Sue's Travels: Tasiilaq, Greenland

Today has been a very busy day. We got up, had breakfast and left the Hotel Borg at 8:30 am to go to the local Reykjavik airport. Our plane left at about 10:30 for Kulusuk, Greenland. Despite the relative closeness of Greenland to Iceland, there is a two hour time difference. I haven’t bothered to reset my watch. After landing in Kulusuk, we had to wait for our helicopter to take us to Tasiilaq because there had been a death which required use of the helicopter and there is only one helicopter in eastern Greenland. Half the group went in one group and the group I was with had to wait about an hour for our ride to Tasiilaq. We finally arrived and a minivan came for us and our luggage. The dining room was supposed to be closed, but they kept it open for us. The luncheon meal was a very nice fish platter which included shrimp and lobster which I gave to one of the other people. There was herring and some other fish which I didn’t recognize, but I liked.

After lunch I bought internet time. They charged about $15 for an hour. In checking my e-mail, I used about 28 minutes. Perhaps I should have bought more. At 3:00 pm local time, we headed down hill. The first stop was at the location where they make the figurines. They use bone or antler, because if they the tusks of animals, they could not be brought into the United States. I fell in love with a wooden carving of a man in a boat and bought it for $60, which may or may not be excessive. Our next stop was at the local museum. Considering that the population of the town is about 1,900 people, the museum is quite well done. In addition to the displays in the museum, there was a seal skin boat and a turf house.

We then went on a walk around the town. As we walked, we passed some Inuit men who had caught a seal and were in the process of butchering it. Nowadays, they do not do anything with skin, because they cannot sell it for enough to make the work involved worthwhile. What the people don’t eat, they feed to their sled dogs. Effectively nothing goes to waste.

We continued walking and saw the local hospital, which appeared to be rather large for the size of the town. The police station is also large for the size of the town. Apparently there is a problem with drinking, which leads to other social problems as well including child abuse.

Walking back to the hotel was exhausting. I felt like I was walking up the side of a mountain. I really enjoyed the colorful houses. They really brighten up the landscape.