July 24 – Qeqertarsuaq

This morning we finally woke to typical Greenland weather…overcast with very low clouds.  Fortunately it isn’t too terribly cold.  We are in Qeqertarsuaq, the only town on Disko Island.  Disko Island is a volcanic island that is much younger than most of Greenland. 

This morning we had a walking tour of the town.  The first stop was the water supply station.  The fresh water comes from a glacier high in the hills behind the town and the water is supposedly some of the purist in the world.  They even bottle the water for sale around Greenland.

Nearby was the Arctic Center, a center for Arctic research and a branch of the University of Copenhagen.

Next stop was the nearby black sand beach.  

While walking along the beach we spotted whales, both fin whales,…

and humpback whales in the far distance.  

Everyone wanted to watch the whales so eventually the guide gave up, told us briefly about some of the other sights in town and left us to our whale watching. 

The whales seemed to attract a lot of sea birds.

There were interesting sights to see in the village...  

and we mad a short stop at the small church with its very interesting architecture.  Unfortunately it was closed so we couldn't see inside.

There were the usual colorful buildings

and a very colorful fence.

The harbor itself was very pretty...

and there was a whale jaw bone arch at the pier.

We were back on board by lunch time and we had a very restful afternoon. 

After dinner the crew gave a really great show.  The Sea Sick Band played several sets, some from reception did some ballroom dancing, and about 8 guys from the engine and tender group did some very nice dance routines (including a hilarious one in drag),

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Watch video of dance routine.
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we had several Filipino ethnic dances,

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Watch video of candle dance.
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and a great “routine” by a bartender making tequila sunrises. 

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Watch video of bartender.
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Watch video of step dance.
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The energy and the performances were great.