik, Iceland to New York City. Best of all the cruise made two stops at ports in southern Greenland!

Anyone who has visited Iceland (I have been there twice) raves about its beauty and if you have even an inkling of interest in geology you’ll be fascinated by the volcanology of the island. There are very few reasons not to want to visit the island. Doing so from a cruise ship that stops in Greenland is better than a dream. I called Norwegian and made a reservation.

On July 1, 2024, we sail out of Reykjavik harbor on the Norwegian Star, a 965-foot ship we have sailed on three times earlier. The original plan was to circumnavigate Iceland before crossing the Greenland Sea to Greenland. A recent itinerary change (a frustratingly common occurrence on Norwegian in recent years) we will only see the northwestern and northern coasts of the island. In 2015 we flew Icelandair to Copenhagen, Denmark, and after leaving Reykjavik we were in awe of the beauty of the southeast corner of the island. We looked forward to seeing it from a cruise ship but Norwegian changed those plans. Instead, we will make the most out of the north coast and its numerous fjords.

At 836,000 square miles (21.6 million square kilometers) Greenland is the largest island on earth and almost 80 percent of the island is covered with ice. Most importantly only 56,480 humans are thought to live on Greenland giving it a refreshing population density of 14.8 humans per square mile. Compare that to 384.3 humans per square mile in Florida, or 2,432 humans per square mile in Hong Kong. Needless to say, if you want to get away from humans, Greenland is the place to go!

Our time in Greenland will be short with only two port visits in two days. Both locations are fraught with summer fog (it’s the Arctic after all) so I will consider us lucky if we get to only one.

Qaqortoq, Greenland

Our first port is Qaqortog, a town, like most others in Greenland, whose name I find impossible to pronounce.

This looks like a colorful little town to spend 10 hours in eating whale blubber and noshing on roast caribou.  I hope they have a craft brewery!

The Vikings (the real ones from Norway, my ancestors, not the so-called purple football team from Minnesota) inhabited Greenland for more than 400 hundred years and created a tradition of farming that today has become a cornerstone of everyday life in Southern Greenland. Their past presence is an obvious component of life in Qaqortog. We will have 10 hours in this port – well 10 hours minus however long it takes to reach the port by tender boat from the ship and return. While there we plan on enjoying one of Norwegian’s shore excursions. Its canned description follows:

Heighten your appetite and sample Greenlandic and Inuit cuisine at a local restaurant. You’ll spend about 25 minutes along the immensely scenic route through the heart of South Greenland’s largest city – still a compact, charming place where gardens flourish, colorful historic homes line the streets and public artworks celebrate the region’s rich cultural history. But then, there’s no better way to get a true taste of a culture than by its food. The offerings at this excursion’s designated venue change frequently but typically include traditional Greenlandic and Inuit dishes featuring high-protein meats – a diet meant to sustain early locals through harsh, physically demanding winters. Greenlanders have been whalers for some 4,000 years, so look for a taste of that to be served – perhaps thinly sliced like carpaccio or quick-cooked like veal to seal in its flavor. Lamb is also popular here, raised naturally and allowed to range the upland pastures freely. Other traditional specialties might include dried seal, grilled Arctic char or smoked reindeer. Tasty local crowberries, which look like blueberries, are used liberally in sauces and desserts. No worries: you’ll burn off any excess calories on the walk back to the ship.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a leisurely, scenic walk through Qaqortoq’s downtown – alive with color and charm.
• Visit a local restaurant specializing in traditional Greenlandic dishes made from regional ingredients.
• Enjoy a tasting likely to include whale meat along with dried seal, smoked reindeer or free-range lamb.
• Discover the flavor of Greenland’s answer to blueberries: the crowberry.
• Discover the flavor of Greenland’s answer to blueberries: the crowberry.
• See a few more sights and shed a few calories on the pleasant walk back to the ship.

One of the highlights of any form of international travel is sampling the local cuisine. Not only does it separate you from the standard American who wants meat and potatoes, or the nearest McDonald’s, savoring local cuisine helps you understand the people you are visiting. Whale (humpback?) and seal (one of several species) are on the menu for this trip. Thanks to the Inuit Cultural Center in Barrow, Alaska, I had the opportunity to try both whale and seal a few years ago. Although neither is as tasty as Cajun shrimp in a Canal Street restaurant in New Orleans, they are worth the opportunity to sample them. After all, how many kids on your block can say they ate broiled seal washed down with a slab of humpback whale blubber? We will also be offered Arctic char, an anadromous species of salmon that, to my taste buds, is 10 times more flavorful than any Alaska King salmon. Other options include lamb and caribou.

Long ago I raised sheep and sold both the wool and the lambs.  We always butchered one or two lambs a year and each time my mom prepared it I found sawdust to be more flavorful. In 2004 while visiting Australia I decided to try lamb because it is so popular there. My experiment proved, once again, that my mother could burn water because the lamb was absolutely delicious! I hope Greenlandic lamb is equally as memorable.

Almost everyone who has traveled to Alaska has tried Caribou at least once. In my 55 trips to Alaska, I think I have had it on 54 of the journey’s. Usually, it comes as caribou sausage with breakfast and the best sausage in the state is at Fast Eddy’s Restaurant in Tok. Occasionally it comes as steaks or chops and probably 30 years ago in Anchorage when I was there for the Iditroad dog race I found a place selling caribou hot dogs called “I Did A Dog’s.” Wherever you can find caribou make sure you try it at least twice. I hope I can say the same thing about Greenlandic caribou.

Nanortalik, Greenland

Following 10 quick hours in our first port we sail a bit down the coast of Greenland to Nanortalik whose name, like every other word in the Greenlandic language, I am unable to pronounce! Among its many claims to fame, Nanortalik is the southernmost settlement in Greenland. It was probably the one I saw from 36,000 feet the first time I saw the island from a Continental Airlines DC-10 bound for London.

With vertical walls that tower over intricate fjord systems and “sikorsuit” sea ice lurking just outside the harbor during the spring, Nanortalik has more in common with East Greenland than the rest of South Greenland. Rock climbers and mountaineers from around the world are drawn to the granite peaks of the nearby Tasermiut Fjord, while hikers and kayakers mount multi-day expeditions to explore the unparalleled beauty of the harsh rock that rises straight up from reflective waters.

But Nanortalik is more than just a magnet for extreme adventurers. It is home to the most comprehensive local museum in the country, some of Greenland’s very few forests, comfortably organized camping in one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes and is close to one of Greenland’s few hot springs where you can relax with an unprecedented view of tall mountains and icebergs.

We have no organized activities planned here. Maybe we will just walk around and hope to find a craft brewery! Regardless, it will be a huge rush walking around on the Precambrian shield rocks of the largest island on earth.

Leaving Nanortalik we spend a day at sea crossing the Labrador Sea on approach to St. John’s, the stunningly attractive capital city of Newfoundland.

Its unfortunate after all these years that Mrs. Moe is no longer with us.  It would be a rush after this trip to see her and tell her all about the island I visited nearly 65 years after she turned me on to it.  The downside of this trip is that, if history is any indication, my first look at Greenland will fill me with wanderlust and I'll have to begin planning a return trip, or two, in the near future.