planning a "royal ball"

"cindy, do you still have leave to fly out in october?"
"2 days tops. what do you have in mind?"
"why don't you take 19th and 20th? 18th is a holiday."
"definitely considering that but haven't decided where to go. maybe koh samui or yogya?"
then she sent a link to things to do in yogyakarta.
"i'm in if you wanna travel between 16th to 22nd."
"yeah? cool. let's do 18th to 22nd?"
"18th to 22nd it is."
i sent a snapshot of flight options from skyscanner.
"ok let's buy it."

and just like that, perhaps under an hour, we suddenly had a grand birthday trip planned out. it was easy for us to just jump right in and book stuff because we already know that planning this trip would be a breeze. 

a few years ago, jasmine asked if i wanted to go to cameron highlands over the weekend. this was our first trip together and she planned everything. when she informed me of her proposal, i didn't have anything to change. stay at a decent-priced inn. drinking on the overnight bus (people were looking around to check where the whiskey smell was coming from). strawberry-picking (and we brought a bottle of bubbly). tea-plantation visit. and then fill the rest of the time with eating.  it was perfect. 

it's awesome to have a friend who is as spontaneous and assured as you are and also enjoy the same shit. with jasmine, this is what i get. when she randomly asks me out on a dinner date and she picks a place, it's usually a good spot. otherwise, if i'm the one planning something, she'd always have a good input. she's open about what she wants so she lays everything down, so i know exactly what to work with. she's easily agreeable if things had to be changed due to circumstances, but she also challenges suggestions because she's courageous. for instance, i wasn't really sure that we would be ready for an overnight hike to mt. merapi, but she said she knew someone who did it with a guide. what she really meant was, if this person can do it, we can definitely do it too. i guess we will find out when we get there, but i love that conviction!

since my greenland blogging was over, i've got a lot of time to start planning for this yogyakarta trip. there's hiking involved, and as i've already learned my lesson, i got myself new hiking shoes. we are planning to break them in and go hiking around singapore within september to get ourselves ready. one day, those shoes are going to reach the summit of kota kinabalu. at least, that's what i plan to accomplish at some point. 

it must be the project manager in me but i love planning and i love spreadsheets and i love options / having a plan B. i'm also big on research to find out what to do, where to stay, what people are saying about places, what to be careful of, etc. i once went out with a guy who thinks that a real traveler is one who always takes the road less traveled and just dives right in to a new place without knowing anything. to me, that's not necessarily being a traveler, that's just being lazy - and sometimes - stupid. being armed with information about where you are going so you know how to navigate around, not get conned or miss the last transportation option out of town, is a smart thing to do. besides, who's to decide what a real traveler is like? 

anyway, after days of research i finally have a detailed plan, for a trip that is two months away. hah! overly excited? maybe. or just such a giant control-freak. LOL.

i shared it with her, and easily got a stamp of approval. 

now all we have to do is wait for my birthday!

oh, and did the title confuse you? that's because i'm cinderella and she's jasmine. we're the popular disney princesses :-D

time to say goodbye

we arrived in ilulissat by mid-morning. it was quite a busy harbor, so it took a while to eye a good docking spot. through the narrow passage, our dear captain navigated thru and expertly parked moonlight. it was so amazing.

we had our final briefing, to close off the trip. just cleaning up the rooms; that there is no more lunch onboard; that we will have a final farewell dinner at Hotel Arctic. we were free to do anything we wish otherwise. we then found out who's leaving when: karel, emma and pieter were all flying out tonight right after dinner. olivier, daniel and i were flying out the next morning to kangerlussuaq, but jonas is also joining us on the flight to copenhagen. peter, well, he's sticking around for one more trip. 

we all pretty much headed out at the same time, but we're parked next to a fishing vessel, and we had a little chit chat with the captain. the boat was full of young scandinavians. apparently the kids are doing part-time work sailing out to greenland while working. they get to enjoy greenland, but they have to work for it - and working in a fishing boat is not easy. good on them. 

the last time i was here it was drizzling, so i didn't have much chance to explore. just a quick visit to the grocery store for supplies. today we had perfectly blue skies and mild weather. a great day for a stroll.

i'm crazy about arctic cotton grass!  

