A sea day improves one's knowledge!

The sea has calmed down some as the ship has made its way back to Greenland.  The captain said we should arrive by 8 am tomorrow.  Nanortalik, Greenland, is the next port of call, and its name means "Place of Polar Bears" or "Place Where the Polar Bears Go.”  The community has about 1200 inhabitants, which means it will have three times as many people when the ship arrives.  The only excursion available in a walk through the town which I’m signed up for tomorrow. 

The ship's current location on 8/18/22 at noon.

Next stop is Nanortalik, Greenland which is a community of about 1200.  It's the sixth largest community in Greenland.

Today is a sea day, and I try to attend the lectures on any of these days.  I attended two today.  One was by Dr. Michael Douglas (same name as the actor) who is a retired scientist from NOAA.  He explained many of the things I saw while in Iceland related to plate movement and volcanic activity.  It was very helpful in better understanding and processing the information I received during the excursions.

Dr. Douglas shared information abut current volcanic activity in the region the ship docked while in Icelan.

Iceland is growing in the center by about 2 inches a year.  The visit to Thingvellir National Park is where you can walk within this ridge.  

The second was a talk on the fishing industry in Eastern Canada and the area of Massachusetts and Maine.  It was fascinating in learning about how lobster went from a discarded crustacean to a prized meal.  I also learned about some the issues related to fishing in the regions.  This talk was given by our cruise director, and she always does a great job of storytelling.

I've visited Gloucester's (Massachusetts) Fisherman's monument. However, all I remember is the guide said they felt "Gorton's" had taken the image as their fisherman on the package of frozen fish.  I learned a little more today from our Cruise Director Mary Ann.

I learned about the important role of the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association in advocacy for the "bottom" fisherman of the area.

Lobster was used as cat food at the time, and servants sued regarding being forced to eat it.

Click here to read more about these strange facts of lobsters.