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Hammond, Greenland’s first female prime minister, was one of nine Inuit cultural educators on the 36-member expedition crew. With more than two dozen scientific, cultural and social sciences experts onboard the ship, it’s been likened to a floating university. 

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“People want to know how we live here. That’s something you can’t Google,” said Hammond. 

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We started the lesson with a half-day visit to Sisimiut, shuttled by Zodiacs from the ship. The second-largest city in Greenland, with a population of about 5,500, reminded me a bit of St. John’s, N.L., with steep streets leading up from the harbour, green hillsides and buildings painted in cheery shades. 

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Zodiacs take hikers from the Ocean Endeavour to the tundra to hike on Disko Island. Photo by LINDA BARNARD /POSTMEDIA

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The local guide explained the colours on the timber buildings signified their use in the 18th century. Red is for churches, yellow for health care, black for police and blue for fishing.  

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Greenland’s remoteness, crisp air, friendly people and the silence of the North — punctuated by the barks and howls of some of the estimated 1,000 sled dogs around the community on summer vacation in Sisimiut — was invigorating.  

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At a Taste of Place buffet at the Taseralik Culture Center, we sampled the cornerstones of the Kalaallit diet. These hunted and fished “country foods” have cultural significance, as well as health benefits. They also keep families and communities fed in a remote place without farms that faces difficulties keeping grocery stores stocked. 

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Traditional country foods are on the menu at a Taste of Place buffet in Sisimiut, Greenland. Photo by NICOLE HOLMAN /ADVENTURE CANADA

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I tried muskox soup and stew and chewy muktuk (beluga whale skin and blubber). Pungent chunks of purple-red raw seal meat, valued as a belly-warming source of protein and minerals, was an acquired taste. 

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A group of heritage buildings tell the community’s story from the past century at the outdoor Sisimiut Museum. Inside Bethelkirken church, built in 1775, there was a display of colourful traditional dress including intricate glass-beaded collars and sealskin leggings. Being beautifully adorned is important to Greenlandic people, Hammond explained, especially when they are hunting. They believe the animals are attracted to their outfits and will come closer. 

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Iceberg watching from the black-sand beach at Qeqertarsuaq. Photo by LINDA BARNARD /POSTMEDIA

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The town shops sold sealskin mittens and tupilak, small mythic figures carved from wood, bones or antler. I bought beaded earrings and another pair made from carved muskox horn.  

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The next morning, the ship was well into Western Greenland’s Iceberg Alley. It was an astonishing site to see massive hunks of ice, some as big as houses, in a slow-moving parade, their melting flanks shining in the sun. 

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Thanks to long stretches of daylight above the Arctic Circle, we took an after-dinner Zodiac cruise among the icebergs to get a close look at the towering Eqip Sermia glacier. On-board geologist and professor Marc St-Onge told us we were at the “edge of that large white blob on every map of the Arctic.” The glacier advances three metres a day, he said, and the massive chunks that break off, or calve, float off as icebergs. 

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Ocean Endeavour passengers get a close look at the Eqip Sermia glacier. Photo by JACQUIE MATECHUK /ADVENTURE CANADA

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The next day, we dropped anchor in a bay and took Zodiacs to shore to hike on spongy, colourful tundra that released the rich cedar smell of Labrador tea with every step. Polar bear guards stood watch at the perimeter, but we didn’t see the apex predator of the Arctic until we reached Nunavut. You have to adjust your expectations about wildlife sightings on an expedition cruise. 

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That also goes for all travel in the Arctic. We were supposed to visit Ilulissat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for iceberg-producing Ilulissat Icefjord. Our captain decided the ice around the North Atlantic’s most prolific iceberg nursery was too unpredictable. We ended up at what turned out to be one of my favourite stops, Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island. It was called Godhavn when Franklin’s crew posted their last known letters home from here in 1845. 

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A runner does laps with an iceberg in view in Qeqertarsuaq, Disko Island. Photo by LINDA BARNARD /POSTMEDIA

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The town museum was closed, but they opened the door for us. I walked to the black-sand beach and watched icebergs float past, then hiked up a rocky ridge to a gushing waterfall, turning back to marvel at icebergs below. 

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Later, I clumsily kicked a soccer ball around with a kid on the Gatorade-green artificial turf of the town’s football pitch. The contrast between the shocking green turf, the blue stadium seats and the glistening white icebergs was almost too much for my brain to process. I gave him my Canada ballcap in thanks for the experience. But I kept my Not for Sale toque. 

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Starting with the 2026 season, Adventure Canada will operate two ships in Arctic, Greenland and north Atlantic expeditions, 144-passenger Exploris One and 78-passenger Ocean Nova. 

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Linda Barnard was a guest of Adventure Canada, which did not preview this story before publication. 

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