i also had a map from the hotel when we first came here and so i knew that there was this hong kong cafe in town. i was dying to eat asian food, so i tagged olivier along and we had lunch there. it was a nice little diner with a fantastic view. i had prawn fried rice and he had tom yum noodle soup. they were pretty good but the servings were huge, they're definitely not asian-sized. (again, no food photos)

view from hongkong cafe

we walked further around town and saw a nice spot to view the distant fjord. we had earlier passed by a grocery and agreed to buy some stuff for breakfast in the morning since we're flying out together, and i saw some local beers. the beers in moonlight were from belgium, and the beers in a couple of bars we've been to were from denmark. so when i saw these beers brewed in nuuk, i had to get them.

a perfect afternoon

we headed back just in time to leave for dinner. restaurant ulo is a pretty popular high-end restaurant in ilulissat (for lack of many alternatives i presume) so we had to book days ahead. there were indeed a lot of people when we arrived - tourists of course - and the waitstaff explained that we all will be served the same dish (as opposed to us having an option what dishes we like) since we're a big group. "we're starving, so just feed us anything, really" was what i thought. 

serving dinner took a while, we were almost worried that those leaving tonight would have to go before food arrives. luckily they didn't have to. food was fantastic, albeit rather tiny. after dinner we bid farewell to the newlyweds and pieter. it's always difficult but inevitable in any trip. i hate saying goodbyes :(      

a perfect company

before leaving, paps and i took advantage of the nice views outside the restaurant for a quick photo shoot. i wanted to send something to my mother in law that would thrill her.

and so, from 13 we are now 10. the night was young, and dinner was light, so rob suggested to go to this bar where they got pizza last time. we didn't get food though (i think kitchen was closed?) but we had beers instead. the group tried to rile paps into sharing juicy army stories haha. after some time more people poured in, and some bouncers reported for duty. we can imagine that this bar called naleraq is the place to be for locals to party on a weekend. 

we figured it would get too loud for talking, so we headed back to the yacht. i was looking forward to resting soon because we had to leave at 7 for our flight. you should know by now, that every single time i'm thinking of going to bed early something always comes up. this time, mission arctic - our neighbors while docked - were having a little party. paps took a bottle of whiskey and announced that we will crash a party. ah, who can say no to the captain? :)

caught red-handed. and whiskey-handed.

soon after, cans and cans of jupiler were moved from moonlight to theirs. jan also brought some sausages. the neighbors were playing the soundtrack of top gun. altogether we sang and screamed ride..in..to..the..dangeeer..zoooooone!

beers before an early flight IS the danger

the fun and laughter and drinks and camaraderie were drowned out by the magnificent sunset unfolding. it was the perfect ending to this trip. 

bliss.

my mind was doing a playback. it's amazing what three weeks together can do to strangers. when we came here, we were from all walks of life. there's a dentist who is also a record holder for ultra running. he's recently married to a property manager. one guy is a spokesperson for a political party in belgium (green) and his dad is a gifted man who performs sound healing. there's a lawyer, a pilot, and a photographer. and then, plain old me, a clown glorified fintech project manager. 

in this trip, we were none of these (well, except peter, who was a professional photographer thru and thru). we were just a group of people sailing and hiking together. some cooked while the others prepared the table or washed the dishes. we shared food with each other. we drank a lot. laughed a lot. we enjoyed sharing comfortable silence together as some people read their books while the others just enjoy the beauty of the surroundings as we sailed.

i think that something about this trip, no matter how little, would change us. perhaps i'm speaking for myself, because this is especially true for me. this was truly the expedition of a lifetime.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

to sofie, willem, rob, jan (and paps) - thank you. i wish puffins wild success (i have no doubt!), and that more people like me would embark on such a memorable journey in moonlight. you guys are the minds behind the craft.

to sofie - you are a smart and totally cool and admirable woman. don't ever change!

to willem - your unparalleled passion for exploration is amazing. thanks for taking us to all these wild places that i never thought i would ever set foot on.

to jan - i enjoyed the 'pocket chats' that we have - you always do small talks even when you're busy working. i appreciate that. you're funny and sweet, you should put that on tinder!

to rob - i know we didn't spend a lot of time talking, but on those rare moments that you join the group, it was truly awesome.

