Sue's Travels: Kulusuk, Greenland

The best laid plans of mice and men oft gae astrang. It turns out that there was no way we could take the boat to Kulusuk because there was too much ice in the fjord. We were offered another walk which would have been too strenuous for me. One of the men suggested a boat ride in the harbor which cost about $90. Most of the group elected to take the boat ride. We were taken out to the area where we could see how thick the ice was that prevented us from going to Kulusuk by boat. It was quite cold on the water. I had two pair of slacks on and wore my Antarctic jacket with liner. We returned to the hotel via van for lunch. I was very tired for no explainable reason and told the team leader that I was going into the lounge to nap and please wake me when it was time to leave, which she did.

The helicopter ride to Kulusuk was uneventful and after our luggage was delivered to us, we were taken to the hotel. The hotel is owned by the same family that owns and runs the hotel in Tasiilaq. It is not fancy, but quite functional. I am satisfied.

I rested for a while and then we walked into the town of Kulusuk, which has a population of about 300 people. There is a school, a doctor, a general store, a souvenir shop and a church. The church predates the village. Apparently some sailors were ship wrecked in 1923 and they used the wood of their ship to build the church, which is typical of Greenland. It is blue for the ocean, red for the sun and white for the snow. The pews are moveable so that the church may be used for other purposes as well. I had requested that we be driven back to the hotel, because the walk into town proved a bit tiring for me. Our team leader arranged the ride, which was not originally on the schedule.

Dinner was served buffet style at about 6:00 pm. After dinner an Inuit lady came and did some traditional Inuit Drum Dancing, which is different from any other dancing that I have seen.

Port of Tasiilaq

Harbor trip