Blogs from Ilulissat, West Greenland, Greenland, North America

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North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat August 22nd 2019

Today Jan gave us a walking tour of Ilulissat. It drizzled for awhile but stopped after about an hour. First we went to the harbor. Ilulissat exports supposedly 75% of the world's market for shrimp. They also hunt whales here, but tourism seems to be a large industry. Temperature today low to mid 40's. From Wikipedia: Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately 350 km (220 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. With the ... read more
Notice harpoon gun
Walk to Open Air Museum
Sledges

North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat August 21st 2019

Today we had to leave Eqi Glacier camp. The boat does a round trip: it picks up people in Ilulissat and brings them here, spends about 1-2 hours viewing the glacier calving, then comes to the dock to drop people off at Eqi Glacier camp. The people that are leaving Eqi Glacier Camp get on board and travel back to Ilulissat. Our pickup time was approximately 3 p.m. The boat also supplies the staff there with food, beer, wine, soda, alcohol, and whatever else they need to run the place. I talked to one of the staff today and he said they arrived May 21 to do some work on the place, and the first visitors were June 21. They continue to get guests till early September, then they winterize the place and leave. He said ... read more
Greenland bird prints
Feather in the tundra
Mushroom

North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat August 19th 2019

Last night I went to an amazing concert at the Cultural Center. An orchestra from Denmark had been here a week doing friendship teaching with musicians in Nuuk. The frustrating part about the concert was not understanding a word that was said. A woman introduced each piece of music and also 2 special guests (mayor of Nuuk and mayor of city in Denmark). The conductor spoke in Danish about something, then back to the woman speaking in Greenlandic. The first 2 pieces had the interns playing with the orchestra, then the rest of the concert was by the Danish orchestra. There was also a male and female singer. I can't upload the video to this blog because I have the basic version of the blog and they don't allow uploads of videos. Today we left Nuuk ... read more
Our plane
Helicopter that Prime Minister of Denmark arrived on
Woman in native outfit

North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat September 15th 2016

"People are not fond of thinking. Only reluctantly do we bother ourselves with what is hard to understand. Perhaps that’s why we know only so little about the beginnings of the sky, the earth, and of most animals. Perhaps or perhaps not. For most difficult of all is to understand how we ourselves came, and where we go on the day we no longer live. Over all beginning and ending, there is darkness." Apakak, in Ostermann 1952. A Few Days in Greenland… Our vessel took us across the raging Baffin Bay to the deeply cut, western shores of Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat as the Greenlanders prefer to call it). Due to unexpected weather earlier in the voyage, we arrived alongside the harbour in Ilulissat during dinner time. This meant we could get off the ship for an ... read more
Ice-choked
Disko Bay
The Icefjord

North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat October 25th 2013

The awe inspiring Ice Fjord in Ilulissat has been granted UNESCO world heritage listing, and is one of the most spectacular travel destinations in the world. If I were a rich man, perhaps I could find it in my power to purchase an iceberg. After all, the staggering scale and beauty of what is on offer in Ilulissat has UNESCO singing it's praises. I can't think of a better location, and a well appointed ice garden amidst such breathtaking Arctic scenery would leave me most content. However, it's not possible to nurse this fantasy with any sense of conviction, as icebergs do not succumb to the petty whims of mankind. They are prone to dramatic displays of awesome power at the most unpredictable moment. An iceberg, no matter it's size, may suddenly tip itself over to ... read more
Dawn in Ilulissat
The sun sets over the Ice Fjord
Dog sled team

