That Seal's it!
16 August 2012 | Nanortalik, E Greenland
Tom Maxfield
We arrived in Nanortalik on the southwest coast of Greenland late on Monday evening and by the time we had moored up in the harbour we were ready for a beer. Everywhere looks different in the dark and this place was no exception. We were directed to a building a few minutes away which turned out to be the only pub in town – complete with dance floor and disco lights! No food at that time of night so a couple of beers and some peanuts and we were ready for bed.
As we were nearing the end of Prince Christian Sound on our way down we spotted what looked like a dark shape on a small iceberg coming towards us. As it drew closer it was clear that it was a seal hitching a ride downstream on his own personal iceberg. We circled around him to get a closer look and he was completely nonplussed by our presence. It was very much a case of him watching us watching him.
There are only three places to eat in Nanortalik – two grill bars and the one and only hotel. We made the mistake of calling at one of the grill bars for breakfast on our first morning. It was a mistake that we did not repeat. Think of a shed pretending to be a poor man’s McDonalds where the menu consists of photos of every item of fast food you never want to eat. The coffee was OK.
Once we found the hotel things began to improve. They let us have a shower without having to take a room and they did all our laundry. After two and a bit weeks we were definitely in need of a shave and a shower. The hotel has a monopoly in that it is the only place in town that serves proper food so we’re now about to have our third dinner. It has a 1960s feel and a chef who hates to see people starving so the portions are huge. Last night Anders and Nigel had seal steak, pan-fried rather than boiled, which is the local specialty, along with fish heads. I had a tiny morsel which is quite brave for me and it tasted like liver. Not to be repeated.
Yesterday we visited the open-air museum for our dose of culture. We saw how they used to skin the seals to make clothes, even window blinds, as well as the outer covering of the kayaks they used to use for fishing. The town itself seems a little bit lost. The Inuit people are not unfriendly but they regard us with complete indifference and seem to spend most of the day sitting down looking out to sea or shuffling aimlessly backwards and forwards down what passes for the main street. Mass unemployment in a town of 2000 people doesn’t help and the Danish taxpayer picks up the tab to support the entire community.
We spent today readying Astrid for the long sail to the Azores and stocking up on provisions. The weather forecast seems favourable and we leave early tomorrow to sail the 1400 nautical miles to Horta, one of the most westerly of the nine islands, passing the aptly named Cape Farewell as we sail south. We have been averaging 4 knots an hour so it will take a while, perhaps up to three weeks. We have the satellite phone so our position will be updated regularly and every few days we’ll report on our progress. Until then, over and out.