After yesterday’s introduction to Greenland in tiny little Paamiut, today we were arriving somewhere considerably bigger — Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
Although “considerably bigger” probably needs a little perspective. Nuuk has a population of only around 20,000 people, which makes it one of the smallest capital cities in the world. Still, after Paamiut’s 1,300 people, this was practically the big smoke.
We had an excursion booked this morning, so there was no leisurely Dining Room breakfast today. Instead we grabbed something in the Lido before heading down to the World Stage for our 7:45am meeting time.
The ship still appeared to be docking as we made our way down from Deck 9, and although our excursion was meant to leave at 8am, it was closer to 8:20 before we finally got underway.
Today we were heading out onto Nuuk Fjord for a wildlife and scenery boat trip — and as it turned out, Nuuk was about to put on quite the show.
Into Nuuk Fjord
Our excursion was called Wildlife: Fjord Safari by Boat, and there were around 50–60 of us heading out. Thankfully, rather than squeezing everyone onto one large boat, we were split between several smaller boats with only around 12 people on ours.
Much better.
We were all aboard and headed out past Nuuk and into the fjord. Starting with zooming past our ship.
The scenery became spectacular almost immediately.
Huge mountains rise straight out of the water, and as we travelled further into the fjord we started seeing waterfall after waterfall tumbling down their sides.
We eventually stopped near one of the larger waterfalls coming down from the Sermitsiaq Glacier area, where the mountains towered roughly 1,200 metres above sea level. Several waterfalls were dropping somewhere in the region of 60–120 metres down the rock faces.
The mountains still had patches of ice and snow sitting high above us, and with the waterfalls pouring down towards the sea it was one of those landscapes where photographs don’t really show the scale of what you’re looking at. Although that didn’t stop me taking plenty… obviously.
Straight From a Greenland Waterfall
Our boat nosed right up near one of the waterfalls and one of the guys managed to fill a bottle with water straight from it.
Then came the obvious question: where is the cleanest water in the world?
According to them: Iceland.
Right then. Greenland apparently comes in second.
I’m not entirely sure whether this was scientific research or some long-running Iceland-versus-Greenland rivalry, but either way we all drank some.
It was very good. Although I’m not sure what I was expecting waterfall water to taste like. Water, presumably.
The boat crews clearly knew each other well too. At one point another boat called ours over the radio to say they’d spotted whales, while one of the American passengers on our boat announced that it was obviously a competition to see which boat could spot them first.
The crew quickly explained that no, they actually help each other.
Very sensible. Apparently not everything needs to become an international sporting event.
Now THAT Is an Iceberg
We came across what was easily the biggest iceberg we had seen in the fjord so far.
It was enormous.
The guides explained that the ice was probably around 4,000 years old, having broken away from a much larger piece of ice in northern Greenland, and that what we could see above the water was only around 10% of its actual size.
Which means the really big bit was underneath us.
Comforting.
The colour was incredible too. The first iceberg we approached was this beautiful deep blue, and then we saw another that was much whiter. Apparently the colour can tell you something about the density and age of the ice, and we could see cracks running through parts of it.
At one point someone explained that the surface of the sea was around 5°C while farther down it was closer to 2°C, which apparently helps explain why icebergs melt differently above and below the waterline.
I’m sure there was considerably more science involved than that, but my main takeaway was: big iceberg, mostly underwater, don’t get too close.
Seems reasonable.
We saw another couple of tour boats out there, along with boats from different tour companies, and it was amazing watching these relatively small boats moving around beside something containing ice that had existed long before any of us — or most of civilisation as we know it.
Greenland really does have a way of making you feel rather small.
Back to Nuuk
By around 11am it was time to turn around and head back towards Nuuk.
I genuinely didn’t want the trip to end.
Between the mountains, waterfalls and icebergs, the whole morning had been absolutely spectacular. Of everything we’d seen so far in Greenland, this was one of those experiences I knew I was going to remember for a very long time.
Even better, the people here are able to show visitors this incredible place without completely commercialising it. The boats were small, the crews worked together and everything felt very respectful of the environment.
Long may that continue.
Once back at the ship, Mike decided he’d had enough adventuring for the moment and headed aboard.
Unfortunately I’d managed to lose my key card somewhere along the way.
Because apparently I can’t just have a nice straightforward day.
Thankfully the port authorities let me through the gate and back towards the ship, where facial recognition confirmed I was indeed me. I temporarily borrowed Mike’s key card and headed back out again.
Nuuk was certainly busier than Paamiut, but it still didn’t feel anything like what we’d normally think of as a capital city. There were colourful houses, apartment blocks, shops and considerably more activity, but you’re never far from the mountains and water.
I spent some time wandering around before eventually heading back aboard for the afternoon.
Journalling, Snoozing & Another Greenland Evening
The rest of the afternoon was considerably less energetic. I spent some time in the Lido Bar catching up on my journal, while Mike managed a rather impressive afternoon snooze of four hours or more.
In the evening Mike headed down to the Billboard lounge quiz while I continued journalling in our cabin. We met up again later for dinner in the Dining Room, which was surprisingly quiet.
And tonight the service was actually really good.
Yes, I know. I was surprised too.
After some of the dining experiences we’d had earlier in the cruise, we finally seemed to have found a little corner where things were working rather nicely. We even ended up sitting in roughly the same area as the previous night, and both evenings had been much better.
Maybe we’ve cracked the code.
Dinner done, we headed back towards the lounge for another quiz before eventually calling it a night.
And that was Nuuk.
Our first proper look deep into a Greenland fjord had given us towering mountains, waterfalls, whales, ancient ice and water apparently only slightly less impressive than Iceland’s.
Not bad for a Saturday morning.
Yesterday Paamiut gave us the quiet, everyday side of Greenland. Today Nuuk showed us just how ridiculously spectacular its backyard is.
And I have a feeling Greenland isn’t finished with us yet.
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