I saw this scene on my 60 inch TV. The movie “Where'd You Go, Bernadette” was filmed in Greenland. The seed had planted. As fate would have it, a timely cruise brochure came in my mail. Greenland via Boston! Hallelujah, a direct route in North America!
My friends (Anita and Irene) and I booked an iceberg excursion; I fantasized seeing what Bernadette saw.
Eyeballing the ship, the plus for me was that the majority of passengers were “baby boomers.” I favored quieter company. It was lovely to see Vietnam vets and hard rockers, now silver haired, flabby, and slow, escorted their silver haired other half on the dance floor to “Witchy Woman.”
Off Canada, the Labrador Sea was blue and 60° F. Coffee, lox with cream cheese, sausage, potato, and egg at the breakfast buffet was a treat to wake up to. Dinner was unexpectedly tasty. I enjoyed the first 5 of the 17 days aboard.
And then routine set in. My fault. I could easily feel bored and trapped, even in a floating paradise. Like a zombie I walked the lobby, the shops, the art gallery, the photo gallery, the lounges, the casino, the theater, the library, the arcade, the spas, and the deck. I didn't participate in any of the many ship activities.
The casino was the ship's hot spot. Open smoking was even allowed at some slot nooks. Slot games had evolved into complicated criss-crosses with many funky icons and winning possibilities. Sounds and flashing animations of payout were nonstop. Players could immerse into a circus-like atmosphere by sitting and moving a few fingers. Some passengers came on board with free stateroom, wifi, laundry, alcohol, spa, and even free gambling money. Winners from the start! The cruise company was charitable to devoted players.
My perks were cones of soft vanilla and chocolate swirl ice cream, and impromptu chats with fellow travelers. Otherwise it was back to the cabin to watch episodes of “Cheers,” or (yuck!) “The Love Boat.”
When the ship passed above Canada, the sea turned foggy, gray, and turbulent. I was impatient for my first glimpse of Nuuk. Weather forecast was 40° F.
Where was the ice? Saw none in Nuuk. Saw one iceberg floating still, and a scattered few at some far distance in Qaqortoq, and that was it. In August, summer, nowhere in these parts were white or frozen. Instead, left exposed in clear weather were striped granite boulders and land masses that looked pristine and other worldly.
Like Copenhagen’s “Mermaid,” which tourists flocked for selfies, this Denmark territory, Nuuk, had the “Mother of the Sea” statue. Unbelievably, the statue was already defaced–a nipple was chipped off, and white paint splattered on the breasts. Was the criminal a local or a tourist?
Inuit clothing, equipment, and artifacts displayed at museums attested to this people’s survival and leisure abilities. Extreme weather heavy duty outfits nevertheless were decorated up to the hilt. They made figurines, musical instruments, and fashion accessories. A food storage bag made of seal skin, sewn with seal sinew thread and bone clasp was genius. But all that was historical.
Now they have the Internet! Now they could enjoy lightweight insulated puffer jackets! Their supermarkets are well stocked with reasonably priced Denmark products.
On that Sunday in Nuuk, locals young and old went about town like anywhere in the world. Suddenly a little girl caught my eyes. It felt like a Twilight Zone moment; she looked like me when I was a child! Unlike any kid I've seen for many years, the little girl dressed in simple clothes–not in pastel, no cutesy cartoons, nor blinky shoes. Her face was somewhat Asian, but likely she was Inuit. Her black hair was scissored straight across her forehead, and straight across below her ears in the back. A simple home cut, deja-vu!
Heavy fog. Nanortalik port was canceled at the last minute. My Bernadette iceberg rendezvous was hopeless. Good grief, I thought, if icebergs weren't floating everywhere in Greenland, why bother go looking for them? Plenty in Alaska! Talks also circulated among passengers that we were lucky to miss only one Greenland port, because others had cruised-in 2 separate or 4 separate times without landing in any port at all. I gasped.
