When I was there many years ago a supply ship arrived each spring bringing a great deal of food - to say nothing of a large selection of wines from Europe.
I was there as part of an experimental tourist attraction. Apart from taking in the spectacular views, we spent time walking on a glacier, which might easily have calved the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
In addition to some fishing, we roamed some of the green hills nearby and saw the remains of many Viking wooden houses.
Many Vikings ventured to Greenland to settle there when Erik the Red arrived from Iceland with a small party of Norsemen (Vikings).
In 982, he landed along a fjord near Qaqortoq, then returned to Iceland to spread word about the country he had found. He called it Greenland because he thought people would want to move there if it had a favorable name.
Erik's marketing worked. About four thousand Vikings eventually settled in Greenland.
The Norse settled Greenland during a period of exceptional warmth. The settlers held on for four centuries, then vanished.
By 1300 Greenland became much colder and living there ever more challenging.
The last documented event of Norse life in Greenland was a wedding held at a church near Qaqortoq in September 1408. Nothing more was ever heard from the Viking settlements.
The warming today might be a cyclical event. But the speed at which the ice is melting points to an additional influence. More semi-agricultural land has appeared already on the south and west coasts of the island.
National Geographic shows a picture of a man picking cabbage, a new crop for Greenland. He is dressed in a short-sleeved shirt. The edge of the ice sheet lies just 12 miles away.
When I was there, there were no sign of growing crops. Such small crops will not keep Greenland going. The shrimp crop that many of the islanders depend on - they call it "pink gold" - is shrinking drastically.
Reasons for the decline of the shrimp are unclear. The Greenland Climate Research Centre says that Greenland's climate is getting warmer and more unpredictable. Winter freeze-ups are not as severe as in the past. The biggest glacier, called Sermeq Kujalleq, has retreated almost ten miles up the fjord.
The receding glacier is Greenland's biggest tourist draw. About 20,000 people went to see global warming in action in 2008.
But it would seem that Greenland's future economy lies out beyond Disko Island - that's where the oil is. The sea remains ice free for a month longer than 25 years ago.
With the greater ease of working in Greenland's waters, ExxonMobil, Chevron and other oil companies have acquired exploration licenses. Cain Energy, a Scottish company, plans to build its first exploration wells this year.
Many Greenlanders think oil will damage their way of living. The future will tell the tale.
thomasnhayman@rogers.com
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