July 21, 2023: Leaving Greenland and Returning to Iceland

July 21, 2023 cjbishop@yahoo.com

Luggage was out by the requested 7AM time, after making sure it was less than the 18kg weight limit that was imposed by the air charter and stressed by the ship’s staff. There were scales set out for us to verify the weight. We were asked to simply vacate out cabins by 9AM and were free to leave the ship at any time. The main activity planned for the morning was the availability of a ferry shuttle to take us across the fjord to the original home of Erik (sometimes you see it spelled as Eric) the Red who settled there in 982. Once there we were free to wander around and see some ruins, visit a current active sheep farm and stop by the local “cafe” for souvenirs and free food samples.

Unfortunately when we awoke it was raining somewhat and we were not eager to walk around Brattahlid (“steep slope”), the name Erik the Red gave to his village, in the rain so we waited in the lounge and worked a bit more on that darn puzzle before leaving the ship around 10 AM, once the rain stopped. The shuttle ferry ride across the fjord took only 5 minutes or so on a fairly modern vessel.

Looking across the fjord to Qassiarsuk, the ancestral home of Erik the Red.

The shuttle used to ferry us to/from Qassiarsuk.

Nearing the village where Erik the Red lived.

The small landing in Brattahlid (now Qassiarsuk), the home of Erik the Red.

Local mode of transportation. They had two 5 passenger models available to take us around if we did not want to walk.

Fairly lush landscape in this part of Greenland. Picture taken by Steve.

One of several hostels for visitors who want to linger. Note statue of Leif Erickson on top of the hill.

Steve climbed the hill to take this picture of the Leif Erickson statue.

Picture of a Greenland door for my collection.

First time we have seen animals in the area.

I guess if you offer one thing you might as well offer other activities.

We spent the next 2.5 hours wandering around the small village, talking to some local guides about what we were seeing and enjoying some of the local food samples that had been prepared for us. They even provided several ATVs to take us to various sights in the village if we did not want to walk the distances between the sites. The rain had gone and it was a pleasant visit to the surprisingly lush area that is still active today as a livestock (mostly sheep) growing area. No wonder Erik the Red selected this area to settle. Compared to the other areas we have seen on our visit to Greenland, this area certainly is more conducive to living.

Remains of an ancient building site. As you can see it is very green here!

Replica of the 10th century church built here. Steve gets picture credit.

A local resident telling us the history of the church we just visited.

The type of home used by Vikings in the 10th century.

What the inside of a typical Viking home looked like.

Winter attire for a well dressed Viking!

Archeologists looking for ancient artifacts.

Sod home of the type the original settlers would have lived in.

The local coffee, brewery and souvenir shop-all in one place.

Inside the local store where free food samples were offered to us.

Giving us samples of a delicious lamb soup.

Today’s selfie, with Peter Cammell and his son, Alex.

Local general store which was surprisingly well stocked.

The hostess who runs the sheep ranch in the village. She made a bunch of appetizers and desserts for us to try.

Some of the appetizers the owner of the sheep farm offered us.

Some ulu knives and purses offered for sale.

An intricate shawl common in their culture.

Our host’s wedding picture, showing her in her native dress.

We were instructed to be at the airport by 1:30 to check into our return charter flight to Reykjavik, scheduled for a 4:10PM departure ( 7:50PM arrival). Quark had arranged to have box lunches waiting for us at the airport and told us there was an interesting museum and cafe near the airport terminal for us to visit as we waited for our flight. As I had mentioned earlier the local shuttles they had to take us to airport were either a small van or small school bus and since there are 150 of us Steve and I again opted to walk rather than wait for the erratic scheduled bus run. The weather was pleasant so it was not an unpleasant walk. Our game plan was to quickly eat our lunch and get in line to check in our luggage early, hoping to get better seats in the plane (we were way in the back of the plane -row 27 coming out). Our plan worked BUT once we checked in we found we had been assigned to same seats for our return flight-bummer! Oh well, at least we were now free to go visit the museum and cafe, while others awaited the very slow check-in process at the airport.

We just missed the ferry. Another came by in about 10 minutes.

The museum was surprisingly large and informative. Turns out this area was a major refueling spot during WWII. The museum had artifacts and pictures from that era. It took over an hour to work our way through it as it was really interesting. It was then time to go to the next door cafe to look at our last chance for souvenirs and a local beer.

There was a large US presence in the area during WWII.

Over 10,000 flights came through here during the war.

130 planes landed here in one day in 1944! At the peak there were 5600 military personnel in Greenland.

Some very old gaming equipment. Sad to say I remember them.

Ancient ax that dates from the era of Erik the Red. Could it be his?

In 1915 170 sheep arrived from Iceland and began the current sheep raising industry here.

When we arrived at the airport we were told that our return flight would likely be late in leaving. Rumor initially was it might be about 20 minutes, not a big deal. However, by the time we were enjoying our beer on the outdoor patio we heard it would now likely be a 2 hour delay for departure, not a good prospect, but we cannot do anything about it except enjoy our beer and the warm sun shining down on us. Steve was antsy, having noted that there was a trail going up the nearby hill, decided he needed more steps and wandered off to take it on. Me, being of sound mind, decided I would simply enjoy my beverage and catch some more rays!

Steve decides to climb the hill behind the airport.

Steve takes this picture of the airfield from the top of the hill he just climbed.

As it turned out we were not boarding our “unpainted” airplane until 6:30 PM , putting us about 3 hours late in departing Greenland. Thus our arrival at Reykjavík, where we were taken to a local hotel for our final night’s lodging, resulted in arriving way past any opportunity to find dinner (11 PM local time). Steve did some research and found a nearby Irish pub that was open to the wee hours so we walked there for a pint and perhaps a bit to eat. Alas, the Guinness was available, but there was no food served there. I had to laugh as there was not even any Irish music playing; there was a DJ blasting out modern R&R. We did find a couple of our fellow travelers there, however, and joined them as we downed our Guinness. Still hungry, as we walked back to our hotel we passed an all night convenience store that had really good salads and sandwiches which we purchased and ate while watching a bit of the opening US women’s soccer match in our hotel room!