We made it to Paamuit, Greenland, but in Ringo’s words, “It don’t come easy.” In past posts you got the story of our encounters with ice, hurricane force winds and 23 foot seas, our cancelation of one port and reordering of the other two in Greenland. This morning, we made it to the anchorage off Paamuit and after running some tests with the tenders decided it was safe for us to get off the ship. There was a lot of swell, and Captain Paul Adams anchored so that he could use the lee of the ship to shelter the tender platform. But that meant only one platform in use and a slow process. We got the word that it would be a rough transfer, but they started handing out tender tickets on schedule and some of our cruise mates were off at 8 AM. Because of the desire of folks to get ashore the first tender back to the ship would leave at 11. This makes for a faster turnaround, without the need to re load and unload before taking on new folks going ashore.
The process was slow, and they didn’t call for open tendering until just before 11 AM. We used to be among those queueing for tickets at 8 AM but we’ve either outgrown that need or aged out. We left for the tenders when we heard the open tendering call. On A deck folks were waiting to get on the tender. We heard something about dock problems ashore, but within a few minutes we were helped onto the tender. Many of us needed help because there was a lot of motion and we had to carefully time our step onto the boat to avoid mishap.
The tender was bobbing around, and it was difficult to move to our seats while keeping balance and several people stumbled. Once loaded we sat — and sat. Several people decided to get off and were replaced by people still in the queue. Still, we sat. Finally, taking off for shore on what was billed as a 15 minute ride that passed close to a shipwreck of a steel hulled trawler.
At Paamiut one tender was tied to the dock, one waited off the dock. We joined it. Passengers were just getting off the docked tender and climbing a steep ramp to the shore. They looked like 98ers climbing the “golden stairs” on the Chilkoot pass the ramp was that steep. Once they were off people wanting to get back to the ship started boarding. There were hundreds of them who got off early and were anxious to get back. It was 1 degree Celsius (34 F), windy, no sun, and humid. They were cold and miserable. We watched the second tender load and unload and finally it was our turn. The ramp was steep, and my legs cramped. I had been on the tender for an hour and a half for a supposed 15 minute ride.
What happened? The combination of high wind and low tide caused the dock to hang up on the shore after several boatloads had gotten off. Dock on the rocks. Theu had to stop tendering, get a crane to lift the ramp and then a boat to pull the dock back into the water where it could float. Then they secured everything and began the process of offloading and reloading. People both on the tenders and on the shore waited for over an hour.
But we made it! The first cruise ship of the season. The town is good sized for Greenland, 1,400 souls. When we got off the ship a welcomer handed us a map with “good places to know” marked on it. It was Sunday though, and much was closed. The ship was not supposed to be here until Monday but was here a day early because of the weather and canceled port. The word only partially got around town. The museum was closed as was the church. (A Church closed on Sunday?) But “The Handicraft Place” where we could watch carvers work and buy their art was open, as was a café and the grocery store.
We watched kids playing, chasing plastic grocery bags blowing in the wind. We walked by the Maritime School which has three dorms, Siberia, Canada, and Alaska. Suzi had a coffee and I, a hot chocolate in the local café and Suzi bought some postcards and prints from local artists. The town was colorful and welcoming. We spent several hours enjoying the visit before getting back on the ship, past the derelict wreck, for a much easier return.
Here is a gallery of photos from Paamuit, Greenland.