to daniel and jonas - seeing you enjoy this trip together was an inspiration, and i wish to be that cool parent too, who'd get to travel with my son someday. and jonas - i raise my glass to you, you professional alcoholic ;-) 

to emma and karel - you guys are crazy, doing a honeymoon with a bunch of oddballs like us! haha! kidding aside though, you guys are a powerful force! i hope that you did not regret spending your honeymoon with us. (p.s. i still want to be your kid in my next life) (p.p.s. emma - i still dream of that chocolate mousse and cobbler)

to peter - thank you for tolerating me for being your roommate! our room was a mess! i truly enjoyed the moments we spent chit-chatting, exchanging personal stories about relationships and what not. thanks for always encouraging me to find joy in the midst of my hiking pains :)

to pieter - i said it before and i'll say it again, i am forever grateful for the introduction to QOTSA! i will always cherish our music moments together (but still hate you for seeing all my favorite bands in concert). don't forget your pinky swear on beers next year.  

to olivier - thanks for looking after me throughout this journey. your positive energy is infectious. i always smile when i'm reminded of you, mister sunshine.   

Greenland Sailing and Hiking Trip
Group 3: July 5 - 21, 2017
www.puffins.travel

aasiaat

day 16. it was nice to wake up and know i am not feeling sick.

we were already docked at aasiaat the night before, and today will be another pack-rafting day. a couple of folks did not join, probably still recovering from the 2-day torture. i wanted to go because i couldn't wait to get off the boat.

aasiaat seems to be a more tourist-visited area. i saw a hotel, and there were some tourists walking around. they were watching us as we prepared our rafts. not surprising as this is the fifth largest town in greenland. i also learned that aasiaat means "a place with spiders" (thanks, google!). i didn't see any though. just our same old giant mosquito friends.

when we headed out, we were paddling against the wind. supposedly that would be good on our way back, when we ride with the wind and it'll push us and make paddling easier. the area in aasiaat where we set off was relatively flat; the ridges don't peak as high as the other places we've been to. we also noticed that the houses there were bigger, and there were a lot of high-speed boats, or as the locals call them, inuit rockets. 

no spiders, just birds

cookie break!

i remember that we should be back by noon before the wind picks up, but we decided to go around the ridge which is a 9km distance, and i was going slow. it was really tricky to paddle against the current. jan showed up in zodiac and talked to willem, but he was far away so we didn't know what was up. we suspected that jan was checking up on us to see if we're alright. 

when we passed the bend and was heading back to moonlight, the wind was not on our backs. it was picking up and i was being pushed sideways, making it harder to move forward. olivier was there to give the usual words of encouragement, and i tried to channel his words to my arm muscles like some sort of a miracle. it didn't work. willem emerged and tied his raft to mine in a rescue attempt. then jan showed up finally and collected us. 

back in moonlight i took a warm shower and curled up in my bed, shivering. my dear father in law came to check in on me to see if i'm alright. after i've recovered i went to join the rest for lunch. later on they were going to town for a walk. i skipped, fearing i'd be too tired and consequently not be well for my journey back home.

i slept through the afternoon and when i came back upstairs, they were already back from the walk. peter explained that there weren't so much to see around hence the short walk. as i mentioned, the area seemed flat, so i suppose there was no hiking opportunity. 

post dinner we started to sail out. paps pointed out to the rainbow, bidding us farewell.

and now, onwards to ilulissat for our disembarkation :(   

farewell rainbow

worse than a hangover

when i woke up, the world was rocking sideways. i thought, ugh, i hate hangovers.

but then it wasn't my head. moonlight was rocking sideways. 

we were already cruising back south, and the waters were pretty rough but we have to keep sailing as we have only a few days left and we all pretty much have to be off the boat in 4 days. we were going to make a pit stop in aasiaat to get some bolts (?) to keep the pipes together. or something important like that.

this was how i imagined moonlight

southbound

moonlight was practically ripping through the waves and it was just cruel. it must have been past noon, and i saw peter was also still in bed, probably feeling the pain too. i tried to get up and go to the bathroom to maybe shower and go to the deck, but that didn't work out. i'm pretty sure the heavy drinking did not help either. i went back to bed and tried to sleep it off.