North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat August 1st 2013

Det er sidste dag i Grønland. Jeg vil ikke hjem! Dagen startede med en mur af tåge og jeg kunne se at min flyvetur ind til indlandsisen ikke ville blive til noget. Jeg var også spændt på hvad der ville komme ud af hvalsafarien senere på dagen. Det ville ikke rigtigt klare op selv om vejrudsigten sagde noget andet. Ved 14:30 tiden lagde vi fra og sejlede ud i tågen i en super hurtig motorbåd. Jeg satte mig til rette vel vidende at der ikke var noget at fotografere. Efter nogle minutter opdagede jeg at jeg tog fuldstændig fejl. Det var meget dramatisk at se tågen smyge sig rundt om isbjergene. Det var om at få taget nogle billeder. Efter noget tid stoppede båden, man havde spottet en Finhval, en sjælden gæst i disse farvande. Efter ... read more
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North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat July 31st 2013

Det er begyndt at blæse op. Mange af isbjergene er blæst længere ud i Diskobugten. Min flyvning ind til indlandsisen langs Isfjorden er blevet udsat til kl. 14 så flyet kunne blive fyldt. Vi besluttede os derfor at tage en vandring ind i landet hen i mod lufthavnen som ligger bag ved hotellet. Den mærkede rute førte os hen til et kik på lufthavnen med isbjergene i baggrunden. Længere ude kunne vi se en høj som ville give et endnu bedre overblik over området. Inden vi kunne komme hen til højen skulle vi først passere en højmose og en vandløb. De gave en del udfordringer men til sidst fandt vi et sted at komme over så vi kunne klatre op på højen. Ganske rigtigt var der en god udsigt over Diskobugten og flypladsen. Man kan få ... read more
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North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat July 30th 2013

Jeg kan ikke blive træt af isbjerge! Der er hele tiden nye former. Nogle er enorme over 100 meter høje og på størrelse med en mindre dansk ø. Når lyset skifter ændres farven på isbjerget. Dagens tur gik ud til Egi gletsjeren som ligger nord for Illulisat. Det er en sejltur på 5 timer så der var rig mulighed for at se isbjerge. Sammen med andre fotografer opholdt jeg mig så lang tid jeg kunne ude foran på skibet i den kolde blæst. Isbjergene ændre hele tiden udseende når man sejler forbi dem. Nogle bjerge kom vi tæt på så de stod tårnhøjt ved siden af båden andre mindre sejlede vi nærmest hen over isen under vandet. Efter de 5 timer bland isbjerge var vi fremme ved gletsjeren. Et fantastisk syn den er 250 meter høj ... read more
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North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat July 29th 2013

Jeg sidder og kikker ud vinduet i hotelværelset og kan slet ikke koncentrere mig om at skrive blog. Der er et smukt skær fra den begyndende solnedgang – den er kun 11 om aftenen. Foran og ude i horisonten flyder de mest fantastiske isbjerge. De fleste kommer fra Isfjorden ved Illulisat og dem i horisonten ser ud til at komme nord fra. Men for lige at begynde med begyndelse. Vi steg om bord på kystskibet som sejler fra sydgrøndland op til Illulisat. Vi sejlede ud fra Sisimiut kl. 21 og ud i disen som desværre har ligget over området de sidste dage. Efter en lille time var en Pukkelhval lige oppe og vifte med halefinden. Efter en god nat stod vi op til de første isbjerge som kom sejlende forbi ude i horisonten. Flere Pukkelhvaler viste ... read more
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North America » Greenland » West Greenland » Ilulissat August 18th 2012

North of the 69th parallel – Ice Camp Eqi & Ilulissat We’ve experienced a mere glimpse of Iceland and yet Greenland beckons. Our research has indicated that while you can reach Greenland by boat or air, you must travel from Copenhagen or Reykjavik, and only on certain days. It’s not like folks wake up one morning and say, “ I think we should pop over to Greenland for the weekend. What do you think?” This is a land of only about 55,000 inhabitants and let’s face it, unless you like your holiday rather chilly you are left with a small window of time to visit this most unique spot. Subsequently, there are limited people heading to Greenland so flights are not available every day. We needed to interrupt our time in Iceland to catch a flight ... read more
Unique neighborhoods
Sunset at Eqi
Seafood Bisque




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