A world beyond my imagination and wildest dreams. A land unique in the world, as it is the only country with an ice cap covering most of it. A land of glaciers which are among the largest in the world. A land with so much more than ice and snow. I went to the area round Disko Bay, 300 kilometers north of the polar circle in western Greenland. My intention was hiking the areas south and north of Ilulissat and on the Disko island.
Ilulissat seen from hotel Arctic
Ilulissat
The starting point of my trip was Ilulissat – the Inuit name for “icebergs”. A pretty suitable name for a town surrounded by icebergs and the 3rd largest town. Even I stayed at hotel Arctic just outside town, it is only a short walk to the main streets and sights. There are things to do here, besides looking at the icebergs and listening to the howls of sledge dogs. They were everywhere. One of the things I did was visiting the small museum. Walk through the door and you walk right into the home of Knud Rasmussen. He was born in Ilulissat in 1897 and became a famous arctic explorer. It gave me a good insight in both his life and life in the arctic.
Hiking to Kangia Icefjord
On my second day, I did a day hike on a guided tour to Kangia Icefjord. After a short walk we got the first glimpse of iceberg. After climbing up over the hills, we got to see the fjord filled with enormous icebergs. The ice makes cracking sounds. You both hear and “smell” the ice! We stopped for a rest by a deep, narrow gap in the rocks named “Kællingekløften” - meaning “witch gorge” or “suicide gorge”. According to the guide (and historical sources) older people who were becoming a burden on their families would come here to jump to their death in the icy water.
Kangia and “Kællingekløften” to the right
Kangia was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2004. One of the wonders of the world, along with Taj Mahal and the pyramids in Egypt. From our guide we learned some amazing facts about this fjord: The glacier that provides all this ice, is the largest glacier on the northern hemisphere. 5 km. wide and 1100 meter thick. It flows an average of 20 meters daily, amounting 20 cubic km. annually or 20 million tons per day – enough to supply New York with water for a year!
Midnight boattrip to Kangia Icefjord
The light in summer is almost the same day and night. On my first night, I woke up and saw the bright sunligt. Got up in hurry as I thought I might have missed breakfast. When I came to the restaurant there were no breakfast! I did not see anyone either! Went to the reception. Then I realized that it was 03 O’clock!! I was supposed to get up at 05 O’clock so no point in going back to sleep. ( this actually happened twice during my stay..)
Eqi glacier
Eqi glacier
See the litle red boat in front?
My journey continued. Departure time was 06.15 on board the ship from Ililussat to the Eqi glacier some 70-80 km. north of Ilulissat. The only way possible to get to the glacier. Besides sleeping now and then, I sat on deck watching the landscape and the floating icebergs, which come in all sizes and forms. It is a beautiful boat trip, pasing the settlement Oqaatsu. After 5 hours we approached the Eqi glacier. One of the most active glaciers in Greenland. The ship makes a stop about 1 km. from the glacier. It is an amazing sight. Like a wall of ice! The sound of a calving glacier is loud and powerful, like rolling thunder or a sudden blast of a shotgun. The chunks will hit the water with a huge splach, creating waves we could feel on the boat. The glacier is about 5 kilometers in length. 170 meters high and it moves about 19 meter a day. I really felt very litle in front of it!
Arrival at Port Victor
After an hour at the glacier the ship sails to Port Victor. As you see on the photo it is a wooden stairway and the huts are far up the hill. When the ship arrived we had to be ready to “run” up the stairs and beyond the “safe zone”. When the glacier calves it can cause a tsunami and it takes only 3 minutes for the wave to hit the stairs.
The glacier and the huts
«The French cabin»
To be able to enjoy the glacier and do a day hike, I stayed at the Glacier Lodge Eqi for 2 days. All the huts are placed so the overlook the glacier. As you can see on the photo, the glacier seems far away, but the sound of cracking ice is heard from the hut. One night I even woke up because of the noise and I felt the ground was shaking lightly! That experience made me realize how powerful the ice really is. The hut is comfortable and the view could not have been better.
Eqi also has historical significance. This is where the French arctic explorer, Paul-Èmile Victor came after WWII to study the ice cap and climatic conditions. At the time he was here, Eqi was the best location to come close to the ice cap with equipment for this kind of expedition. From here he went on numerous expeditions to the ice cap between 1948 and 1953. Many other expeditions also started from here. His cabin is still here, named “The French cabin”.