later on i braved it and went up the deck around 5pm. i remember paps previously told me that the best way to deal with seasickness is to just look at the horizon. i sat in my spot at the front deck, just looking at the distant rocky mountains and icebergs, trying to distract myself from the pain. it also helped that it was so cold. during dinner i learned that everybody was shook up too. no drinking for me that night, and then it was back to bed.

the next day - it was even worse! 

if moonlight was shaking yesterday, today she was sailing tilted sideways. my bed was sideways, and i literally had to hold on the frame so i won't slide down. i was almost rolling on to peter's side. i did my best to shower, hoping that would make me feel better. it was quite a challenge: the only way i could do it was to put my right foot against the shower door, my hips against the wall, i'm leaning forward with my head down and one hand held the shower head. yeah, even i was amazed how i managed. that nice warm shower made me feel like taking a nap again :D

by late afternoon i was starving, but there was no leaving the bed, so i munched on some nuts and m&m's. i dozed off again, then probably a few hours later, someone rang the bell which meant dinner was ready. 

the sailing got somewhat calmer as the evening went on, and since i was pretty much in bed all day long and just got up, i didn't feel like going back to bed soon. there was nothing much left to do than to drink, i suppose, right? and so we drank the rest of the evening off as we continued sailing. we reached aasiaat before midnight.

arriving at aasiaat. we survived! 

the thought of the trip ending very soon is starting to lurk in my mind. on the one hand it was, "yay, no more hiking!" and the other, "i won't be with the puffins anymore." 

:( 

"glamping" - 3 days near the ice sheet

(disclaimer: i must let you know, that this portion of the greenland story was the hardest to write. i want to be true to the experience, so that whoever is reading this could almost experience it like we did, but there were a lot of very interesting things that totally almost probably should be censored, or at least be written eloquently. i'll try my best.) 

it was an early start on day 11. we were gonna go on a 3-day, 2 night wilderness exploration! woot! who's ready to see a glacier? ME! yes, i've decided to go. it didn't feel right not to. 

i know that 'glamping' really means glamourous camping. today i am changing that definition to glacier-camping because glamour is faaaar from what we were about to experience ;-)

prior to writing this, i had to look-up the exact name of our destination, but it seems to be called different names. pieter's map says it's kangerdiuarssûp. wikipedia says it's kangerlugssuaq glaciers. whatever it is, it's basically the edge of the enormous greenland ice sheet.

during our briefing, we were informed that it will take wilda 4 hours to get to this place. since it's quite a journey, we won't be cruising with jan. marty will be taking over. the last time we sailed out with wilda, a bunch of us were soaked because the water kept splashing in, so this time they gave her a hood.

by the way, 4 hours? marty was so wrong. 

marty the boatman

the long way up north

it took us more than 6 hours. 6 painful hours! we left before 9 in the morning; we shared a giant 42-stuuk sausage can and bread for lunch past 12; had cookies by early afternoon; and we're still not there yet.  

being in the boat for that long meant that some biological necessities have to be addressed. you can imagine that it was easy peasy for the boys, but not exactly for us girls. there were 3 of us, and at some point, we all had to go. marty's solution: the bucket.

i reaaaally tried to hold it as much as i could, but my bladder was gonna burst. we had to go to the rear of the boat to do our bucket business. the two guys sitting there were kind enough to stand and lean forward to give some space, although marty cannot do the same. *i kept my eyes on him the whole time.* 

i was wearing 2 layers of tights and my hiking pants, and after i'm done, i couldn't pull things up! OHMYGODTHISISNOTHAPPENING. i literally had to lift my ass up higher so i can get things back on. luckily there's a mountain of backpacks that somehow shield me. i squealed, "this is the worst day of my life!" >.<

done and done, throw the bucket contents into the water, rinse it, and then it's emma's turn. no big deal, right?

it was just before 3pm when we finally arrived. the glacier is like a giant white carpet waiting for us esteemed guests. 

we were really excited to get out and about but it took marty some time to get wilda on the beach. disembarking finally done, we all sort of collapsed on the beach, and stayed there to rest for a while.   

even champs get exhausted

next order of business: find a camp spot. we didn't walk far to settle. tents were already up before 6pm.

after resting up, we went for a walk near the glaciers. but i suppose since we're on unfamiliar grounds, nobody would have expected that after more than an hour of walk we still wouldn't be in a good spot to view the glacier. we headed back for late dinner. 

