Qaqortoq, Greenland

Today we have a tour called Town Walk with a local Chef. The line for the tender was huge once again. Finally, they called everyone with an excursion to come to the head of the line. If not for that, it would have taken over an hour in line just to get to the tender. Anyway, we made it. While our guide was a very nice young man, he was not a local chef as indicated on the tour discreption. 

He did give us a lot of information about living here in Greenland and the use of various plants to eat, not just as greens, but to make jam and even pesto! Angelica is a weed looking plant brought here by the Vikings to make these delights. We had the opportunity to taste both the jam and pesto at the small meal that followed the walk, and both were impressively tasty! The lunch was pretty small but it was a lovely presentation. Stuart’s favorite was the Caribou (reindeer). It had a good flavor and looked a bit like steak medallions, just a tiny bit chewy. The greens were my favorite, we both liked the beer. I skipped eating the whale blubber (salsa?) and the melted blubber like oil was not to my liking. I guess one has to grow up with these flavors to appreciate them! It was a walk on our own and a short wait in line for the tender back to port. They truly need better organization on their tender stops. I am glad we will be docked in Nuuk!

 

Angelica: Angelica is an ancient cultivated plant in Greenland. After the ice age it spread in Europe, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. The Norsemen and Vikings knew and used the plant and they brought it with them when they went to Greenland, where it became a vital source of vitamin C which prevents scurvy and other ailments in people as well as animals. According to tradition angelica was given to man by an angel – the archangel Gabriel himself, who reputedly planted it with his own hands and used it as a weapon against plague. This is why the plant’s Latin name is angelica archangelica.

About the greens: They have an experimental trial location by the sheep farming area because it is warmer there. They grew all the greens we ate today; lettuce, cabbage, arugula, and another green I did not recognize, along with red onion, cucumber, and tomatoes. In Nuuk, where we will be tomorrow, they have experimental trials going on there is shipping containers which they fill with soil, sprinkling systems, and the hydropower to operate them. Our guide was unsure of the results. I plan to look into that and read about it later. Here is the website: https://www.norden.org/en/nominee/greenlandic-greenhouse-greenland

Once back to the ship we peeled off our extra layers and went to the Vintage Bar to play Phase 10 and have a drink. We are very tired this evening. There is a show that sounds good but honestly, we are just too tired. Stuart took 2 drinks back to the cabin for us and I went up to Windjammer café and got us a tiny cheese plate. They do have a few different and tasty cheeses on this cruise most days. We decided an early bedtime was in order. Stuart was not hungry but I decided I needed just a bit more and ordered a room service pizza, he did have on piece of that. Then off to bed, the cold weather and my aching legs put me to sleep quite quickly.