DAY 7: THE SHEEP

TRAVEL LOG ENTRY 7: GARDAR AND VATNAHVERFI

The start of our walk to Garda

Over the next few days, we would be filming three locations, the first of which was Gardar (sheep heaven). We arrived there by boat, then took off on foot towards the settlement. Centuries ago, Garda was the seat of the Danish-or dained Bishop Arnald, who constructed the biggest church ever built in the Middle Ages. He dedicated this Roman Catholic Cathedral to St. Nicholas, patron saint of sailors.

There’s nothing small about the ruins of this church. The granite footprints of the ceremonial hall alone reveal it to be a whopping 427-feet-square in size. You could have had some fantastic Viking gatherings there! Quiet prayers would have been replaced by shouts of 'Skol' (Danish for ‘bowl’). At Viking gatherings, warriors would share bowls of mead to honour the Gods and their ancestors.

Not much left of the ceremonial hall!

Talking about the past, Gardar has known three centuries of farming and trading. Imported commodities such as livestock and garden crops were in great demand, while exports of much sought-after walrus ivory supported a high standard of living. These days, Gardar is all about wide-open spaces, where Inuits in modern farms share the land with the remains of the lost Norse settlers.

Aerial view of Gardar settlement (Igaliku)

One of the oddest things our little team experienced was a unique 'watering hole'; a cute little blue hut containing a modern water pump, which to my amazement is built upon the same spot as the Norsemens’ well. Like so many other historic sites in Garda, this pump probably has a few stories to tell. Hardworking pioneers will have quenched their thirst here, but today – centuries later - it’s our turn.

The mighty water-pump house at Gardar!

Later in the day, we visited a shop called a Pilersuisoq, which means "The one who provides". Greenlanders in small, remote communities rely on farming and hunting, but they need many other things too - from food and clothing to household goods and tools. These shops, which are owned by Greenland’s Home Rule government and supplied from Denmark, are their lifeline to the outside world.

Pilersuisoq, which means "The one who provides" (local shops).

At the opposite end of the scale, in the sprawling city of Nuuk, travellers can hang up their backpacks and wander about a shopping centre that looks just like a typical Danish shopping mall. I must say that the contrasts in this region – from towns to hamlets and walls to wilderness – really are extreme!

Today we set sail for the serene lakes and craggy cliffs of Vatnahverfi. Again, we ran into a flock of sheep. We also ran into their shepherd, Niels, who was out in his jeep with his two kids. They were excited to hear we were going to film in this area, as Niels felt that the unique footage might help to attract tourists who could stay on his farm.

Niels the shepherd’s home - and hiker stopover

Our ever-supportive Greenland expert, Lotte, was game enough to accompany us on this trip, but she had a sprained foot, making it difficult for her to keep up. Fortunately, Niels was kind enough to come back in another vehicle, and he loaded her up and drove off to give her a little tour of the area. She looked very pleased (and rested) when she came back.

Like so many people on this island, Niels makes a living from breeding sheep – a livelihood that’s been passed down from generation to generation. By the end of October, he will have sent between 4,000 and 5,000 sheep on a one-way journey by barge. Niels and his family also kill lots of fish, but there’s no point in counting them!

All work and no play

The people who originally built Greenland's Eastern and Western settlements depended on crops, livestock and hunting, and things remain that way. Inuits still hunt fish, walruses, seals and bears. And let’s not forget Santa’s four-legged helpers - the sturdy, all-purpose reindeer. These are just as useful as sheep, cows and goats, in that you can drink their milk, use their skins, eat their meat, and even use their antlers to make knife handles and other utensils.

Killer carvings

In the Viking era, Vatnahverfi was a bustling trading station that thrived on the sale of walrus ivory, which was excellent for carving smaller figures. Greenland’s Innuits were very skilled at this craft. Some of their best-known creations were Tupilaks, a term that means ‘an ancestor’s soul or spirit’.

This concept might sound intriguing, but you wouldn’t want to receive a figure like this, as they were designed to do great harm. Your magic would have to be a lot stronger than the Innuit Shaman who made and sent it, for you to have any chance of returning it to destroy its maker.

Greatness - then and now

I read somewhere that one of the most spectacular items ever to be fashioned from walrus ivory was a staff belonging to a bishop. The ivory was mixed with seal-skin and polar-bear fur, skilfully bound with walrus leather. I'd love to see that staff in real life. But right now, I’m happy just to soak up the beauty that’s right in front of me...