LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/995162
Summer 2018 LOCALadk Magazine 49 LOCALadk An early morning walk revealed quaint houses painted in bright blues, reds, greens, and yellows. Families were walk- ing kids to school, leaving for work, or heading off to the small market. After breakfast we boarded the zodiac and headed to Itileq, where we enjoyed a day of hiking along a route called the "Path of the Kings." Itilleq is a small Inuit settlement where one can see the ruins of Gardar, the archdiocese of Viking Greenland. This site was recently added to the Unesco World Heritage List. From there we motored to the town of Qassiarsuk, home of Eric the Red. Leif Erickson, son of Eric, later brought more Vikings to farm and live on Greenland, after the death of his father. June 21, the summer solstice, is the holiday Greenland Day, and it was finally time to go kayaking. We hiked through fields and grasslands and by mountain lakes to arrive in Ta- siusaq. After summiting a small hill, our first glimpse was a view down into Sermilik fjord, which was literally full of ice- bergs from the Eqaloruutsit glacier. At the water's edge it quickly became evident that we would not be able to kayak to our intended destination – there were too many icebergs. Plan B was to set up base camp on the shore then enjoy some explorator y paddling. Paddling in the fjord, I learned the truth behind the saying, "It's only the tip of the iceberg." When you paddle up close to one of those bergs you can look down through the clear cold water and see that what's below the surface is so much bigger than what's visible above. We spent a few hours navigating and paddling through the maze of icebergs. Evening passed as we sat by the shore watching the icebergs shift, roll, drip, and calve as the sun slowly fad- ed. Our last full day we hiked the Flower Valley. The hike brought us to an amazing overlook of the Kiattut glacier, with an endless panoramic view of the Polar Ice Cap. On our last zodiac boat ride our driver brought us to the base of an- other massive glacier. Water, ice, mountains, and blue sky surrounded us. With glacier ice in our cups we gave a toast to Greenland and the epic adventure we had just experienced. The driver started the engine and with a sly grin he gunned it and took us on a wild ride around several huge icebergs. Back at the dock we unloaded our gear, took off our big red parkas, and parted from our Greenland guides. We walked the quarter mile to the small airport feeling both blessed to be there and sad to be leaving.