We had two sea days between Iceland and Greenland. On the second day we sailed through Prince Christian Sound. Three weeks ago we sailed the Sound going from west to east. Now we passed through again going east to west. If we thought it would look the same and be nothing new, we would be very wrong!!! It was a spectacularly beautiful day with bright blue sunny skies, but cold. We passed so many waterfalls, glaciers and even bigger icebergs than before. We don’t know where all these huge icebergs came from. They were not here three weeks ago.
As we reached the middle of the Sound we passed a remote, isolated village called Aappilattorq. Although inhabited since the 19th century, only around 100 people live here. There is a school, church, general store, general repair shop and a fire station. The village is accessible only by helicopter or boat. 
Once again we had two Danish ice pilots onboard the ship to help with navigation through the ice fields.
By the evening the winds really picked up as we left the shelter of the Sound. We went around Cape Farewell which is the southernmost point of Greenland, and entered the open waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Gale force winds were hitting the ship from the side causing the ship to list at least once. We watched as our salt shaker slide across the table and heard dishes crashing to the floor as the waiters struggled to catch sliding plates and dishes.
The captain’s evening announcement was interesting. He said the winds were making large whitecaps and it was hard to distinguish between whitecaps and icebergs. He also said for the first time in his career, he was having to worry about ice and hurricanes at the same time. Hurricane Ernesto was growing in the Atlantic and was scheduled to hit St John’s, Newfoundland on the same day we are to arrive. He said there was a slim chance we would be able to go to St John’s and the home office was looking at alternative ports.
Our last port in Greenland on this cruise was Qaqortoq. We feel very blessed we have been able to make all these Greenland ports. A few weeks ago other cruise ships doing our itinerary had these Greenland ports canceled because of ice blocking the harbors.
We anchored in the harbor when the sunset.
The BIG DIPPER and some Northern Lights
Qaqortoq, pop 3,050, is the largest town in southern Greenland. The area dates back to Viking settlements, but the town was founded in 1775 by Danish and Norwegian colonists.
We had a somewhat unusual, but delightful, excursion here. It was a cold 38° with a feel like of 33° as we took a tender boat to shore. We were met by a young, local girl who spoke perfect English. She said English is taught in the schools in Greenland but she perfected her English by watching the Disney Channel! She walked our group of thirteen up three pretty steep hills to a house where we were scheduled to have a home visit with a Qaqortoq resident. 
Our hostess was a lovely 76 year old resident who had coffee and homemade cakes ready for us. She showed us around her home and then we sat at two tables and had refreshments. Her husband is in an nearby eldercare facility and she has three grown daughters, five grandsons and a great granddaughter. She did not speak English but our guide was a perfect interpreter.
After chatting for awhile, she then brought out a native costume of the Inuit culture and explained how it was made. She had handmade them. She does a lot of embroidery and handiwork and that was evident around her home.
We loved visiting her home. The kitchen was small with a flat top stove, a small, dorm size fridge and a dishwasher. Perhaps it is so cold in Greenland, large refrigerators are not really needed.
We walked back down the steep hills and spent a little time looking around the small town. The Church of The Savior, built in 1832, was closed. We also found a geocache.
This Picture Was Used To Claim I Found The Geocache
A wonderful, unique and unforgettable experience in Qaqortoq!
