Monday, July 11.  This morning the first half of the group (me included) flew from Tasiilaq to Kulusuk. On time! The bus taking us the half mile to the hotel was delayed an hour. The second half of the group was also delayed. Business as usual.

In the afternoon we toured Kulusuk village, population 280 and shrinking. It had seen better days. Many people are relocating to Tasiilaq, which has that beautiful soccer field. Stairs everywhere. A couple in the village had turned their home into a museum of sorts, crammed full of family heirlooms. It was actually very interesting, if a little unorganized. The store had most of the necessities, though without many brands to choose from. Oddly, a high number of benches, new and old, were scattered around the village. On the edge of town there is an unmarked bust of a person, who after doing research revealed herself to be Milka Miilikka Kuitse, a drum dancer who refused to obey a missionary ban on drum dancing. The bust will certainly outlive the village. The village has two cemetaries, one very prominent. Depressing.

Immediately after the village tour we departed for another excurion up to a viewpoint looking out into the Atlantic. The location is the site of an abandoned Distant Early Warning Line site, built by the US. Construction of the base in 1956 is actually the reason there’s an airport in Kulusuk. The view is amzing. Just as with our boat ride yesterday, getting a grasp of just how big the icebergs are is difficult.

Dinner included the local concept of chili, which wasn’t bad at all.

Tomorrow we fly to Reykjavik, then depart Iceland on Wednesday. It’s almost over.