we meant to bring a bottle of liquor with us for this camp, but it was forgotten. that was probably a blessing in disguise. to amuse ourselves, we played the werewolf game (sans the cards).

i was the usual suspect

we also had to do polar bear watch here, but since we're here for two nights it was agreed that each will do 2-hour shifts but only once. tonight i'm not watching, so i had a good sleep.

the next day: main event. we started walking in the morning. there were nice things to see along the way, but it took quite a while to get to the viewing point. one of the things i really liked about hiking here was being able to refill water from the moving streams. of course the water was always cold and refreshing.  

it was around 3pm when we got to our destination. all i could say was, i'm glad i came. the only regret i had was not bringing the olympus camera. it's been kinda hard to stop and take photos as we hike, plus it was added weight, but the pictures would have been better if i did. 

we were beyond THE WALL

we headed back in time for dinner. after we ate, the newlyweds were preparing dessert! who goes to the wilderness to camp and have some desserts? we're fly like that. haha

'budding' is danish for pudding

i don't know if we were just impatient, but the pudding did not rest and solidify, so we just had it like hot milk chocolate. still good! another round of werewolf game was played, and then some people went to bed.

there is always this group who don't go to bed early (ehem) and so we congregated. pieter was playing songs from his phone as per default, using a plastic cup to amplify the sound. we were singing gently since some folks already retired to their tents. later on willem joined, and we erupted into a choir singing 'Hey Jude' on repeat. well, not really the entire song, just the last stanza. on repeat. i will never listen to that song the same way again. 

we didn't realize that we were in fact formed in a circle, sometimes arms together and spinning around, basically destroying all vegetation in that spot. like a bonafide cult. 

we will, we will, rock you!

it's my bear watch that evening from 10 to 12. we stopped the rock-worshiping craze just before 11 so i basically had a short watch. it was so cold that night! which again was great because there were no mozzies, but i had to do a silent disco and move around to stay awake and warm. 

cold ninja

the next morning we packed up and got ready to head back. when we reached the beach, wilda was already looming in the horizon. but, not moving. we called out, waved, but nothing happened. i suspect marty fell asleep, he must have left soooo early from ummannaq to get there. 

wildaaaaaaa!

WILDAAAAAAAA!

wilda finally checks in

things were smooth sailing so far as we headed back. already anticipating how long it will take, i didn't drink much water because i certainly don't wanna have to pee in that bucket again. 

later on something horrible happened. 

i was seated near the bow, so i had no idea what was going on with the folks at the back. and with the engine roaring all i could hear were inaudible murmurs. 

and then, i smelled it. 

i was about to turn around to see what the heck was up, but karel was quick to cover my face with his hand. "cindy, don't look!" and someone followed up with "it seemed marty ate something bad." 

oh my god.

OH MY GOD. 

OHHHH MY GAAAAHHHDDDD!

that's right. THAT HAPPENED TO US. and yes i just told you. 

i seriously pitied sofie and pieter who were sitting next to him. 

everyone was so dumbstruck about the incident, we were all quiet for a while. later on when we're back in the comfort of our yacht, everybody had their own speculations about the events that transpired. what. a. trip. 

something like that cannot be unseen and undone. the only way to cope was to get piss drunk again! one final all-out party! :D this time daddy d was the dj, and he's got really great music in his iPod. he showed off some killer moves too! i bopped jonas, "hey, your dad is so cool!". "yeah! i know!" he said, like a proud son. i could tell that this trip had been such a great bonding for them. 

bye ummannaq, we heart you

at this point in the trip, we're already almost like family. everybody's having fun, poking fun at each other. i picked on jonas, who was always cool no matter how much he drank. so i got him whisky, campari, gin and he also drank wine and beer. he won't budge! ugh. so i gave up and let him be :)

we were already sailing south, all the way back to our final destination, as this trip was about to wrap up. i guess it was appropriate that we saw some marvelous sunset. well, at this time of the year the sun only sets low, but comes back up again. 

the perfect sunset

and now, there were only 4 days left in this trip. we were not prepared for what's to come in the next two days.  

lazy day

day 10. i woke up past noon. wow. 

