Monday, Tuesday. August 29-30.
We are awakened by a shining sun in a clear blue sky. Aupilatoq is situated on a rock overlooking a three way fjord.
It’s time for a photo and video shoot. The circumstances are perfect, the sky is clear and the sun is still low. I climb to the helicopter pad with a splendid view over the fjords. Edzard and Peter sail away. We keep contact via our portable VHF. Everywhere flocks of seagulls act as extras on the rocks and in the water. This makes my day. In this overwhelming landscape décor, Four Seasons is reduced to a tiny model ship in a rocky garden pond. The footage is finished within an hour and they return to the jetty.
When I come back I find Peter and Edzard in conversation with a Danish road worker. Together with a few workers he is stationed here for a period of 30 weeks in the village to improve the road structures. He tells us a lot. The shovels, building material and other equipment, all are supplies by boat. There is a school but it has only one pupil. So the big question, how long will this settlement last.
We say goodbye to sheltered Aupilatoq and sail onwards to Nanortalik, (Inuit: Home of the Polar Bear), on the coast. After one hour we leave the photogenic fjords and enter the sea. At once we feel the strong wind and the calm water is replaced by short harsh waves. In the distance a gigantic, flattened, rectangular iceberg appears. Shrouded in sea mist. We steer towards this colossus to circumnavigate it. We witness the enormity of this ice cube! You can feel its radiated cold. In iceberg science this shape is called “tabular”. Every shape has its own name. When we leave I keep on filming. Suddenly within a few hundred yards distance a large part of the iceberg breaks off in a violent way. I show the footage to the boys and when I turn around we see more segments shearing off. We run to the stern to take more footage… unfortunately battery low…
However it is a spectacular sight to see the iceberg disintegrate. In the end it floats tilted in the water. In hindsight we realize that we are lucky. What could have happened when the iceberg collapsed the moment we were passing close by….
In the meantime we’re approaching Nanortalik and enter the old harbour to moor. However a cable closes it off and we are directed to the industrial quay. A quay, full of fish trade activity. It’s coffee break and a lot of curious workers walk out to see us.
A local with an Inuit/Danish background tells me in good English that Norontalik has a population of 1600. A few hundred spend the summer in the remote settlements. Beside the fish industry other activities are present. There are paved roads, dozens of cars, scooters and quads. The road system is only a few dozen kilometres. Nanortalik can only be reached by boat or helicopter. In the spacious tourist office and souvenir shop we can buy a WIFI card.
Edzard visits the local medical clinic, Peter strolls in some shops and I walk to the old harbour to breath some local atmosphere. An almost eternal silence exists near and around the old wooden church, guarded by yellow flowers. I am not alone, a few other travellers enjoy the sun and landscape. Tourism is a rising industry, and not without reason. You can make tours for several days (with or without guide) in the mountains or kayak and fishing trips. Overnight stays are possible in the youth hostel.
The decision to stay for another day depends on the weather. The clear night is quite cold and the temperature sinks below 5 Celsius. The next day starts with overcast, the mountains hardly visible. After refuelling we decide to depart.
Our last long (3days) ocean stretch will be to Labrador, Canada. Upon departure the sun shines over the sea. We have a last view on Greenland, this beautiful island. The summits of the mountains half covered in clouds and at their feet near the coast some wildly shaped icebergs. Definitely, I want to be back but then for a longer time.
