Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called Nordic Sojourn 2022
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Today, we visited the most isolated town in one of the most isolated countries in the world — Ittoqqortoormiit in Greenland (the nearest town is about 500 miles away!).  It is located on the north side of the mouth of Scoresby Sound, the entrance to the largest fjord system in the world.  The town’s name translates to “those who live in the big houses,” and maybe this is true in a relative sense.  The town was founded in 1925 by a group of Inuit settlers and the first thing the wintering over party built was a large house where the future colony manager and priest would live.  Once again, looking around at all the wooden structures with no visible trees begs the question — where did all the lumber come from?  In this case, the building materials all came by ship from Copenhagen.  This had to be a challenge given the fact that this part of the fjord is frozen nine months a year!  Today there are about 350 residents that live here in brightly colored houses that scatter the hillside.  Traditionally, the local economy has been driven by whale and polar bear hunting, with a little fishing thrown in.  What is interesting though, is that tourism is quickly becoming a larger percentage of the economy here, whether hosting visitors like us who are visiting the nearby Northeast Greenland National Park or a growing number of hunters, primarily from Europe that go on dog sled hunting expeditions.  There’s even a guest house and a pub (that opens one night a week).

Walking around the town was very interesting.  We really had to be careful walking on the streets because of the number of ATVs (the primary source of transport) zooming by.  There is a small grocery store (which is also the post office), a small museum, a tiny tourist info center, which also serves as a travel agency and gift shop, at at least one small restaurant.  Are you getting a sense of scale here?  People here were either very friendly or ignored us.  I can relate to that, living on a tourist island.  While tourism is a growing portion of the economy, there is a love-hate relationship that forms with the visitors who show up.  I stopped by the church (Lutheran) where a lady was spinning yarn from musk ox fur.  The inner fur was very soft and I’m sure it makes for some very comfortable sweaters!  We were invited to see a cultural demonstration and imagine my shock when a group of kids and one older gentleman, all in native garb, started to do quite familiar folk dancing to the tune of “Walk the Line.”  It was somewhat surreal.  From there I walked around the town and walked by the cemetery.  I’m not sure if people are actually buried there of if it is the same as Longyearbyen where the bodies are shipped out for fear of having their loved ones munched by a polar bear.  Anyway, it was an interesting visit.  We are now on our way to Iceland and we are hitting our first seas of the trip (15-20 foot seas, with 30-40 knot winds).  I guess we’ll see how this new ship design handles the waves!

Lots of dogs that wander all over town. These are probably sled dogs since they seem to hang together in packs.
nside the Lutheran Church. I’m not sure what the ship represents there, but perhaps it is related to the original exploration of the area…
Spinning musk ox fur. This woman has lived in the town since 2013.
Colorful houses and beautiful views!
Dodging the ATVs that are roaring through town.
The students who performed for us in their native beaded tops.
The edge of town looking out towards the glacier. It’s not advisable to go outside of this area without a rifle. Polar bears are frequent visitors here.
I saw these ladders, seeming to go nowhere, on multiple houses. Not sure what they are all about.
The cemetery — lots of crosses working their way up the hillside. Not sure if anyone is actually buried there because of the polar bear threat.
If you happen to be passing through beautiful downtown Ittoqqortoormiit, be sure to stay at this roomy guest house…
and stop by Ivalo’s for a hearty meal!
Okay, now this one threw me. After seeing a ton of ATVs and a few trucks, here we have an Audi in front of one of the houses. Not sure where they drive it, and definitely don’t know where they get it serviced!
Don’t know what these little flowers are, but they were so interesting in the wind.
Houses in all stages of repair and abandonment.
Our last in a series of “wet landings and departures.” Note the young helper in the bow.
Another young helper learning the intricacies of the push-to-talk radio from the crew members.
This entry was posted in Cruising, Greenland, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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