29 September to 3 October 2023

We travelled from Iceland to Nuuk in Greenland. Arriving in the airport we found no security, no ATMs and no information. As we could not find any other options we had to catch a taxi. In fact our Passports had never been checked. We then walked into town to find the tourist office. The tourist office was actually a tourism company but he was helpful and put us on the track for a good boat company. By nights end we had ourselves booked on a boat trip with hike.

We got up early to walk to our boat trip in full winter weather gear. This was to the old colonial port where they sail from during the peak season. This was the last day. As is often the pattern for us the day was perfect. Blue sky, four degrees and relatively still. Could not ask for better for a small boat trip through the fjords and a hike across to glaciers and ice in Greenland. It was a compact yellow boat with a closed in area with seating for everybody. Slightly heated and coffee and tea available, it was a comfortable location for watching the passing mountains and the floating icebergs. Getting out to take pictures with the wind and the boat moving through it quickly froze the body and you did not stay out long.

When arrived at Kapisillit we left the boat to hike over the intervening terrain to see the icebergs and glaciers on the other side. The trek was through fairly dense marshlands and heavy going and took us up and down several ridges. The initial trek to the other side took about an hour and a half. We were given an hour to explore. The area was stunning, mountains but with a vast frozen lake studded with icebergs and in the distance the tongue of the glacier feeding it. I saw two icebergs crack open, one into three parts. Many pictures were taken. The trek back was a bit quicker but we needed to change our pickup spot as the boat could not find an appropriate place. On the trip back to port we passed a huge, bright white iceberg that the skipper did a lap around.

The next couple of days were spent wandering around and just outside the town. We followed the coast from the old colonial port and passed many colourful houses and statues, running out of road and scrambling over mounds and along a rough trail. We found some nice cafes to have coffee and cakes and and even gluten free pancakes at Cafe Esmerelda. Meandering around suburbs we observed there were not a lot of fences, not much organisation to the houses and the gardens were just allowed to grow wild. So ended our short lightning trip to Greenland.