Greenland
In an effort to trick settlers in coming here Red Green of the CBC was commissioned to come up with a name for this place. No wait, I have that wrong. Eric the Red, called in Greenland in order to trick the suckafoos in coming here. It did not work. Greenland has the lowest population density in the world. .027 persons per square mile. Such a large area with so few people. The largest town is the capital of Nuuk and that has 12,000 people.
Absolutely amazing scenery from the air. It was a Dash 8 so we did not fly that high. Some of the pictures did not seem real.
Global warming is more than scientific mumble jumble here. A local was telling me that they can’t hunt like they use to in his life time because of the lack of animals and sea ice.
An interesting fact is that Greenlanders (or Inuit in general) do not discipline their kids. They believe the kids inherit the soul and personality of ancestors and to discilpline the kids is to insult the ancestries. Kids need to figure out right and wrong for themselves.
You can definitely see the social problems of the North. Alcholism, family violence, lack of education and motivation is quite evident even to a foreigner like me. I went to a local bar and you could see all of that in spades. These social ills really present themselves at night. I have never seen so many many stumbling drunk people as I have here. Staggering pillar to post, fist flying and walking death. Very sad, there are a lot of dry towns or at least a restrictions as to when you can buy alcohol to try and combat the alcohol problems
However, there could be hope. The new PM is looking at changing all of this and had put complete independence from Denmark on the back burner for now in order to tackle Greenland’s social woes.
He is an interesting case. He was the result of a one night stand or worse. His mother was unable to hear or speak and he grew up in very poor conditions. He was a street kid, got hooked on booze and at an early age but turned his life around. He was a night club singer at one point and then became a social worker and eventually PM.
Even more daylight and sunshine here. About 20 hours of sunshine per day. I went for a moderate 17 km hike today and the view from the top of the mountain was well worth the grind. Amazing view- a jagged view of a fjord at one side, snow topped mountains and lakes, open N. Atlantic and small Arctic town. Best hike that I have done in a long time.
Seeking gold and glory, leaving weathered, broken bones
And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones.
Now you are probably thinking that is a line from Stan Roger’s Northwest passage and you are correct. I went further north and what an amazing place. Icebergs as large as small towns (and 7/8’s are hidden beneath the sea), Arctic birds, whales and I was amazed that I was there by my self. When I could get away from the mosquitoes and I could actually here the birds flutter their wings.
I went to see Eqi Ice field which is the largest in the Northern Hemisphere (or at least it is of today-melting quick because of climate change). It is believed that the iceberg that sank the Titanic would have some from here.
Speaking of mosquitoes, there was a joke I heard as a kid. Two mosquitoes notice a muskox grazing and decided to go for lunch. They swoop up the bovine one ask the other if they should eat it here or hide it so that the big mosquitoes don’t come and take it away. I no longer think that is a joke. The mosquitoes and black flies are relentless here. Different part of the world but just as bad as the Amazon. Like a seasoned traveler I forgot my mosquito net during one hike and it was unreal. I literally had to choose between plugging my ears or nose as the would fill up quickly. Say to say but I swallowed more bugs this trip than I have beer. I wonder if anyone would have mined if Noah left the mosquitoes behind.
The weather is hard to figure out. I was in Nook and it was windy and zero so it was getting cold. I then traveled north of the Arctic Circle and it was 20 degrees warmer.
After some great hiking and inspiring scenery a humpback whale gave us a bit of a show in one of the fjords.
Greenland is expensive-here are some of the costs so far
1) Domestic flight (2 hours)-$1800.00
2) Hostel-No linen, no pillow and they want you to clean before you leave $90.00
3) Ten minute taxi ride-$20.00
4) Pint of ordinary domestic beer (in bar) $13.00
5) Thai food (yep-there is a restaurant in Nook and the owner is from Thailand)-$60.00
6) Apples at grocery store-$1.00 each
7) Yogurt at grocery store-$1.00 each
I am really glad that I came to Greenland. I have done some of the best hiking that I have done since Patagonia years ago. Also really inspires me to want to see Antarctica now. I see a trend here.
I have not seen night in two weeks and will make my way to Belgium for a beer and chocolate binge. I am not talking the swill of the unwashed masses. This is Trappist beer made by Trappist Monks. Has to be good with God as the brew master. And for Belgium chocolate, what else needs to be said.
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