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Travelogue
Wassup Greenland
by Norman Bituin
POTUS: "One way or the other."
Recently there has been a lot of news and chatter about Greenland in the geopolitical world. Whether the roughly 56,000 Inuits who comprise 89% of the population of Greenland like it or not, their domicile has been thrust in the spotlight. I thought that this might be an opportune and relevant time to share images and perspective on Greenland from my trip last year.
Let me reiterate that this is a travelogue, not a political commentary. As a short background of Greenland, below are excerpts from Wikepedia.
WIKEPEDIA:
"Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. The inhabitants are full
citizens of Denmark and citizens of the European Union. The capital and
largest city of Greenland is Nuuk. Greenland lies between the Arctic and
Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is the world's
largest island that is not a continent.
"Greenland has been politically
and culturally associated with the European kingdoms of Norway and Denmark for
more than a millennium, beginning in 986. When Denmark and Norway separated in
1814, Greenland was transferred from the Norwegian to the Danish crown. The 1953
Constitution of Denmark ended Greenland's status as a colony and in 1979 Denmark gave
Home Rule to Greenland that assumed responsibility for a number of governmental
services. With the melting of the ice due to global
warming, its abundance of mineral wealth, and its strategic position between
Eurasia, North America and the Arctic zone, Greenland holds strategic importance
for the Kingdom of Denmark, NATO, and the EU.
"Most residents of
Greenland are Inuit. Greenland is socially progressive, as in metropolitan
Denmark; education and healthcare are free, and LGBTQ rights in Greenland are
some of the most extensive in the world. In 1987, the University of
Greenland was founded to provide Greenlanders with higher education in their own
language and country.
"Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has emphasized that Greenland, part of Denmark, is not for sale. The Greenland government has accused the United States of foreign interference in its affairs. Under the Danish Penal Code, activities that unlawfully threaten Denmark’s sovereignty or constitutional order, including through foreign interference or attempts to alter territorial integrity by illegal means, are criminalized under provisions relating to national security and crimes against the state. In April 2025, a plan by the United States for undermining the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark through a campaign of foreign interference and disinformation on social media became known."
I had the chance to visit and see this part of the world last fall, September 1-14, 2024. Joining my wife Cherry's travel group, mostly nurses, and some husbands we took a Norwegian Cruise Lines ship on a 14-day/10-port Arctic Circle cruise to Iceland, Greenland and Norway. We boarded in Reykjavik, Iceland and disembarked in Oslo, Norway.
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
We arrived in Reykjavic two days before the cruise and had booked the Northern Lights night tour, but that was cancelled because of bad weather. We did the Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon day tour the following day. The Golden Circle is a l86-mile loop with stops at Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir geyser and Gullfoss Waterfall.
In Thingvellir National Park is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet with 10,000 year-old lava.
Raining and cold in Reykjavik
The Great Geysir was once famous for its big eruptions but is now mostly
dormant. Its last big eruption was in 2016.
Kerid Volcanic Crater
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. It is smaller but is friendly and resilient to the harsh weather.
Gullfoss Waterfall
The Blue Lagoon, close to an active volcano, is a unique spa of geothermal waters of minerals, silica and algae.
In early April, with the volcanic eruption and lava flow, the town of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon had been evacuated and closed.
"Rainbow Street" shows Iceland's support for gender equality and LGBTQ rights. Hallgrímskirkja Lutheran Church is the largest in Iceland.
The journey from Reykjavík, Iceland to Nanortalik, Greenland, involves crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It opens to travellers a vista of
floating icebergs and glaciers including Langjökull and Sólheimajökullin in Iceland and in the Tasermiut Fjord region of Greenland.
Filipino Star in Norwegian Star, get it?
NANORTALIK, GREENLAND
Nanortalik has no port so the ship uses small boats, called tenders, to bring passengers to shore.
Inuit man passes the time strumming his guitar.
Inuit woman walks her baby in a stroller with her dogs.
Nanortalik, at the southermost point of Greenland, is a very small town that you can explore in a couple of hours.
A place of worship
Nanortalik Museum and Inuit boys playing on the swing atop the rocks
ISAFJORDUR, ICELAND
In Iceland from the captain's deck, there was a Northern Lights watch around midnight and, when detected, was
announced to the cabins. Not really visible to the eyes, but we were advised to point our camera at slow speed to the sky.
AKUREYRI, ICELAND
Godafoss: the water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters.
Dining in one of the ship's specialty restaurants
SEYDISFJORDUR, ICELAND
Turf houses in this town are, essentially, grass roofed houses. Turf, also known as sod, is a material consisting of grass on top of soil.
A Filipino band provided top, amazing music.They played almost every night to everyone's delight.
Ice Bucket's eclectic repertoire ranged from the 60's to the 00's; from the Beatles to Santana to Journey to Queen to Led Zeppelin.
Norwegian Star's cruise director, also a Filipino, sporting an Afro at a 70's disco night, leads the revelers as they dance to the bouncy beat.
We listened to all their nightly sets and posed with them at curtain time. They thanked our group's pooled token "appreciation".
OLDEN, NORWAY
Docking at port at breakfast time
BERGEN, NORWAY
Cruising the Bergen Fjord
We had seafood lunch here at Bergen Farmer's Market.
Walking in the streets and alleys of Bergen
ULVIK, NORWAY
Farewell and Appreciation Night: of Norwegian Star's senior officers, three are Filipinos; 60% of the work force are Filipinos.
KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY
The last port of call
Goodbye and until next trip!!
