Day 16: the end

Miles Traveled: 4452 nautical miles

Ports Visited:  6

New Countries Visited:  1

Medical Evacuations:  4

Ship Time Changes: 5

Meals Solo:  32

Meals with “Friends”:  1

New Foods Tried:  2 (reindeer and musk ox)

Towel Critters:  7  

Movies Watched:  9

Photos Taken:  1,359

Cups of Tea:  a lot

Positive Covid Test:  1

Favorite Photos . . . you knew it would be of the icebergs . . . near and far!

An Unforgettable Experience

This cruise to Greenland was more than just a vacation; it was a visit to a place that seemed like such a mystery. I was completely captivated by the majestic icebergs, the wildlife, the people, and their culture.  I had no idea what to expect but that is exactly why I was so excited to visit Greenland.  And most of all so thankful we were able to visit all three planned ports in Greenland too.

Day 15: Sea Day

I took a lot of medicine before going to bed. I woke up feeling better, but I’m almost certain I know what is wrong.  I am going to take it easy today and just eat, rest, and hydrate!

Guess what my biggest weakness is on a cruise ship? 

This pretty much sums up what I can not resist on a cruise ship; fresh bread with butter and tea . . . hot tea or iced tea . . . it doesn’t matter but I do make my own brewed iced tea because the tea they serve taste fake or instant to me.

My last origami creation . . .

. . . which is fitting since it’s time to pack and get off this ship!

Day 14: Sea Day

I woke up feeling sickly.  All I wanted was hot tea so managed to drag myself upstairs to grab a couple cups.  It was beautiful so I sat outside by the pool in the sunshine soaking up some vitamins which will hopefully make me feel better.  It’s not 35 (Greenland) or 95 (Texas) but a cool 65 which is perfect.  I took a few laps around the track in hopes that some sunshine will energize me to feel better.

I ended retreating to my cabin for a hot shower and took several cold and flu medications I brought with me.  I spent most of the day just laying around and resting.

Tonight is lobster night and no way am I missing this . . . and nothing screams a cruise more than Baked Alaska for dessert.

 

I have a new friend hanging around my cabin!

Day 13: St. John's, Newfoundland

Today I switched it up a bit and decided to hire a taxi by the hour to hit the places I wanted to visit around St John’s.  The weather is miserable but honestly this is the first port day the weather has been sort of crappy.  I was off as soon as they opened the door with hopes of beating the excursion groups!  I had a list of places to visit that I gave the taxi driver and off we went.

Cape Spear

Cape Spear's location is near the convoy routes of World War II which made it a strategic point in the Battle of the Atlantic. It provided protection from German submarines, and there are bunkers, underground passages, and two 10-inch guns. 

The Cape Spear Lighthouse was designated a national historic site of Canada for its age and architecture. 

Cape Spear is also the easternmost point in North America and home every morning to the first sunrise on the continent.

And the best part was there were only a couple other people there and the tour busses were arriving as I was leaving.

Jellybean Row Houses

Quidi Vidi Village

By this point the weather was not great but the one place I really wanted to visit was the last stop.  I had intended for the taxi driver to end our tour here and do some hikes in the area before walking back to the ship but that wasn't going to happen in this weather. 

Signal Hill

Signal Hill is one of St. John’s most popular landmarks due both to the history and spectacular views of the city, Atlantic Ocean, and the rugged coastline. Originally known as the “Lookout” because of its strategic placement overlooking St. John’s harbor, Signal Hill was used in defense, observation, and signaling from the early 1700s to World War II.  Signal Hill was also the reception point of the first transatlantic wireless signal by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901.

Cabot Tower

The weather was miserable and not getting any better and I was starting to feel not so great so I called it a day.  I had the taxi driver return me to the ship and headed back on board.

A view of Fort Amherst as we sailed away leaving St. John’s . . . 

. . . and just like that it cruise is basically over . . . next stop will be Boston after a couple of sea days.

Day 12: Sea Day

Today we gained 30 minutes sleep when we traveled back in time!  Isn’t it weird we only changed time by 30 minutes?  Well, I learned something new today.  Newfoundland is 3.5 hours behind UTC. When time zones were introduced in the late 19th century, Newfoundlanders chose their 30-minute offset because that was close to the local solar time in St. John's, the city where most Newfoundlanders lived.  But seriously, we changed time a lot and it was hard to even know what the actual time was and the 30 minutes was just crazy.

It's another sea day.  I attended a lecture series on our last port stop, St. John’s Newfoundland.  It is the oldest easterly city in North America.  It is also the start of the trans Canadian highway which is 4860 miles long.  I learned about Terry Fox; he ran a marathon each day for 143 days.  It is a bit gloomy outside.

 

I chatted with two sisters from Florida, and they invited me to lunch. Honestly, it was such a delight to join people for a meal after eating every meal solo for 11 days.  Of course it was a bit awkward to chat with strangers over a meal . . . thankfully it was a quick lunch. 

I watched some old school movies today; Waitress, Napoleon Dynamite, and Cocoon.  At least they were not all depressing!

Day 11: Sea Day

 It has been a busy trip so far.  I spent a lot of time in my room!  

I did manage to get out to have three meals today which I did not need!  I watched the movie The Fault in Our Stars. Good grief what a tear jerker! I really need a funny uplifting movie. I am beginning to think Royal Caribbean only shows sad movies.

