LOCALadk Magazine

48 Summer 2018 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk There were a few fields of bright green grass in the small villages we visited. This grass was almost sacred to the farm- ers, as they depended on it to feed their sheep. But aside from those few fields, the Greenland I saw was snow, ice, and glaciers. It is believed that Eric the Red, the famed Norse Vi- king, was the first European to discover the island. He knew he would have to convince his fellow countr ymen that they could farm on the new island if he was going to persuade them to relocate; hence, he gave it the compelling name of Greenland. With my face pressed up to the small window of row 14A I start- ed to understand why our group had decided to travel to south- ern Greenland. The huge expanse of untouched wind-swept snow seemed to go on forever. The endless glaciers oozed blue green water, creating fjords like long fingers. Those fjords were dotted with hundreds of icebergs. Some resembled gems, while others were shaped like animals. All of them were shifting, crashing, roll- ing, and slowly melting. The sights and sounds of Green- land will have you shivering in awe. The single runway with an ap- proach straight into the iceberg-filled Atlantic came into view and our adventure began within minutes of landing. We had arrived at the tiny airport in Narsarsuaq, which has one door in and one door out and no one even asked to see our passports. We met our local guide and 20 minutes after de- planing we were donning heavy red winter parkas and board- ing a zodiac for a two-hour ride through the fjords. We were headed to Qaleraliq Camp, our campsite for the next two nights. It was June, so the sun never completely set and the evening colors against the glacier and icebergs were amaz- ing. A muted pink and purple show danced across the water. The next day's adventure began with the sound of the mo- tor from the returning zodiac. We climbed aboard, and our driver and glacier guide whisked us off to explore a near-by glacier. With crampons on and ice axes in hand we spent the day exploring the varied surfaces of the glacier. We were sur- rounded by the burble of water, the crunch of ice underfoot, and the occasional boom as part of the glacier caved. The col- or of the glacier ranged from brilliant white to deep blue to dirty gray. The texture was unforgiving; if you tripped, sharp ice shards were waiting to leave their mark. Before returning to camp the zodiac brought us to the edge of the massive glacier where seagulls flew by the hundreds from berg to berg. We watched in awe as parts of the glacier crashed into the sea. About 80 percent of the island is covered by the Greenland ice sheet, and we had just seen witnessed a tiny fraction. In Greenland, the weather con- trols how you spend your day. We were told we would have to leave camp at the end of the day for fear that, due to high winds, the zodiac would not be able to navi- gate through the fjords. The day brought rain but with prop- er gear and a desire to do some hiking we set out to get to the highest point from glacier camp. We hiked over tundra, enjoyed a variety of wildflowers, and even saw some caribou. The view was socked in by the rain and fog but the effort of the climb was worth each step. Back at camp, we packed up and boarded the zodiac for the hour-long ride to the village of Narsaq, where we spent one night. Hot showers and cold beers were the highlight.

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