JodockWorldTravel

August 3, 2025

Famous for its stunning natural landscapes and recognized as the southernmost city of Greenland, Nanortalik sits quietly atop an enormous island of granite, metavolcanic rock and metasediment. Its name literally means “the place of polar bears.” No, we did not see any during our visit, but in the winter months they live and hunt on the sea ice that forms around the island. Sea ice differs from icebergs in that it forms from frozen ocean water. generally floats on top of that water, and changes seasonally; icebergs are formed when large pieces of ice break off from glaciers, and are primarily composed of fresh water.

Winters in Nanortalik are reported to be long, freezing, snow and extremely windy. And it is mostly cloudy all the time. “Experience dramatic vistas and towering peaks as you disembark…” the description of our excursion promised. Uh….no, not at 7:30 a.m. anyway.

But as the day wore on the sun began to break through, highlighting the sharp contrast between the incredibly rocky terrain and its vibrant occupants. It remains largely unchanged from when it was originally established.

We visited its one and only church…

…and wandered its outdoor museum, reputed to be the most comprehensive local museum in all of Greenland. It contains a variety of buildings reflecting life as it once was, from the mortar making process used to build homes to radio equipment used in the sailing and fishing industries, to the homes people used to live in. I think the Inuit are not very tall people.

This building was used to house visiting sailors. That one room with the shelving and windows is their complete living quarters, and the room with the light was the bathroom.

The museum has a lookout tower you can climb for a better view…

Nanortalik is every bit as hilly as the town we visited yesterday, but around here you don’t climb a lot of stairs – you go boulder hopping!

The people of Nanortalik have tiny house living down to an art! Even their multiple family dwellings conserve space. There are four units in that last picture.

Nanortalik is known as the gateway to the Tasermiut Fjord, popular with mountaineers and rock climbers from around the world for its granite peaks. For most of our time in town the clouds kept us from seeing this beauty, but just as we were heading back to the ship, we were able to get a glimpse of it.

This is what they look like on a clear day, courtesy of the internet.

There is only one main road in the town, zero street signs and not a single stop sign in this town of about 1,000. To keep them from being completely overwhelmed by our presence, the ship staged our arrival into 34 separate groups with staggered arrival times. Ninety minutes was about all we needed to see what there was to see, so it worked out well. Then it was back to the ship to blog, do laundry and enjoy the rest of our day. Tomorrow is a sea day and then it’s on to Iceland!