Sisimuit to Ilulissat to Ilimanaq

Saturday 8-18-07

DAY 11

Michael does not sleep well because the high school kids party half the night (after all it is Friday night), but I sleep right through it! We get up and have a good breakfast, and meet another couple staying at the hostel, who also did the K to S trek, Ida and Robert. They have been in Sisimiut for several days. They inform us we need to reserve a place on the ferry. We go to the tourist office to make a reservation, only to find out that they are closed on the weekends. We head for the bank and it too is closed. The ferry only comes to Sisimiut one day a week and if we miss it we will have had to stay in Sisimiut for the week. We decide to tour the town because there is nothing else to do but pray that we get on the ferry. Sisimiut is a very small town. We go into a local artist building where I purchase some earrings. The local jewelry is made out of the bones and tusks of the animals that they hunt: Seals, walrus, whales, musk ox, and reindeer. The jewelry is a good price compared to the tourist shops.

After that we go down the pier and find a cool kayak shop. We speak to a local kid who is a member of the kayak club. He tells us that they have competitions with other towns.

The kayaks are not what we are used to (plastic with a large cockpit). These Greenland kayaks are original kayaks, made of wood covered with canvas (originally covered with animal skin) and can be used for hunting. We chicken out on trying these extremely narrow kayaks, because we do not have gear that would fit these boats and they are very narrow! I am not sure I want to roll in these waters, it is COLD!!! It sounds like we would have to join a club in order to paddle any way. But it is fun talking to the local people about kayaking.

We leave there in search of the ferry docking area. Out a ways from the dock I see a paddler doing some rolls in a kayak. He is wearing a leather top which is similar to a dry top. It is made of seal skin. The skin protects him from the iceberg filled ocean. Brrr!

We get back to the hostel where we pack up and give some friends, Christine and Jasper, a call. It is about 4:30 pm and they offer to pick us and give us a tour of the town.

Our tour starts with their dogs. They have a team for dog sledding in the winter, and it is feeding time.

After the dogs Christine and Jasper drive us around the town, and then we see the ferry coming into the dock!

We end up getting a good price on ferry tickets, by purchasing the tickets on the ferry, versus the price they would be at the (closed) tourist office. This is the way to do it! We purchase economy class, which still burns through a lot of kroner.

We do get a room to ourselves, complete with a curtain instead of a door, and next to the stairs and restroom. It will be a little noisy, but we are hopeful that after a certain hour things will quiet down. The trip to Ilulissat is going to take approximately 20 hours.

We invite Christine and Jasper to have dinner with us, but they already have plans for dinner, so we part. We go in search to find dinner for ourselves. Now mind you Michael is a vegetarian and I am on and off eating meat, but we both eat fish. We find a fast food place and we order the fish and chip platter only to find that they are out (what, out of fish in Greenland?) I order a hamburger and Michael orders a plate that looks like (by the picture on the wall) a vegetable plate with fries.

Very interesting vegetables – I guess they are out, so they substitute chopped hotdogs, that’s it! Michael exceedingly generously offers me some but I am happy with my burger. Michael eats what he can (that would be mainly the fries), and we go back to the ferry. We tour the ship and it soon departs. I have a mineral water from the cafeteria to calm my stomach from getting seasick (yes I get seasick on ferries). We go to bed in our palatial stateroom, which is actually just fine.

Sunday 8-19-07

DAY 12

We arrive in Aasiaat at eight in the morning. Prior to arriving the captain announces that there are whales on the right side of the ship. I hop out of bed, throw on my clothes and rush to the deck.

I go to the stern of the boat (everyone else is at the bow) and I see the tail of a humpback. Then Michael points out that to the right of the boat there are more whales. What a sight! We dock at Aasiaat briefly. After we leave the captain chases the whales and I feel sorry for them. I am still tired so I go back to bed.

Michael comes in and asks me if I want to see icebergs, but I am so tired that I go back to sleep. When I awake I find Michael reading upstairs, and he shows me pictures he took of the icebergs. Then he goes to sleep - I guess we're both still pretty tired from our trek!

We arrive in Ilulissat about 1 pm. It is very foggy. We find a bank and the ATM is open, so we get some cash. Then we find the youth hostel and check in. We go grocery shopping and buy an instant dinner. We have no idea how it is going to turn out because the instructions are in Danish. Next we go to the art museum where I find an artist I like (Aka Hoegh), and good art ideas.

We walk over to the town museum, but decide to view that another day, and instead we hike out to see the Kangia fjord. Talking about icebergs, this is amazing! It is still cold and foggy, but we spend a long time looking at the ice. Eventually we hike back to town and eat dinner out; we have pizza and a beer at a local café and make plans for the next day. Michael wants to take a boat, the Disko Line, south to a town call Ilimanaq where we would hike to Qasigiannguit. Ilimanaq is a small village where there are no vehicles and a population of approximately 90 people. There will not be as many tourists there and we hope to get a better sense of the locals who live here. I’m ready for bed.

Monday 8-20-07

DAY 13

The boat leaves at 10:30 am for Ilimanaq. It is 8:44 am when we find out! We pack up and are out of the hostel by 9:15. We go to the boat office of the Disko Line and they say for us to purchase our tickets on the boat. They give us a boat schedule. We then proceed to the tourist office to see about renting kayaks. At the office they tell us that we would have to travel further north to Ata to get kayaks, and we would have to stay there 5-7 days. But they also give us a name of a local in Ilimanaq who might rent us kayaks. This finalizes our decision to go Ilimanaq.

We go to the ATM and get 1000 kroner and go to the boat. They only take cash so I run back to the ATM to get another 1000 kroner. Getting money out of a bank can be tough in Greenland. The only ATM in town can be closed or the debit card doesn't work. It is best to always have cash on hand. Even the Lonely Planet guide warns us of this.

It is a beautiful day, clear and sunny. The town is spectacular, surrounded by icebergs which we could not see the day before because of the fog.

The boat ride is spectacular. We go between a lot of large icebergs; then Michael points out one that is starting to calve - it proceeds to collapse and then roll over. This iceberg is huge (the size of a 10 story building). It is a good thing we are a long way away from it because it could have swamped the ferry! Even the ferry crew came out to watch.

We arrive at Ilimanaq and go to the store and get some bread. The town is very quaint. I love the bright colors of the houses and buildings in Greenland. It makes the place very cheerful. We find Arni and his wife Marta - they are very sweet, and promise to help us get a map for our trek to Qasigiannguit. Unfortunately they have no kayaks!

Tonight, we will hike 8km to the Kangia fjord (from the south side, Ilulissat is on the north side).

So we hike up north, 8 km, mostly through bog.. But when we get to the fjord the view is worth it. If it was not for all these icebergs we could see Ilulissat! By the time my feet begin to hurt we stop. We camp in a sheltered spot. It looks like rain at one point, maybe not, who knows with the weather in this country, it changes so fast. We eat dinner and again I am ready for bed. (8 km)

What a sunset!