Starting the trek
The ice cap in the back ground
Reminders of his expeditions
Next day I did a full days hike on a guided tour in the footsteps of Paul-Èmile Victor. Every now and then we saw some reminders of his expeditions. The arctic has not been able to regenerate like many other places on earth would have done. This is also a place to come close to the ice cap. After dinner that night, the staff held a lecture and slide show about the glacier and how fast the ice is melting because of the effects of global warming. It is seen everywhere in Greenland: grops are being grown in areas never thought possible. Summerfishing season is longer. Even the first craft brewery – Greenland Beer – is a product of global warming. The company is marketing the water they uses as purer than what is found in other places in the world because it comes from melted inland ice formed thousands of years ago. Really alarming to see how fast the ice is melting...
Time has come to depart and go back to Ilulissat, before going on another boat trip to Disko island. That was a different experience of hiking and whale watching. But that’s another story.
For travel tips and organized tours and hikes The World of Greenland is a good place to start. https://www.worldofgreenland.com/en/
Please do follow if you want to keep up with my next travel storie. Any upvotes or resteems are hugely appreciated!
Other travel stories, check out :
ILE AUX COCOS - an island in the sun (Roderique part 2)
THE ISLAND OF RODERIQUE - part 1 - a hidden gem in the indian ocean
From sunrise to sunset among the ancient temples of Bagan
AN ARCTIC ISLAND RETREAT – and one of the most extreme places
PORLWI BY NATURE – a cultural festival and a feast for the senses
«FOOD ON FOOT» - Street food in Hanoi
GHOSTTOWN – when people moved out, the sand moved in....
U.J
Kristiansand, Norway
All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)
[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 69.216401 lat -51.073240 long Greenland – a world of ice and snow d3scr)
there seems very fabulous and fantastic . i love your photo because they show pristine nature.thanks
Thank you :) The nature, the immense amount of ice is really an experience of a lifetime. It is so "untouched" but beautiful country.
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Those ices are so magical, floating white and so stark against the azure sea. What beautiful collection of photos, I love looking at these kind of pictures because they allow me to see the remote and distant beauties that are far away from me.
Congratulations for your first curie vote. I'm sure you will get another if you keep wowing us with these kind of photos :).
Thank you so much :) What facinated me the most was the icebergs, glaciers and the amount of ice.
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Lovely post, @digi-me! Spectacular photos! Looks like you had an awesome adventure! Those views are breathtaking! Wow!!!
Thank you ;) It was an adventure. This was "back to nature". I did a lot of hiking, but is the best way of slowly enjoying nature and let in "sink in". That trip was one of the most facinating I have done until now.
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Thank you so much :)
This is such a beautiful post! The calm and stillness that the glaciers transmit... I definitely need to spend some quality time on one of those "French cabins". Congrats on the Curie upvote, keep sharing your awesome content <3
Thank you :) I can recommend staying there. The power of the glaciers is so strong. I never grew tired of sitting outside my hut watching and listening to the glacier. And because of the midnight sun I could still sit there any time during the night :)
@digi-me, thank you for taking me visually visited this wonderful place. Even not personally there, when saw the iceberg photo. I could imagine how glamour the place. And it right in front of you. I didn't know there was such a place in greenland.
I am sure I would be very excited if I visited that place. Do you have any idea where there any fish in the sea with such a temperature during your trip?
It is just like you see on the photoes. Except you can feel the coolnes of the ice when close. You can hear the cracking of ice and you can almost "smell " the ice. and yes there are fish in the sea. Apart from whales, sealions etc. there lots of fish. I had fish for dinner several times. They also dry some of it.
wow got whale as well? Did you manage to see the whale or sealions? Deep sea fish is delicious, hope you enjoy your fish meal :)
The fish is delicious. Very fresh. I did taste whale meat as well. It is good. Taste almost like beef.
That place seems like a paradise. Luckily, the cold in that place should keep most people away from there, increasing, for me, the value of a place like that. The majesty of nature has no comparison, I hope to visit it some day. Upvote!
It is worth going. The number of tourists might increase....Go when you can. The nature here and the amount of ice is facinating. I was there in July and it was not cold. The sun was strong and we could often sit in a T-shirt. And the midnight sun! Awesome.
The reflection of ice in water on the last photo is mesmerizing. So beautiful.
It is indeed alarming to hear how fast is the ice disappearing. I'm glad that there are many talks about global warming nowadays. Countries also apply some new laws to protect the environment better but it is still far from where it should be. We keep 'killing' our mother earth with our actions. (But this is not about your post, sorry :))
What an adventure you had! I have never been to Greenland but it absolutely is on the list of the locations that I have to visit one day. It is so serene and beautiful. I guess that cracking sound of ice is kind of scary, isn't it? I can't even imagine how loud it is. And how does the ice smell? :) I went to smell my freezer but it doesn't have any particular smell :D So now I'm curious..
