Nanortalik, Old And New

Fuel Truck

Our main reason for going back to Nanortalk was that it had the most convenient fueling situation. Two guys on the quay took our lines as we came alongside, making it an easy docking. We headed off to the gas station to arrange for a fuel truck but there was no attendant. Our search took us into the Nanco Oil Cafe that proudly serves "fast food, junk food". The woman behind the counter understood that we were trying to buy diesel for our boat and organized someone to meet us. While we waited, we had plenty of time to take in the menu that was a cross between McDonald's and a kebab stand. After watching several orders being prepared, we decided that we were learning more about fast food then we really wanted to know and headed outside to wait in the sunshine.

The fuel truck driver explained that there was a 200 Dkr charge for coming out to Snow Dragon that we could avoid by bringing her up to the dinghy dock in front of the gas station. Knowing the dock from our previous visit, Frances felt the 200 Dkr would be money well spent. Fuel in Greenland is tax-free as a way of subsidizing boat travel. Which is highly relied upon due to lack of roads and scattered remote communities. At 4.27 Dkr per liter our bill rivaled the low coast of fuel in Cuba. Starting in 2011, fuel will no longer be tax-free which hopefully will not negatively impact those who depend on more traditional methods of income like hunting and fishing.

With our main town task complete we decided to walk out to the old side of town which we had missed on our previous visit. The older buildings were better built and maintained than those in the modern town. They were picturesquely sited on the rocks around the small boat harbor. From the signs posted on the outside describing their original use, we learned they now housed various museum exhibits.

Back on the boat we sat out on deck watching the kids who were taking the 18C temperature seriously and jumping into the water from the quay. Most were in wet-suits but one kid braved the cold water in surf shorts. The crew of a fishing boat docked nearby seemed to have a similar idea and were testing their survival suits. Jumping off both the quay and their boat.

Fisherman Testing His Survival Suit

Two young kids had taken an interest in Snow Dragon and were sitting on the side of the quay watching us. We said hello and they smiled back, shaking their heads when Krystina asked if they spoke English. They had gone over to watch the fishermen playing in the water but soon returned. Krystina was working on her computer in the pilothouse and the kids climbed down onto the boat for a closer look at the photos that were being downloaded. We understood that they were just curious and let them stay until we were ready to eat dinner. Then Krystina politely motioned for them to return to the dock which they did with smiles.

Shortly after going to bed, we realized that we had forgotten our midnight check-in with coastal radio. Krystina called them and started to apologize but then saw that is was only 12:30, well within the limit. In the morning we took the dinghy through the fog to a dock that was closer to the two grocery stores in town. We had done most of our provisioning in Qaqortoq but had saved some of the more delicate items like eggs for Nanortalik where it was easier to get them back to the boat.

On the way to the museum, we made one last stop at the tourist information office to look at the tupilaks they had for sale by local artists. Tupilaks are carvings that originated out of contact with Europeans who wanted to see what the mythical creatures that the shamans used to ward of enemies looked like. Frances chose a large pendant tupilak made out of reindeer bone and Krystina purchased one carved out of a seal tooth.

Traditional Kayake Frame

At the museum, one of the more well done exhibits was the boathouse which showed how the traditional kayaks and umiaqs were built. Complete with photos of children learning to paddle kayaks with out-riggers added as training wheels. Frances tested a wooden replica of a kayak on rockers which showed the instability and skill needed to balance it. She found it impossible to get into and ended up on the floor, thank full that it was not the water. Without trees, Greenlanders used scrub birch and willow to make the ribs of kayaks and seal skin to cover them. Drift wood was used sparingly as it was not a common item. Umiaqs were the women's boat, which could be used like cargo ships to carry household items from one place to the another. Inverted they doubled as a travelling shelter, once at the summer camp the whale skin covering was removed and used as a tent roof.

While we wandered through the different buildings, Krystina came across a copy of 'Greenland Today'. The articles conveyed a more positive outlook on Greenland's assimilation of western culture than we were personally witnessing. The articles were in both Dansih and English and in many ways the magazine read like well-written propaganda. It did not help that one of the interpretive displays at the museum, discreetly mentioned that the Danish government and Church had deemed the people legally incompetent. This was used as a justification for resettling them in modern villages. The last forced relocation took place in the 1960s.

Before untying our dock lines, we took one last look at the cleats which had a female figurative form and wondered if that had been intentional or a consequence of design that no one had noticed. Our second visit to Nanortalik had been more enjoyable but we still left feeling that Greenlanders had yet to reconcile traditional and western life. While there were elements of Inuit culture in evidence we felt that it was mostly for the benifit of the tourists. The fasionably dressed teenagers would have looked at home in any major city.

For more photos please click on Nonortalik 2 Album.