Wednesday 22 July 2009

Itilleq

There was a gentle roll to the sea today. It was the first time we had actually felt the graceful Fram moving when she was underway. There was just enough of a breeze to keep the Northern Fulmars and Glaucous Gulls soaring effortlessly. It was a beautiful morning to be cruising on our way to Itilleq.
We filled the morning by attending lectures and strolling about on deck.
At 13:30 we dropped the anchor. It was a short two minute ride in the Polar Cirkle boats to shore.
Today we met David, a very warm and friendly man that was born and raised in Itilleq. He makes a living and supports his wife and three children mostly by hunting and fishing. There is plenty of game to hunt: caribou, muskox, narwhal, beluga whale and seals. His freezer was full of Arctic Char. He and his family eat what they need but he sells most of what he hunts to markets in nearby Sisimiut and Uummannaq. In the spring he hunts seals using his dogs and dog sled on the ice. We were invited to his home where he served coffee and showed us photos of his family and some of the game he had hunted.
A nice diesel furnace in therliving room supplied heat in the cold weather but he explained that many of the homes used water radiators. For electricity, the town has large diesel powered generators.
Of course, our weekly soccer match of Team Fram vs Itilleq took place today:
Itilleq 4
Team Fram 2