I'm glad that you showed us also other parts of Greenland than just ice. These kids look so happy and I would definitely visit the museum. All your photos are superb!
Thank you for sharing and congratulations on your curie vote! It is absolutely deserved!
Thank you :) and thanks for taking time to comment. It was an adventure. It is definitly a place I will recommend to visit. The nature is so grand. Makes us feel small. And yes, the cracing of ice is a bit scary. Especielly when in that small boat and it started to move because of big chunks falling in the sea. But also that night when I woke up because of the noise and the shaking ...I thougt it was an earthquake!
How to describe how it smells? what I mean is this cool, slighly salty smell.. The smell in the air changes slightly when getting close to the ice. Definitly not like the ice in the freezer....
Oh, I forgot to mention that small red boat. It's very nice of you to share this one too as I could really not imagine how big that ice block would be. It's enormous!
Now I understand :) I didn't think about the sea to be honest. I don't know why :)
Thank you for getting back to me. It was my pleasure to visit your post :)
Thank you. I am glad you liked it. The photo with the red boat shows the scale of the glacier. I decided to post that one to show how big the glacier really is. It was like a wall of ice. And you are right about global warming . Together I think we can do something to make the process slow down.
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Your post is wonderful @digi-me , I'm following you now to read more about your trips. Your pictures are so beautiful! Nature is amazing in Greenland. It makes me sad to see how human being is destroying our world. Global warming is causing so much damage!
Wow
I envy you
I don't like cold environment and it looks like you enjoyed your adventure
Your photos are so beautiful @digi-me, they look like they are from the pages of a National Geographic magazine. The icebergs look really magnificent against the blue and green waters.Thank you for sharing them with us.
Thank you :)
Hello @digi-me , me in the middle of the heat and you in the extreme cold, that beautiful graphics have brought us.
I have a friend who a few days ago traveled to calafate in Argentina which is a glacier zone (Perito Moreno Glacier), which is not to boast but is the largest in the world after the antarctic. I was very moved by his photographs because he spoke of the defrosting of the glaciers in a very alarming way and that he visited them before they disappeared.
I like the factions of the natives, there is an interesting mixture, I would like to know more about that culture. their traditions and appreciation of the glacier.
what if it should not be easy to live with such low temperatures. at least I think it would cost me a lot to get used to.
you can see that they take care of the environment. were there a lot of tourists ?
very nice pictures of the landscape, definitely a site that I will put on my list to know.
thank you for sharing this cold publication, greetings, peace and freedom
It is alarming to see how the glaciers are melting. From photoes we se it happens faster and faster. I think that Perito Morena in Argentina is one of the rare glaciers that is still growing...I am acutualy going to Argentina and Chile in january and february so I will check it out :) Greenland has extreme temperatures in winter, but in July (when I was there) is was sunny and we could sit in a T-shirt. There were tourist, but not all that many I think.
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What an adventure! AMAZING!
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Heyy your steemitworldmap "code" didn't work, have u noticed that?
Greenland is absolutely amazing. I havent had a chance to go there yet but your pictures are absolute on fire! I mean...not really as I can feel the cold and ice coming from them but you know what I mean hahah :D
It must be a weird feeling following steps of people who done it 70 years ago, with much worse equipment etc etc or?
And that midnight picture cracked me totally hahah :D My brain was like - is this a typo or what? :D Amazing post man, it seems you enjoyed your time there!
You mentioning that tsunami. Soo how big would be that wave? I'd be running up those stair like crazy hahhaah :D
beautiful blog a show the greenland wonderland, very beautiful see the environment of greenland, the glaciers I liked the images a lot I imagine that it is very cold aya how I would like to live that adventure in greenland.
: Or in greenland if you can not walk in a cold store guard, excellent work that @digi-me the photos are very thin I liked the ice layer in the background a beautiful adventure of ice and snow I really liked the adventure .
Beautiful photographs, I had never seen this type of photography here in Steemit, I had seen many types of landscapes but this is amazing, love each of your photographs, it is a sublime landscape.
I love the cold weather but I could not even imagine how cold that place is xD It was an incredible trip thanks for sharing it with us, a big hug from Venezuela @digi-me .. !!
Your photos are simply incredible! What an adventure. I remember being on a airplane flight back from Europe and flying over Greenland and being able to see the icebergs off the coast and I was mesmerised. What an amazing sight I can't imagine what it would be like to actually be there and see that all up close like you did.