Tuesday 11 June 2013

Qeqertarsuaq

Photo © Esther Kokmeijer
Qeqertarsuaq is a small, picturesque community of 845 people on Disco Island.  Like all Greenland communities, it is perched on the ocean's edge.  Warm brown volcanic cliffs rise steeply right behind the town.  Just outside of town there is a beautiful beach of black sand.

Ice Cruise Disco Bay
Photo © Esther Kokmeijer
We had a multitude of excursions today.  There were two walks to the waterfall at Blaesedalen.  There were two different trips to go ice cruising in Disco Bay and there was a guided town walk.  Once again we had perfect weather so just about everyone was able to participate in at least one of our programs.

Minke Whale meat for sale
Photo © Esther Kokmeijer
Just across from the ship we could see the carcass of a Minke Whale that someone had butchered on the shoreline.  Some of us were able to cruise over in the Polar Cirkel boats for a closer look.  There was little more than the vertebrae left as the carcass had been stripped clean of meat to be consumed by the local people.  There is subsistence whaling in Greenland.  Roughly 170 Minke Whales are hunted every year as well as several other species.

After a fabulous day in Qeqertarsuaq we lifted anchor at 16:00 and headed out into Disco Bay.  There are always many hundreds, and sometimes many thousands of icebergs in the large bay and today wasn't any different.  We followed the coastline of disco island towards the north and our destinations of tomorrow Uummannaq and Ukkusisat. 

At 21:15 the ship's officers, Expedition Team and crew staged an entertaining fashion show of many of the items for sale in the gift shop.