Nuuk fjord boat trip, Greeland

On the 2nd day in Nuuk, Greenland, after wandering around town in the morning, I went to the jetty by the cruise ship dock for the 3 hour Nuuk Water Taxi fjord adventure. The boat was quite small and i decided to sit outside in the front - cold but it gave a good view. I was really hoping to see whales.

We went across the bay and into a section of fjord with calm water -

We were able to touch this iceberg as we went right up to it -

We then went on to the waterfall and glacier. 

The waterfall wasn't very full at this time of year. The boats took it in turn to go close to the fall. The glacier is up on the right of the waterfall.

Then all the boats got together and there was a strange "dance" by a girl dressed like a "cat".

We continued on and were lucky enough to see a sea eagle aka white-tailed eagle. This is Greenland's largest bird

A couple of days later I saw a stuffed one in the museum at Narsarsuaq -

Apparently polar bears had been seen on one leg of the fjord just a couple of weeks ago. We went on round, and stopped to look at some very scenic mountains. 

We went round in a big circle. Some of the mountains were very scenic. Unfortunately it got cloudy and the clouds came down and it got much colder. Eventually there was light rain. So I went into the cabin for the last bit, which is a shame as I missed getting a good photo of Nuuk prison -

Less than 1 month later. BBC on 4 Sept 2024 had an article "Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson kept in Greenland jail".

Nuuk, Greenland, day 2

 On the second day in Nuuk, Greenland, I had some free time before doing a boat tour, so had another look around town. I had seen a lot of it on the previous day. 

The tall building is Nuuk Centre - 

Greenland flag -

Some mothers with prams -

Housing blocks -

From CIA list :

The Inuit came to Greenland from North America in a series of migrations that stretched from 2500 BC to the 11th century. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland became part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland remains a member of the EU's Overseas Countries and Territories Association. The Danish parliament granted Greenland home rule in 1979; the law went into effect the following year. Greenland voted in favor of self-government in 2008 and acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs when the Act on Greenland Self-Government was signed into law in 2009. The Kingdom of Denmark, however, continues to exercise control over several policy areas on behalf of Greenland, including foreign affairs, security, and financial policy, in consultation with Greenland's Self-Rule Government.

-

Greenland is officially the world's largest island that is not a continent.

Nuuk, Greenland, day 1

 After cruising around the Canadian Arctic area, we headed for Greenland and our first stop was at the capital, Nuuk. Greenland is the world's largest island and is about 80% ice capped.

The size of Greenland shown over a map of Europe -

Greenland is geographically a part of the North American continent. Since 1721, Denmark has held colonies in Greenland, but the country was made part of Denmark in 1953. Almost one-quarter of Greenland’s population lives in the capital city of Nuuk. Today, 88% of Greenland’s population are Inuit (predominantly Kalaallit) or mixed Danish and Inuit. The remaining 12% are of European descent, mainly Danish. The currency is the Danish kroner. 

We were there early August so missed the midnight sun. The sun does not set from May 25th to July 25th, and it stays visible throughout the entire day and night. As we sailed into Nuuk harbour at 7.20 am we could see the small colourful old buildings.

Nuuk means The Cape. The old name is Godthab. It is on the tip of a large peninsula at the mouth of the spectacular Godthaab Fjord. It is the smallest capital in world, also the world's northernmost capital.

Reykjavik 64.1470° N, 21.9408° W

Nuuk 64.1743° N, 51.7373° W

Because of its latitude, 64°11' north, Nuuk is the world's northernmost capital. It's just a few kilometers farther north than Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland.

 Nuuk has Greenland's tallest building and is the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality.

The majority of the population in Greenland speaks both Greenlandic (mainly Kalaallisut) and Danish. The two languages have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979. Today, the young generation learn both languages, as well as English, in school. “Kayak” and “igloo” are Greenlandic words. There are no nouns. e.g. hairbrush is the thing used to brush hair. To say "yes" you raise eyebrows, to say "no" you wrinkle your nose.

The only place with free wifi is the library. I sat on the steps outside to use the wifi, as the library didn't open until 1pm. My hands were so cold, it was about 6⁰ C. Then I went for a walk around the block, checked out the Coop and an Akiki supermarket.

Despite having such a huge land size, there are no roads or railway that connect settlements in Greenland. There are roads within the towns, but they end at the outskirts. All travel between towns is done by plane, boat, helicopter, snowmobile or dogsled.

Nuuk population is almost 20,000 and they want to increase that to 30,000 in 6 years, by 2030. It contains one third of Greenland's population. Some old housing blocks being demolished to make taller blocks, and the cemetery was decommissioned some time ago -

There is construction work everywhere -

The new housing -

And the airport is being extended, it is behind the concrete wall marked with the yellow arrow. It currently is used for domestic flights as well as international ones to Reykjavik in the summer -

After lunch on the ship I took the shuttle bus back into town and walked down to the water front.

Main road down to the water front

This house is the oldest in Nuuk -

The museum buildings closest to the water -

The Mother of the Sea statue, which is almost submerged at high tide -

I climbed the small hill to the statue of Hans Egede who founded Greenland -  

I spent time watching the steeple of the old church being craned back into place -

I went to the meat market which sells all kinds of wildlife including whale. The information boards give details of the permitted hunting seasons -

The next day I had another look around Nuuk before taking a boat tour around the area.