Our last day in Kangerlussuaq was exciting. We wanted to experience it all. Brandon got us dinner reservations for the Greenlandic Buffet at the RoKlubben Restaurant. We were interested to try all the unique Greenland delicacies and we weren’t disappointed. But, before I talk about food, let’s start back at the beginning of the day.
We started the morning by driving 1/1 2 hours to the edge of the glacier. When you see it from this perspective, you really can appreciate why a glacier is called a slow moving river of snow and ice!
Ground Level View of the Edge of the Glacier. Photo by Brandon Strellis.
As the glacier moves downhill due to gravity, it scours the ground and pushes the broken bits of rock with it. Can you see the bits of broken rock piling up?
The glacier scours the rock and dirt as it slowly moves. Photo by Brandon Strellis.
We also saw some huge boulders that looked like they might have fallen from the sky!
PolarTREC teacher Kevin McMahon standing near a boulder. Photo by Hannah James.
How do you think this boulder got here?
If you thought that this boulder was pushed by the glacier, you are correct. At some point, as the ice was melting, the rock dropped in this spot.
We also had a chance to step on the edge of the glacier. It is a little trickier to walk on this part of the glacier compared to Summit Station.
Brandon Strellis and Hannah James Walking On the Edge of the Glacier.
During our trip to the ice sheet, we also spotted a small herd of musk ox. They are large arctic mammals with shaggy hair and big horns. We stopped the car to watch them and take a few pictures. In the town of Kangerlussuaq, you can buy “musk ox” pizza from the pizza restaurant and “musk ox” panang curry from the restaurant at the Polar Bear Inn.
Can you spot Brandon Strellis in this picture?
Brandon thought it might be a good idea to get a closer picture of them. Do you see what the musk ox are doing?
A Herd of Musk Ox. Photo by Brandon Strellis.
The musk ox are in a defensive posture. They form a circle and point their horns out of the circle to protect themselves when they get nervous. They were concerned that Brandon was a threat to them. Musk ox are big. Humans are small. What do you think Brandon did? What do you think the musk ox did? Do you think Brandon got too close to these wild animals? Watch the following video clip to find out.
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Well, after walking on the edge of the glacier and, in the case of Brandon, running from musk ox, we were really hungry for some Greenlandic food. We hiked one hour uphill to the RoKlubben Restaurant which is on the edge of a beautiful lake.
The View from RoKlubben Restaurant. Photo by Brandon Strellis.
We tried many interesting foods. We had Greenlandic shrimp, smoked halibut and smoked salmon. They were all delicious. We tried reindeer meat and musk ox meat which were also quite tasty. The most unique food of all was the raw narwhal, the blue whale skin, and minke whale in a mushroom sauce.
The first course of our Greenlandic Buffet. Photo by Brandon Strellis.
Can you find the narwhal, blue whale skin, reindeer meat and musk ox meat on this plate?
We each tasted all of these delicacies and had different opinions. Would you have been as adventurous as us with tasting new foods? I thought the narwhal and the minke whale were tasty. I think Brandon described the blue whale skin the best. He said, “If you were to give someone a taste of the blue whale skin without telling them what it was, and if you asked them to tell you if it was food or not food, most people would say it was not food”. It was very crunchy and stiff. I am glad I tried the whale skin but I don’t think I need to try it again!