Along Greenland’s coastline, small villages became ghost towns decades ago after the Danish government relocated their populations to larger cities. In some, though, communities have been reclaimed as summer getaways for former residents and their descendants.

Qoornoq is one of the villages that was shut down as part of modernization efforts that began in the 1950s and ‘60s, when the Danish government wanted to consolidate the population. But in recent decades, it’s become a popular summer spot for former residents and their descendents.

“Many of the people here, we live in Nuuk, so we use the houses here as summer cottages,” Victoria Martins explained. “We have [solar electricity] and freezers, so I can live here for many months.”