Thick fog rolled in as we left Sardloq, reducing visibility to an 1/8 of a mile. Essentially making us feel as if we were navigating within a water filled ping pong ball. The whiteout continued until we neared the town of Qaqortoq or Julianehab, its Danish name by which it is still widely known. The harbor was too crowded so we decided to look for a temporary anchor spot just outside the breakwater. Depth and holding were acceptable but the wind blew Snow Dragon towards the entrance. We watched the reaction of the boats coming in and out of the harbor, they all waved and did not seem to mind the newly added navigational hazard so we reckoned it was fine to leave her for a couple of hours to venture into town.
Dock And Market, Qaqortoq
Above the dock where we left our dinghy there was a small informal market. Frances stopped and bought two bags of local potatoes. She paid not realizing until later that she had been charged the tourist rate. However, the quality of the potatoes was superb and she did not mind the unintentional subsidy to Greenlandic agriculture.
The tourist information office was mainly a souvenir shop, selling everything from silly trinkets to high-end seal skin handbags produced by the local tannery. Krystina leafed through the tannery's catalog that was amongst the tourist brochures, on every page there was a non-Greenlandic model wearing the latest in elegant fur fashion. Even Krystina had to admit that their products were appealing and might have bough a handbag if they had not been 2,700 Dkr. It would have been nice to take a tour of the tannery to find out more about modern fur hunting practices in Greenland. But we really did not want to overstay our welcome with Snow Dragon anchored near the harbor entrance. We wondered if it was likely that the skins from the two seals in Sardloq would end up being sent to the tannery and turned into a trendy fashion statement.
Internet was available at the hotel and pricey at 100 Dkr per hour. While Krystina stayed and uploaded photos on the touchy connection, Frances wandered around town enjoying the granite sculptures that were often carved directly into the rocks. Though the town had a network of roads and a number of vehicles there were also paths with stairs that made it ideal for walking. She also visited the museum which had a beautiful exhibition of Greenlandic paintings, a large display of 20th century ivory carvings that had been made for profit and some traditional tools and clothing. The collection was housed in an exquisite older building. Judging by the numbers carved on the logs, the building had probably been moved and reassembled.
Qaqortoq
The grocery store was well stocked and expensive as expected. Fresh fruit and vegetables were mainly of questionable quality but they did have everything from papayas, pineapples and mangoes to the more standard apples and oranges. The in-house bakery looked promising and we bought two loaves of bread that turned out to be rather good. Near the checkout we passed the ice cream and decided to ignore prices and pickup a small container that would fit in our freezer. The only option they had that met our requirements was Ben & Jerry's, one of the U.S.'s most beloved brands of ice cream. It was strange to be in Greenland trying to make the decision between Half Bake, Caramel Chew Chew and Strawberry Cheese Cake, our top contenders amongst the selection.
As we climbed back into the dinghy Krystina looked over and saw a dead musk ox in the skiff next to us. Both of us had been hoping to see musk ox in Greenland but apparently forgot to specify the live part. We have seen them farmed on Alaska but it would be very special to see this relic of the ice age in the wild.
On our way to find an anchorage for the night, we passed Resolution, a sailboat from Cape Cod that was going to Qaqortoq. We talked to them briefly on the radio to share information about the harbor after we heard them try unsuccessfully to reach the harbormaster on the radio. They were the forth sailboat that we had seen since arriving in Greenland.
It did not take us long to convince ourselves that the ice cream might melt, our excuse to eat some before dinner. Over Caramel Chew Chew we realized that there really are some advantages to globalization. Ben & Jerry's earth friendly business plan might not have been enough to offset the carbon emissions of getting the ice cream to Greenland. But their quality ice cream did survive sitting in a grocery store freezer a lot better than Danish brands.
For more photos please click on Qaqortoq Album.
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