Friday 4 September 2026

Green it is not. Colourful it is. It is also part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Fact. Not a political statement.

We docked in the Port of Nuuk this morning as the sun rose

It’s a pretty approach

Nuuk (Nook) is the capital of Greenland and home to 20,000 people. That leaves 37,000 Greenlanders who don’t live in Nuuk because they consider it too big. Here’s why

We are on the largest island on earth. It has the lowest population density on earth and is the second largest ice mass on earth (Antartica being the largest). 57,000 people live on this area of 216 million square kilometres, which is covered in ice for 80% of the year. Greenland’s economy is driven by the mining of rare earth minerals, and fishing of halibut and prawns.

I have booked a private car tour of Nuuk today, which required a minimum of four people. We knew there would only be three of us, unless Chris picked someone up on board, which he failed to do. We three made our way by foot through the centre of town

oops city, to the designated pick up point

A tiny little Skoda Fabia pulled up and our guide, Jukku, introduced himself. He was quite pleased that there were not four of us, since his car only seats three passengers. We, too, were pleased as we had to fold ourselves in. Chris is a tall man and I have a leg which doesn’t bend as it should, so it was a bit of an exercise getting into the car. Repeated often.

He took us around the old city

Beside the old church is where the bodies were stored until they could be buried. The soil must thaw out before a grave can be dug, which means that bodies might be stored for several months. I think they use modern and unnatural refrigeration these days.

Jukuu showed us some traditional kayaks, which are made from driftwood, since there are no trees on Greenland. It is truly nul abor. Here he is on the ropes which are used to teach rookies how to control a kayak, before anyone is allowed out into these frigid waters atop one. Or in one. I’m not a kayaker myself

He drove us to the far flung parts of this city, a drive of what must have been nearly 3 kms.

We literally went to the end of the road. The towns on Greenland are not joined by roads. Roads, and therefore cars, are only for each town (city). The only means of transport from one area to another is by air or sea. Almost everyone has their own boat and the aircraft are busy. So few roads and such a big country

The Arctic scooters have been bedded down for summer but will no doubt be fuelled up soon

Believe it, or not, there’s even a golf course. And you betta believe it. A picture paints a thousand words. The fairways are the only green things we have seen in Greenland. Jukku is clearly not a golfer as he had no idea how many holes there are

A golfer he might not be, but he climbs this mountain three times a week

The ski fields were a sad sight. Global warming has ensured the ice loss across Greenland is 270 billion tonnes per year, and the Nuuk ski season, which is usually 4-5 months a year was only 4 weeks this year.

There’s a lot of dead people in Nuuk, possibly as many as there are living. What a view, with no chance of sunburn

This was to be a three hour tour, but Nuuk is so small that we’ve done the whole thing in two hours. Jukku dropped us off at the National Museum and went to his full time job, as a communications engineer. He was at work before midday.

The museum is not big but we meet some old Eider Ducks, who we hope were not feeling toovdown.

The most interesting exhibit is in the ‘grave chamber’. Here lie a family of four Qilakitsoq People. They were buried in 1475 and were discovered in 1972 under a pile of stones at an abandoned Inuit settlement in the north of Greenland. The cold, dry and windy Arctic climate appears to have frozen and perfectly preserved the bodies. These are three adult women and a six month old baby, in their original seal and reindeer skin clothing

It becomes evident that Chris is not a mummies boy. He left us and walked back to the ship. Cherrie and I kept exploring. We found the frozen section in the butcher/fish monger with enticing reindeer sausage, reindeer mince, musk ox and whale

And then we came across the highly sought after fresh section

Despite these gruesome images, we had worked up a hunger and found the Kammak Kaffi, where we shared a reindeer burger for lunch. We could have had any number of other burgers, but the blubber didn’t appeal. We carry enough of our own.

The anti America sentiment is alive and well here in Nuuk. Shops don’t accept American Express cards and make their feelings felt in merchandise. I was particularly drawn to the MAGA cap

I wish now that I had photographed the woman who was wearing the sweatshirt saying “Deer Greenland We Don’t Like Him Either”.

Cherrie was drawn to the exotic plant section of the supermarket

We have been blessed with the most wonderful weather so far for this trip. The raincoats have only been out a couple of times, and not worn all day. Today was lovely and warm at 4 degrees, and one of only an average of 35 sunny days a year.

As we make our way back to the ship, we divert to the industrial side of the port

It’s 5.30pm and peak hour

As the ship pulls out at 1800 hours we reflect on how lucky we are to be in this remote part of the world

The departure is as pretty as the arrival this morning

If a bit icy

The sun sets at 9.30pm, 15 hours after rising. Our cunning photo editor has shot from starboard and Portside

We were on standby for the northern lights and went to bed in our long johns and spencers. The captain announced the borealis at midnight and we were there in seconds. He was wrong. Good to have a captain we can have faith in. The moon was nice though