The small Greenlandic town of Ittoqqortoormiit sits at the entrance to Scoresby Sund, the longest fjord on Earth. Although founded in 1925, the original colonists to the area were Palaeo-Eskimo peoples 4,000 years ago.
Housing 500 people, Ittoqqortoormiit derives its name from Greenlandic meaning ‘Big-House Dwellers’. A walk through town, reveals a vibrant Greenlandic culture. Seal, muskox and even a polar bear skin can be seen drying on racks outside of private homes. Greenlandic sled dogs sit patiently on their leashes in front yards, awaiting winter, their wooden sledges propped against buildings. In the local food store seal and whale meat are among the regular traditional foodstuffs laid out beside common western items. Ittoqqortoormiit has a post office where you can purchase Greenlandic stamps and mail your postcards as well as a quaint church, its gabled interior painted in white and sky-blue. The entire community, in fact, is a picturesque kaleidoscope of color, each building painted in bright hues of red, blue, yellow and green.