Route Map   Weather Map   Daily Journal         Q & A   Special Reports   Education Section           The Game		Sisimiut, Minke whales, and ba-a-ad Rob Log Date: July 17, 1998 Author: Erik Larsen Location: Sisimiut Weather: Mist, NE wind Click on the pictures below to view enlargements. Hello cyberadventurers. We are in town again. We've hit Sisimiut, third largest city in Greenland. Enthusiastic people have bid us welcome, and again, as always in Greenland, people have been so helpful and cooperative. Sisimiut is, in other words, a very pleasant place.   Sisimiut is an old whaling town. Whale jawbones make a scenic entrance to the museum area. Curious youth greet us at the dock in Sisimiut. Nice people here. I want to tell you of a special Greenlandic institution called Kalaaleraq, or Kalaalerminierniarfik. It's the seafood store. Here you get fish, seal and whale sold directly by the fishermen and hunters themselves. The food is of prime quality and the freshest you can get. Buying seal at the seafood store. Big chunks of whale meat in the background. Seal, char, and the ubiquitous angelica We got some whale meat from the Kalaaleraq. Restrictions on whaling are elaborate in Greenland, and there is no risk that you eat threatened animals. There are strict rules on who is permitted to go whaling, so only the most experienced whalers are given a license. The minke whale stock is of considerable size, even if you just look at the West Greenlandic stock. Testing the quality of the arctic char Testing the quality of the arctic char And minke whale is tasty. I've cooked it the traditional way, fried in a pan with sweet onions, potatoes and gravy. It was a great meal. The Kalaaleraq is very closely connected to Greenlandic life. There you get the food that is "grown of the land." With barren mountains and a harsh climate, nothing can be grown on the land surface. This is even more obvious up here as opposed to the south. "Heaven is below" food is found at sea. Rob tries to hide a puncture he made in John's inflatable mattress   After our dinner, John Abbott pulled out his inflatable mattress and John Gardner pulled out his knife, joking about Abbott's exorbitant display of luxury and what would happen if the knife happened to land in the mattress. Abbott is still laughing when Rob takes the knife and starts to poke the mattress slowly. Suddenly Abbott's smile freezes as a tiny psssssst is heard before Rob jumps over and puts his finger in the hole just made. We burst into laughter and knew that Rob had to pay back Abbott for this. We still speculate what currency Rob will use. What do you suggest that Rob should do to John to make up for such an evil deed? Mail your suggestion to us, please. Top of page