Day 10: Nuuk, Greenland

Nuuk is the capital of Greenland with about 20,000 residents.  

35% of the Greenland population lives in Nuuk

I was amazed at how compact and easy it was to walk around the town.  It does have a different feel than the other two towns we have stopped.  I did not have an organized excursion tour today and was doing my own thing.    

Nuuk Cathedral was closed due to construction so that was a bummer.

Sedna the Goddess of the Sea

I stumbled on a fresh market.  It wasn’t for the faint as they were preparing the local catch meat and fish for locals to buy.  I found it interesting and thought it was a great window into the life of the locals. 

 

My next stop was to the Katuaq Culture Center.  This is one thing I have been looking forward to the most.  In my research, I found that inside the culture center was a café called Cafétuaq that had a sampler plate of Greenlandic Tapas.  Now let me just say I am not an adventurous eater when it comes to trying new foods, but I really wanted to do this.

I am happy to report it was all very good and not that bad.  I liked some more than others but nothing was so bad I had to spit it out.  I spent a lot of the day just wandering around enjoying the cooler weather; it sure did not feel like 35 outside.  I popped into the grocery store to check it out.  I was impressed with the selection of fresh produce even if the prices were high. Honesty, the prices of produce in the US has become so expensive that the prices did not seem that bad since it is imported.  Most of the food in the grocery store is imported from Denmark or Iceland . . . except for fish and meat.  For example, a small personal size watermelon was about $8.

The prices are to be expected since it is all imported.  I read that fresh produce is not as readily available in the winter months due to shipping cost must be by air due to icy waters making it hard for shipment by boat.  So that might be why there is so much produce on the shelves right now.  I was a bit taken back when I saw this meat in the freezer.  That would be seal (right) and whale (left).

 

I made one more stop at the Hans Egede statue that was high above the city.  The views were lovely. 

And I hiked to the top!

The views were even better from above.  Those colorful house are so fun!

A few art sculptures as I headed back to the boat.

My new friend today is an elephant.

At this point the cruise ship has traveled 2,552 nautical miles.  Tonight, we turn around and head south towards Canada and the United States

Day 9: Sea Day

It's another sea day . . . I told you it was like Groundhog Day!  It was very windy most of the day as we were cruising the artic waters of the Davis Strait by more icebergs.

I was surprised at how close we were to the iceberg.  I will say the ship speed was super slow so that was good that safety was important.

You know the drill: eat, sleep, watch people, repeat.  My new critter got an origami heart from today’s class.

Day 8: Qaqortoq, Greenland

My day started in the early morning hours with a group text saying the Aurora Borealis is out.  I debated getting up and checking it out or rolling over and going back to sleep.  The thought of staying in my warm bed sounded better.  I talked myself into getting up because it might be my only chance to see them.  So I got up threw on some warm clothes over my pajamas and headed to deck 12.  It was so windy and cold but man was I glad I made the effort. 

I am sure you have seen all the fancy photos people post with amazing colors . . . in my opinion those are fake since they are taken with filters and special settings that aren't visible to the naked eye.  I was happy to just watch in the natural beauty and not altered.  After a few minutes, it was back to bed. 

I think I am still on a high from our first stop in Greenland, but today we are at the city of Qaqortoq, Greenland.  Qaqortoq is the largest city in southern Greenland and the 11^th largest city in the country.  During the summer about 3,000 people call it home but in winter there are only about 2,000 residents.

The weather was not great and the fog was so thick the tender boats could not take us to land.  In fact they had started taking people ashore and had to stop because you literally could not see anything. 

Thankfully, the captain was patient and waited it out and an hour later we were back on tender boats headed to shore.  Today, I signed up for an art walking tour that visits stone works around the city known as Stone & Man.

The project is the work of local Qaqortoq artist Aka Høegh, who endeavored to turn her home town into a permanent open air art gallery, and essentially, a work of art in and of itself. With the help over a dozen artists hailing from other Nordic countries like Norway, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and of course Greenland itself, Høegh oversaw the creation of 24 separate carvings and sculptures. Some of the works took the shape of fully shaped sculptures made out of local boulders, while others looked more like recreations of ancient tribal markings of fish and whales.

It was interesting to see them, learn the story of each work as we were guided around town.

I think this one below was my favorite because on the far right there is a narwhal.  I always thought narwhals were mystical and did not exist.  They are rare but they are out there!  Who knew?

One story that I remembered was this carving below.  It is a self-portrait that is a single lady all alone.  Back in the day, the ladies washed their hair with urine so it made it easier to form a big bun on top of their head.  I bet they did not have many dates with that smell! 

These towns are so small that you can walk the town quickly.  I really enjoyed the slower pace to just enjoy the moment.  I walked around town, checked out the grocery store, and some of the landmarks around town.  I loved all the colorful houses again.  As you can see the weather was foggy but as the day went on it lifted and came back and lifted.  The weather in Greenland is unpredictable.

A few other landmarks around town Church of Our Savior

Memorial Fountain

Qaqortoq Musuem that was filled with local history and artifacts.  I really enjoyed seeing the traditional dress clothing. 

The close up of the beading is amazing!

I thought this street sign was funny and well can you imagine if you had to write that on all your communication?

Tassuunnaqquunnerit Tamaasa which translates to I think of you every time I pass by.  I would think about you every time I had to write that, and I'm sure it wouldn't be fondly.

Just another iceberg hanging out as we leave town.