Uummannaq, Greenland

This morning we arrived in Uummannaq, a small island. As we sail farther north, there is daylight almost 24 hours a day. The midnight sun happens during the summer months. The opposite happens in the winter where there is darkness almost all day. The town was founded in 1758 and contains the oldest human remains in Greenland, almost 500 years ago. The town is small with just over 1,500 natives that live here year round. They have the usual hunting and fishing, with ice fishing and seal hunting on the frozen bay during the winter months.
We had a high speed opt boat excursion in the bay and were able to see some whales. There are videos of 2 whales.
We then took a zodiac to shore and visited the town. There was a historic house made by layering peet moss and stone. This is the way that the original settlers made their houses - from what they could find naturally. There are no trees in Greenland.
We then visited another sled dog and fishing home. It is the same as the one we visited before where the dogs over 6 months are chained and raised to pull very heavy sleds on the frozen sea ice during the winter months. These are not pets, they are working dogs raised to work and replace snowmobiles and modern machinery. The locals sled out onto the ice, fish with long lines of hooks, then bring salmon and halibut back to town on the sleds. It can be over 1,500 pounds of fish per sled per day. This use of the sled dogs was perfected by the Thule people in Greenland over 1,000 years ago so that they could have food during the winter. The fish are also used to feed the dogs. Seals are used for human clothing, their meat for food and also to feed the dogs. Scraps of seal skin and blubber are fed to the dogs to slow their digestion and give them energy from the fat.
We then walked to Santa's north pole mailbox for some pics. A quick stop into the local (only) grocery store for some local pastries and then a zodiac ride back to the ship.Read more