Fortunately I had been convinced by my friends Angie and Heinz to join them at the xmas party on deck 6. Actually, i found the idea of a Xmas party not very exciting, but was happy to be with them and enjoy some Gluehwein and the wonderful evening air. As darkness fell, about 22.00 , and the stars started to appear, even though in the distance there was still the fast fading sunset, we were treated to the wonderful phenomenon of the Northern lights. They were absolutely incredible, lighting up the sky with lines which looked like floodlights or arches like rainbows of the night, hearts, all types of shapes and sizes.
Sadly my camera could not photograph them, so you can only faintly see the first of the greenish lights on the mid left above the sunset. After that, it got too dark for photos, but it meant we could simply stand and marvel at the lights. I will not forget them for a long time. Wonderful!
Today we were more or less in fog the whole day, giving me time to write my blog and diary. Lunch was magnificent - Greenland shrimps! Yum! I have definitely eaten too many 😑 now waiting to see if our stop at the little town of Nanortalik will take place. It would be nice to see this town of 1305 (they were very exact in the brochure!) which is supposed to be very picturesque, being on an island surrounded by mountains. The name of the town means 'the place of the polar bears' but sadly we didn't see any. It was far too warm!
And, just as it was in Ilulisat, the fog suddenly disappeared as we anchored off Nanortalik and we were once again spoilt by perfect weather, clear blue skies and warmish temperatures.
Our last trips with the tender boats and luckily super calm!
Our first visit was to the little open air museum with its old colonial houses and superb views all around. There was even a small iceberg on one of the beaches.
The scenery was great. As in other parts of greenland there are no trees, just brown hills/ mountains all around , but the biggest difference was the flowers - buttercups, poppies and daisies. They were very pretty and really softened the otherwise barren landscape. The carpets of bright yellow flowers contrasted magnificently with the blue of the water and sky.
One of the old homes, dating back to the 1830 s was very cosy. Peat on the outside and then wood covered with newspaper and seal skins on the inside. The newspaper as wallpaper seems like a brilliant idea!
Of course, there had to be a visit to the churchyard, which like most of those I visited in Greenland had a spectacular location and breathtakingly beautiful views.
It is such a fantastic idea to have graveyards in such gorgeous areas because it must lift the hearts of those who visit their loved ones.
In the picture below some of the graves covered by real flowers rather than the usual plastic ones can also be seen, plus some of the very pretty, colourful wooden homes of Nanortalik. Of all the places we visited in Greenland, this would be the only one I think I could live in, even though it is very isolated and small. At least it is not cut off by ice in winter, so you can still sail to other places.
The people here were really friendly and the kids all wanted to have photos taken. They were very cute. Schooling is apparently good there but for universities, they have to move away, though most men live from fishing here.
I loved this sign on the toilet door 😀 i didn't see anyone going in with the correct attire!
This brief glimpse of the southernmost town in Greenland was really a super finale to what had been an incredible two weeks in Greenland. What a remarkable country it is and how lucky we were to have such brilliant weather and calm seas! Apparently it is common for some of the visits to be cancelled and the ship can frequently not drop anchor in sone ports because of too much ice or bad weather conditions.
We left Nanortalik to the customary music of Vangelis, once again with magical evening sunrays on the water and
several mugs of white gluhwein as a parting gift from the ship's team. The waitress obviously couldn't get rid of it all and ended up giving me two cups at a time! How could I possibly refuse - it would have seemed rude! Very tasty and a perfect way to say farewell to such a beautiful place! Cheers!
And, of course, one couldn't leave without the added bonus of seeing our last Greenlandic ice berg , lit up by the rays of another phenomenal sunset🙃
I'm happy for you that you got to see the Northern Lights ... and a little envious!
ReplyDelete