Sunday, September 4, 2011

day 24 Greenland and Storm

Firstly, let me tell you what is happening outside!! We left Nanortalik, Greenland, about 2 pm this afternoon. It is now five. The captain came on the blower as we were leaving to warn us that we were heading straight into a storm. The waves are to reach twenty feet high and he has asked us to make sure everything is secure in our stateroom. We are to please hold handrails when venturing out and people that are not too sure on their feet should consider staying put and getting room service. He also suggested that if we have problems with seasickness, that we should visit the medical facility downstairs and get on that right away. Oh, and he reassured us that the Eurodam has been in high seas before and he expects she will do well this time as well. And believe me, its a stormin’ out there!!! The waves aren’t 20 feet yet, but they are getting there!

So, Nanortalik. This village, so remote and unget toable, sitting on a rocky little island just off the tip of Greenland was one of my life’s most astoundingly amazing experiences I shall ever have. We tendered in and the moment I stepped off the boat and onto Greenland I was entranced. It was scotch misting/borderline raining. We were on the fourth tender to land (each tender takes about 100 people) And the lineup of people waiting to go back to the ship was about 300 people long. I was ashamed and dismayed by these spoiled brat fellow passengers. The awful woman that sat behind us on the tender, from Ontario, kept saying to her husband, “look at all the people lining up to go back to the ship already. What does that say about this dinky little place? Eh??” The third time she said it, I turned and said, “Actually, what does that say about us? Eh???” In fact several people decided to not get into that long line up and just stayed on the tender. Can you believe it? They didn’t even get off. Sometimes I truly dislike (read hate but LC says that word is a no no) people. Especially fat spoiled awful people.

Bill and I walked the entire village, every lane, every crack, every pathway. We met the most awesome people along the way and took fantastic pictures. We went into their teeny tiny museum buildings, we patted their mangy awesome mutts, I took pictures of their beautiful babies, we sat on old faded painted upturned boats, we went into their grocery store and checked out the prices (eeekkk!!!) , we played with their older kids, we exchanged communications of some sort with the elders, we watched fishermen untangle fishnets, we watched a bunch of men getting the town social centre ready for a shindig of some sort tonite, we waved and laughed with giggly teenaged girls, we threw a ball for a while with some older teenaged boys, we shopped in their souvenir shop, we bought two CDs of Inuit and Greenland music (both truly awful) and caught the very last possible tender back to the ship at 1:30. This was an experience beyond any experience we have ever experienced! And as the ship blew its horn, and delicately wended its way through the icebergs floating about in their bay, the whole town turned out to wave us off and hoot and holler as we went. Oh my!!

And now here we are back in the lido, waiting for dinner to start. The boats a rocking big time, Frank Sinatra is blasting out of the speakers that are everywhere and I think I am ready for bed. Oh, and down one of those many lanes, over the bumpy paths and into the drizzle, behind brightly coloured houses near the museum, guess who we ran into, all by herself, in tears of joy because of where she was? Ester….good old crippled Ester. I love her. TTYL

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