We spend time in Scoresby Bay starting early in one of the most difficult towns to live in the world. It’s population is approximately 345 people of whom many are of Inuit descent.
We land around 8 in the morning and notice the harbor has a diversity of water vessels from our ship, the Norwegian coast guard, a tourist sailing ship, and small fishing boats of the current population. The buildings follow the Norwegian custom of brightly painted buildings. As we make our way up the hill from our water landing, we hear the call of the dogs tethered in a reveen close to town. We stop a few minutes to watch the hounds and continue up the hill to the central township.
A number of older people, using all sorts of different medical devices, are walking to their all-in-one: retail experience, bank, pharmacy, hardware store. Provisions arrive in town only twice a year so everyone has to make due in between. We learn that this is the day for pension payments to be delivered so the population is out to collect. We notice appreciable facial shrinkage regions on the people due to the loss of teeth and/or lack of dental care. Facial appearances of premature aging convey a difficult life in this environment.
At 10AM, we are treated to the teams of dogs being fed seal meat. The howling is an amplification of Mr. Bugatti’s behavior at feeding times. These are Greenland dogs that are distinctive from malamutes and Siberian huskies bred to be fast rather than hunters. The dog sleds are simple wooden platforms on runners with skins used as covers by riders for warmth. The dogs are lined up in a fan shaped rather than the traditional 2-by-2 lines run in Canada and US. The lack of trees in Greenland permit this type of formation which balances the work and sleds. The dog teams have summer vacation and then are expected to work in winter. They are not family pets.
Following lunch, we were able to get out on a short hike for photography. Since the temperatures remained around 20 degrees, we felt the cold while viewing the fjord, ice, and ground cover.
This evening following dinner, we spent an hour on the bridge watching the crew prepare and enter a rather large ice field. There was some bumping and thumping during the evening that resolved during the night.
Rizbee On The Road 