Ocean Voyage : Nuuk - Saint-Pierre & Miquelon

Nuuk, meaning “the cape”, was Greenland’s first town (1728). Started as a fort and later mission and trading post some 240 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, it is the current capital. Almost 30% of Greenland’s population lives in the town. Not only does Nuuk have great natural beauty in its vicinity, but there are Inuit ruins, Hans Egede’s home, the parliament, and the Church of our Saviour as well. The Greenlandic National Museum has an outstanding collection of Greenlandic traditional dresses, as well as the famous Qilakitsoq mummies. The Katuaq Cultural Center’s building was inspired by the undulating Northern Lights and can house 10% of Nuuk’s inhabitants.

By heading almost due east from Cap-aux-Meules in Canada, it is possible to reach France in about one day’s worth of steaming! With barely 6,000 inhabitants living on tiny St. Pierre, it is the smallest French Overseas Collective. The residents of St. Pierre are predominantly descendants of Normans, Basque and Bretons and the French spoken is closer to Metropolitan French than to Canadian French. Although Basque is not spoken any longer, the influence is still felt through sport and a Basque Festival. Interestingly, this small island has two museums in part dedicated to the Prohibition. The Musée Heritage is St. Pierre’s newest museum with a focus on medical artefacts from the 19th and 20th century. Another claim to fame is a guillotine, the only one ever used in North America. In this quirky village it is easy to find the Post Office; just look for the clock tower shaped like a praying monk.