Greenland: Unartoq, Sardloq And Agricultural Station

One of the most special places in Southwest Greenland is Unartoq Island where you can sit in a natural hot spring and look out over the iceberg filled fjord. Though the water is only just warm enough to brave the cold air, its spectacular setting makes the slight discomfort worth it. When we arrived in the evening it was still raining and we opted not to visit the springs until morning. The weather and darkness did not stop a group from the anchored navy ship having a dip before moving on.

The weather was slightly better in the morning and we headed to shore for a walk before visiting the spring. We scanned the vegetation for blueberries; Frances found one and popped it into her mouth before Krystina could notice. After careful searching we found a handful of blueberries, just enough to make it worth collecting to add to a salad. At least we didn't bother to carry the pink berry fork Frances picked up in Nanortalik.

A Greenlandic family was just leaving the pool and as we exchanged greetings, we realized it was the same family we had met at the hot spring 3 years ago. While Frances got ready for a dip in the pool. Krystina continued the search for blueberries, the odds of being able to make Greenlandic blueberry jam not looking good.

In the afternoon we moved on to the village of Sardloq, anchoring just as the sun was setting. Onshore a group of kids were playing a ball game and waved and said hello before finishing their game and heading home. The village and the hills were bright from the afterglow and Frances did a quick painting, trying to capture the intense light before it faded. Though we needed to get an early start in the morning to have enough time to stop at the Agricultural Station before heading into Qaqortoq, we thought it rude to spend the night at Sardloq and not go to shore. To make sure we didn't get carried away we decided to go ashore before breakfast that way our stomachs would encourage us not to linger. The village was just waking up and we used hand language to ask if it was OK for us to walk along the path through their village, we were given a shy smile and a gesture that showed we were welcome.

At the Agricultural Station a Greenlandic woman tending the greenhouses and outside gardens gave us a tour of the trees, flowers and vegetables they were growing. Their tomatoes looked better than many growing further south and their strawberry plants were enormous. They were also cultivating the local thyme, which is used in tea and cooking. Besides plants, the station keeps chickens and trains a few new sheep breeders every year. Krystina hoped to photograph the horses that she remembered grazing in the fields but they were no longer there. Neither our Greenlandic nor our Danish was up to asking where the horses had been moved.

We returned to the dinghy just as the swell from the afternoon onshore wind began rolling into the open anchorage. It was clearly time for us to move on to Qaqortoq where we hoped to be able to buy some of the station's produce that is sold in the local stores. We arrived just in time to purchase a beautiful local lettuce before the supermarket closed, expensive but well worth the price.

Posted by satellite email, photos will be added when we next have internet access.