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Previous: Ilulissat
Here is a small berg met along the way to Sisimiut.
Sisimiut (Place of the Fox Den People), is Greenland's second largest town with a little over 5000 residents
Here, the Orlova tied up at the container dock. A group of plant life enthousiasts went for a walk on the tundra in the morning and we all set out after lunch to explore the town on foot.
This 360 degree mobile panorama shows a part of the town around the port, the narrow harbour and the rocky surroundings.
Here is one of the smaller passenger ferry boats serving the coastal villages.
This view shows the inner fishing harbour with the two big blue fish and shrimp packing plants.
Visiting Sisimiut from the Orlova tied up to a dock was definitely more convenient than landing by zodiac like in Ilulissat!
There was a lot to see in Sisimiut. We first visited a handicrafts factory housed in a 19th century stone warehouse where local artists carved souvenirs made of stone and reindeer antlers for the tourists. Particularly popular are the small "Tupilak" carvings that were once used to cast evil spells on enemies.
I was tempted but passed because of their high price (100 to 1000 US$).
Sisimiut's old town, dating back to the 18th century, has been carefully restored to attract tourists. One of the huts held this traditional umiak (women's boat) used by the original Inuit populations to transport their families and cargo.
The blue Bethel church, built in 1775, was closed for repairs. It is the oldest church in the country.
Next to the church was this interesting house with walls more than one metre thick built of piled up sod gathered on the tundra.
Here is an inside view of that sod house.
There is a nice view over part of Sisimiut from the terrace of this restaurant and souvenir shop up the hill from the old town.
Modern Sisimiut is quite extensive for its small population. The old town is down the hill behind the red church built in 1926.
After wandering around in small groups for three hours we boarded the ship for the run to Nuuk. There was little exchange, other than commercial, with the local people. That was to be expected, considering that the most common language here is Greenlandic with Danish second and English third.
At least, the weather was nice!
