Cock-er-tock

Qaqortoq, you’ll always be

Home, sweet, home to me.

Good ole Qaqortoq

Qaqortoq by the sea!!!

We docked in a very interesting port today – Qaqortoq, Greenland – where it is anything but green. The terrain consists of massive hills and mountains of rock covered in moss. There are no trees, and very little vegetation. Qaqortoq, pronounced “cock-er-tock” means “White Palace” in Greenlandic. There are three languages spoken here – Greenlandic, Danish, and English – although most of the natives speak Greenlandic.

Qaqortoq has a population of 3,400, so when our ship docked today, the town almost doubled its population. Most of the natives are Inuits, like the Eskimos in Alaska. The houses are all painted bright colors – reds, blues, greens and yellows. Our theory on the bright colors is because of the dull terrain during their short summer, and the snow in the winter. The people are very friendly and welcoming.

We stopped in the New Choir Church and their small choir of nine people sang a’capella in their native language. Amazing Grace and Nearer My God to Thee were both recognizable songs in a language we’ve never heard. This sanctuary was small, but the sound was amazing. With no microphones to enhance the sound, the acoustics were perfect.

It was quite chilly today with a high of 41 and a low of 39. We have yet to see the northern lights, but with the clear skies today, we can only hope that when we get out to sea tonight, we’ll be able to see them.

By the way, I must give my friend, David Bohan, credit for the words to the song at the beginning of this post. He never strays far from his roots in Tennessee.