Farewell Greenland - hello Nunavut, Canada

As I write this, we’ve just finished our crossing of the largest north water polynya in the Arctic (water surrounded by sea-ice), and we can see Canadian mountains ahead and to starboard/right.

Yesterday we visited Qannaq, Greenland’s most northern town of approx 600 people. It was foggy when we arrived, but the sun came out as we strolled around, chatting to locals and enjoying the views of icebergs sliding quietly by. These small towns are very isolated, particularly when the sea is iced-up – supplies come in by ship & small plane once or twice a year. Communication and education is important – they have a large satellite dish on a hill behind the town. There are very large oil tanks close to the water, and numerous shipping containers. It was a little surprising to see a large number of run-down and empty houses on either side of the main street as I walked up a long hill. Amenities such as the school and a community centre are new and in bright smart colours that are so common in Greenland.

The town was very aware that we had arrived – the ship was hard to miss once the clouds lifted, and of course we’re highly visible in our yellow Quark jackets. The playground was filled with kids playing on equipment similar to that in most parks in Australia. Some 5-8 year old girls were delighted to have their photos taken – laughing and pointing at themselves when I showed them the images – their smiles are gorgeous. Next time I must remember to bring a Polaroid so that I can give them their photos!

But it was very sad to see many people smoking, including a group of young 15 year olds – while the web provides masses of information, it also reminds people how far away from the world they live – while they learn to hunt/fish in summer, there is not much else for them to do.

Supermarkets are always interesting to visit in these small towns – in both Qannaq and Sisimiut, the first thing you see is an array of clothing for hunting, fishing, carpentry and so on. Food is further away with the usual mix of dried and canned foods, cleaners, pharmacy products and big freezers filled with frozen vegetables and fruits. There is less fish & meat because they rely on hunting.

The weather in Greenland has been superb – the temperature most days ranged from 7 to 10 or 12°C – very, very pleasant. Icebergs were everywhere yesterday as we headed towards Qannaq, and when we were leaving. Distant fog and steel grey cloud made a perfect backdrop for photos, so it was a fun time on the bow, sailing in and out of fog banks on our way out.

Last night I had the pleasure of sitting at a table with Chris Hadfield (it was his birthday) – it was great to hear some of his stories, and to understand more about what he is trying to do now. He is intent on describing and discussing science, and using various media to reach and inform people of all ages, across the world. As a result, he & his son Evan, have brought together a mix of 10 videographers, photographers, writers, musicians, who use various types of social media to reach their audiences – YouTube, websites, film, radio. More information on this and who the people are can be found at Generator Arctic.

A short break – just over our PA system, a polar bear at 11 o’clock! Back soon!

We arrived in Grise Fjord about 2 hours ago, our first stop in Canada. While we wait for the customs/immigration officials to come on board to clear us into Canada, I’ve been writing this blog post. So I just popped outside to see the polar bear – bumped into Tom Williams (one of the Generator group) and asked if he saw it.

He pointed to the side of a mountain and said “see that small white pixel moving slowly to the left? That’s it!” And it was! Our first polar bear of the trip – but really a very, very long way away. Visible with binoculars, and a fuzzy image taken with my 300mm lens.

Hopefully we will be able to land here (after our polar bear safety briefing), but apparently there is quite a bit of surf on the beach & this makes for a potentially very wet landing! The weather has deteriorated somewhat, with low cloud and rain, and a decent swell coming in from the ocean. The town is only 165 people – we’ll double the count if we do land – and they have put various things in place for our visit, so it would be unfortunate if we can’t see it other than from the bow.

But the first rule for these journeys is “be flexible” and we know that we have other adventures ahead! More to come from other areas on Ellesmere Island.