Sisimiut Greenland

Saturday the 16th of September we made our last stop on our adventure before heading back to reality.  We stopped to explore the small town of Sisimuit which is the second largest town in Greenland. Although it is 75 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle warm currents keep it ice free all year and it is one of the fastest growing cities in Greenland.  Fishing and fish processing are the principal industries although the town has a growing industrial base and a shipyard.architecturally Sisimuit is a mix of traditional single family homes and communal housing with apartment blocks built in the 1960’s during a time of town expansion.  We were taken in small groups by a local for a tour which was very informative.  Our guide was born here and now a mother of three is a school teacher.  She willingly shared a host of information about growing up and living in a northern community and how things have changed over time.  One can not own property here but can apply to build on leased land and then own the home.  Most homes are built on rock as the permafrost is constantly changing and the buildings would shift .  We had a taste of Greenland at one of the hotels which featured whale and muskox as well as dried fish.  I think I will stick with our west coast diet though it is interesting to experience what others eat on a daily basis.

Leaving Sisimuit we started our journey towards the Kangerlussuaq airport which is 190 kilometres down a beautiful fjord framed on both sides by towering snow covered mountains. What a wonderful sight as we came to the end of our voyage.  As we were to have a 0430 start in the morning we went to bed at a decent hour but to our delight we’re awakened by an unexpected announcement that the Northern Lights were biding us a farewell to this magical part of the world. Standing on the upper deck and trying to absorb this natural light show was a perfect goodbye to a part of the world most only ever read or dream about.

All the homes in Greenland are very colourful. Historically the colour of the house indicated your profession. Today our guide told us in the winter the colours give some relief from all the white of snow

Kayaking is very popular here with the kayaks being extremely narrow 

Abandoned boats sat everywhere in all these communities 

Homes perched high on the rocks away from the permafrost 

An example of an old home built of stone and mud

An array of colour!

The church sat high on a hill looking over the town

A freshly caught caribou drying in the sun

Town cemetery in the middle of town. Graves are three meters deep due to permafrost. No cremation 

Hard to say wether these boats are still used

Busy harbour with blue fish packing plant

View of town from the ship

The actual route that we did take on this expedition 

Entering the fjord to head to the airport 

Surrounded by picturesque views

Our final northern sunset

Magical northern lights 

Kept changing shape

Hard to capture the beauty

Mostly green in colour but spectacular 

Farewell Arctic!