Saturday 9 July 2011

At the Dog Equator

Greenland Dog                                        (click image to enlarge)

Itilleq                                                     (click image to enlarge)
We had a nice relaxing morning.  We continued with our bridge tours which is great opportunity to meet the Captain and one of the navigation officers.  It is also a chance to learn about some of the technical aspects of running a ship like Fram.   Claude Nicolier  gave another great lecture about the Hubble telescope in German.  Where were also very important briefings on how disembarkation day would work.
Our destination today was the village of Itilleq.  Itilleq lies about 200 metres north of the Arctic Circle which is also known as The Dog Equator.  It is called The Dog Equator because in Greenland, only Greenlandic dogs are allowed north of the Arctic Circle.
We arrived in Itilleq at 13:00.  We were all invited to a kaffeemik (tea, coffee, cakes) and were issued colour coded tickets to make sure we went to the right homes.  We were also free to explore the new school house, the church, or to wander over to the cemetery and beyond for a nice view of the entire village.
The weekly soccer match of MV Fram vs Itilleq started sharply at 15:00.  Last week we got trounced 10-3.  This week the two teams were very evenly matched.  The final score was Fram 7, Itilleq 7.  It was a perfect way to end our season for this was the last time we would visit Itilleq this year.  
By 16:45 everyone was back on the ship.  Once again we turned out bow to the south and commenced the final leg of our adventure in Greenland.
At 17:30 we all met in the Observation Lounge for the Captain's Farewell Cocktail.  It seemed like the entire ship's crew was there to sing farewell songs.
During the early evening, the ship's photographer gave an excellent presentation of the photographs of the voyage.  It is always great to see what the ship's photographers come up with!
At 22:00 the crew entertained everyone once again with some singing in the Observation Lounge.