Part 1:
Eric is his name.
A 60 odd year old Greenlandic man, with yellow stained beard and rough calouced hands.
He begins to communicate in his native language until he notices my confused expression in which he rephrases in Gentle English… we will be neighbours!
The next few hours are both enlightening and educational. We Converse for most of the flight. I learn that he has lived in Greenland most of his life, originally Danish he moved for work as it pays very well.
A sailor by trade, fisherman by hobby. He proceeds to point to the picture of an old boat in the tourist magazine and says, I used to work on this boat, we would travel from Copenhagen to Greenland and far north until you can't sail any further. It's a tough sea out there he says, but it's far more comfortable than sitting up in this chair in the sky. I feel more vulnerable up here than the seas.
His favourite place in Greenland is his yearly trip to Eqi glacier, it is for work but yet pleasure. A magnificent sight to watch and listen to the pieces of glacier crashing into the seas. I ask how safe that is, as I am doing that boat trip in a few days, he causually informs me there are occasional tsunamis as a result of the melting glacier.
Eric's local advice:
-Dont waste money buying water, you can drink all water in Greenland.
- don't eat the seal, you won't like it. You can try the whale, or m… it's half between lamb and beef
- do not go near wild … they are dangerous
- pitch a tent instead of staying in a hotel (it's free to camp I anywhere in Greenland)
-instead of eating out, Stop by the market to pick up fresh meat and take it on my hike. You can build a fire to cook it... ‘It will taste better anyway’
- hike to Russell's glacier (is only 25 km each way)
-illulisat is much nicer than nuuk.
Why did you choose to live in Greenland Eric? His one sentence response simple but thought provoking….
“It is one of the few places left where a man can be free”
He then proceeded to spill his super hot coffee down my pants in my shoes. My good white shoes and socks that had to last me 8 weeks are now coffee stained, as well as my new pants and scarf. Sigh.
I still love you Eric.
Part 2:
As I sit here nervously sipping my coffee from the seat of this tiny dash 8 20 plane I am in complete awe of whats out my window. Hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of emptiness. I look down on a blanket of snow, like a new white sheet, unspoiled and clean it clothes this land underneath me.
Nature in its purest form.
Un touched
Completely relentless.
Nature has a way to change my heart. And that's why I am driven to travel. From its beauty my heart skips a beat, yet from it's purity and power I almost have palpitations. There is no hiding from nature, it is unpredictable and uncontrollable.
I have both fear and respect for this land and what's outside my little window as it makes me feel so very small and insignificant. But at the same time I can not wait to explore.