Makkovik and Trees
How different this port appeared as I viewed it from the ship! Small hills with trees on their tops made me aware that we had entered another zone. Having viewed the obviously barren landscape of Greenland, the first thing that I noticed on seeing the port of Makkavik from the ship, was its trees. This jogged my memory to more than a decade ago when I bicycled across the US. Somewhere as I crossed Montana, the trees slowly disappeared from the landscape. (Well, they also disappeared in Eastern Oregon, but returned.) I realized I had taken trees for granted when I could not find one of these useful plants to rest against or take advantage of its cooling shade. I think of that poem that I had to memorize in grade school. I wonder if Joyce Kilmer had traveled in a treeless landscape when he wrote his poem:
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
The contrast in landscapes from previous ports delighted me. After tendering to Makkovic, we divided into several groups so as not to overwhelm the island and marched along like an army of red ants. Trekking up a local road for a short while, we came to the fabulous South Side Boardwalk, which took us through an interesting landscape. Using the steps along the way, we climbed to a point where we got a great overview of the port. The boardwalk kept us atop the soggy ground, helping preserve the flora along the way.
After the nature part of our morning walk, we heading to see some of the local highlights. Where else but Canada would you be shown the state of the art hockey arena? Both boys and girls play and the teams travel around the province for games.
The locals had some snacks for us to enjoy as we learned about their lives. Some of our guides were teenagers who led us from one spot to another. After our snack, we headed to the school, where we were treated to a display of local dances and songs.
Impatiently, I left for another hike with a few others of our group. We followed the red coats ahead of us and climbed to an excellent viewpoint from where we could see the ship and the colors of the area. The colors and textures of the surroundings both amazed and impressed me.
Having been told about the Poet’s Path, we found a path that seemed a good candidate. Obviously, after speaking with others who had a guide with them, we had not found the Poet’s Path, but did arrive back into town on the wet and soft path that we had taken.
Our fabulous chef, Karin, sourced food from the shore. Once she selected some fresh seaweed and on this visit she came back on board with some lovely crab legs, much to the delight of the seafood lovers on Fram. She did an amazing job of keeping meals varied and tasty on this cruise.
One of my favorite creations that Karin added to the food options everyday is an amazing type of cracker made with a variety of seeds. I didn’t expect to like it at first, but later became addicted. Combined with some of the delicious cheese that was on offer every single day, this cracker almost caused me to become an addict. Well, with that and the delicious daily bread, I was on a carb overload. But, we only live once, right?
Sail Away!