• Sadik HafizovicChpt 8: The Northwest PassageTraveler
    Summit photo.
    On my way to the airport to pick up Yann.There are horses here, the small sturdy kind.1On the way up to the Store Malene.Yann on the way up.Summit photo.1Our harbor basin. We are the right-most sailboat.This is 75% of what there is of Nuuk. No more.Look how they crammed in the international airport. Zoom into the blue for icebergs.Dutch soldier sliding down the mountain.Dutch soldiers having fun.Yann on the descend.Gardening in Greenland is a thing.Legs have been moved.A visit of Scott and parents to drop off an Arctic Char. How nice!

    Store Malene: A Town Seen Whole

    July 12 in Greenland 🌧 9 °C

    We split the day into boat work and hiking. In the morning Yann and I went through the boat and we discussed all the little issues and projects. Nothing major, but there is a bunch of small stuff that adds up. I hope with Yann’s professional ship building expertise we will rip through them project by project. It is way more fun to work together on these projects than just by myself. Tomorrow we want to tackle the trampolines. To this end we need to procure about 100 meters of rope that straddles the trampolines to the hulls.

    Around noon we set off for a hike to the Store Malene mountain, the peak that towers over Nuuk. A very steep ascent to the 770 meter high summit. The views are stunning. Almost the entirety of Nuuk can be seen and curiously this also means the entirety of the street network. No roads leave that area in any direction. A true closed system. This view contrasts the feeling when you walk the streets with busy traffic, taxis just like in any other town of this size. Luxury cars that have a max possible trip size of 10km or 20 minutes. This place is different.

    After a short while on the peak, a Danish military group of maybe 30 people joins us. Turns out they are in Greenland for a 1-month rotation. They have a major base here in Nuuk and another one up in Kangerlussuaq. Spending time and showing presence at both places is part of the rotation. In summer this must be a really nice experience. Winter might be a different story. Very nice folks. One guy gives us each a Danish military chocolate cake. Quite delicious, thank you very much!

    Back on the boat we cook up a nice Osso Buco and our dinner is interrupted by a brief visit of Scott and parents who just returned from a fishing weekend in their sleek 600hp-propelled boat. They hand us a beautiful Arctic Char they caught. What a lovely surprise! I met them on their way out doing last provisions and we entered a conversation. Very nice folks.

    Tomorrow Jörg shall arrive and we will soon get moving towards Ilulissat, where Richard will join to complete the crew.    Read more