Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Inuit Hunter

In 1993 we paddled over 300 miles along the west coast of Greenland, calling in at Qasigiannguit, in the south east corner of Disko Bay.  Formerly known as Christianshab it was established in 1734, making it the second oldest town in Greenland.
It is situated in the heart of a rich archaeological region so not surprisingly there is an interesting museum.  At the museum there was a traditional kayak and we asked the curator if there were still any people hunting in the traditional fashion.  He replied that possibly around Thule in the far north.
It came as a surprise therefore to encounter this Greenland hunter two days later in the ice.  He was paddling into the ice and then drifting back on the melt water current occasionally shooting a seal.  A scene from 1993 which I doubt exists today.

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