August 17, Qilakitsoq and Uummannaq (Lat. 70° 40.5' N, Long. 52° 07.1' W)
Today at we awoke to the sight of gigantic ice bergs, and our landing site at Qilakitsoq.
The English translation is "the sky is low". Uummannaq Fjord has its share of calved bergs from several tidewater glaciers to the east. On shore at Qilakitsoq, we viewed a number of 500-year old Inuit (Thule) graves
consisting of piles of stones within which we could see human skulls and bones. A short climb brought us to the where the Greenland Mummies 
were discovered in 1972, and also afforded us a wonderful view 
of the fjord and its many islands and icebergs. Through carbon 14 dating the estimated date of the mummies' death is 1475 give or take 50 years. They now rest at the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk.
In the afternoon, we visited the island community of Uummannaq 
Established 1790's, it is a busy town that is home to commercial fishing boats and a fish processing plant. The village's harbour was the scene of many small boats carrying Greenlanders to and from many smaller, nearby communities. Five thousand people live in 7 villages in the district. The lofty peaks of Uummannaq Island and its neighbors provided spectacular scenery. Despite the light low cloud, we enjoyed the town's museum, visitor center, and the Uummannaq church. Perhaps the biggest surprise for us was the chance to visit Santa's Gift Shop
Ok, that's enough shopping. We now know that Greenland is not just ice and snow. It's time to move on.
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