it's a good thing we're by the port. i literally just had to hop off the yacht and i'm on my way to town. i spotted a fast food/cafe nearby and wanted to swing by anyway, so today was the day to do that. also, i thought there'd be internet. jan said that he tried asking for the wifi password, but he was told they don't have wifi, even though he can see the network. "i don't think you're charming enough," i pestered him. "i'll show you how it's done."

well, i suppose no amount of charm would make them share their network. data plan in greenland was very, very expensive, as i was to learn in just a couple of hours. nevermind, i came there primarily to eat. so i had a classic burger, some frietjes and coca cola. my kind of lazy day meal.

the puffins were already wandering around town, so i was alone. post lunch i went to the post as i decided to finally get some data plan. i can't stand not having contact with mams and lovro anymore. i missed my baby. i went to ask first, and when i decided to get the data-only plan instead of mobile, she was selling me the mobile broadband stick too. i had to go back to moonlight and get my huawei mobile router and show her. when i came back, i saw marty (wilda's boatman), and jan. marty asked if i wanted to go to the birthday party where the rest of my group were, and i agreed.

we arrived and he was right - everyone was there. it felt very awkward that a whole bunch of us foreigners were there. i could only hope that they were entertained by our presence or that they genuinely find joy in being hospitable to travelers like us. there was a lot of food, and 3 birthday cakes. i tried one of the cakes and it was so, so, so delicious. they also had raw narwhal meat, as is traditional inuit staple. i tried it too. not a big fan.

narwhal meat

in greenland it seems customary to invite the entire town to a birthday party. however it is also customary that guests bring gifts, mostly food. marty told me that he plans to give the birthday celebrant - a 9-year old girl - some coins. he said that they would appreciate even a small gesture like that. it felt very odd. i contemplated for a long time, and i asked him if giving the girl my earrings is acceptable. he said it absolutely is. so i walked over and talked to the girl, and removed my earrings to put in her ear. it fit on one side, but won't go through on the other. her mom tried to do it for her to no avail. she said they'll fix her up at some point. i asked the mom if that's okay, and she assured me that the girl is thrilled but she's usually too shy to show it. whew, what a relief.

the rest of the day was just chill. i did facetime with mams and lovro despite the bad connection. i was so happy to see him! it was good to know he's been enjoying my absence as there was an endless supply of playmates and family who come visit him. 

we were early to bed that night too. i don't recall there being heavy drinking, because we were going to leave early the next day for our 2-night camp. at this point i was hesitating if i should join, because i was afraid that my flu would get worse and that i don't have the stamina for this. peter was convincing me that i should, because it wouldn't feel complete if i wasn't there; like i wasn't part of the group anymore. awww. so i packed anyway, and said that depending on how i feel in the morning then i will decide. 
  

yellow and orange

the best plan is to have no plan. 

that's exactly how i felt on day 9. i woke up just in time for lunch. finally, a free day! i was still down with flu and over lunch i told the group that there was a bit of blood when i spit and that was likely because of throat irritation whenever i coughed. my dear roommate was quite concerned, and i'm almost sure it was him who told sofie, because she talked to me and said it was imperative that we see a doctor. she scouted for one and came back to say that the doctor was available and in fact - the bright yellow building was a hospital!

the color of jaundice. my kind of hospital.

and so we went. while waiting, i sat near an open room that i can imagine was their A&E center. there was a local man in red overalls, acting disoriented. someone came to say that the doctor will attend to me shortly, and we asked if the man was alright. she assured us that he's being cared for. the man was talking - not sure if to us or to himself, and then he started to tilt his head and wail. he had a giant cottonball pressed against his ear and it was covered in blood. when a grown man is crying in pain in front of you, that was very hard to ignore. i started to cry too :( damn you, mr. overalls.

a nurse finally came and gave him some medication. the woman let him lay down, and he seemed to be getting calm, albeit still talking loudly to himself. another local passed by, listened to him momentarily, then walked off smiling and shaking his head. i wonder what he was actually saying. 

the doctor came and said hello and asked me what seems to be the problem, and i told her the indications. then she excused herself and talked to the injured man, and then she sent him away! as the man left the room, he saw sofie and he completely lost it. it was like he saw an angel, he couldn't believe it! he walked up to sofie and took her hand, unsuccessfully gave her a kiss on the cheek, but then he touched her hair! i was suspecting it was the strong medication, but sofie said he was also reeking of alcohol. i was quite impressed at how calm and collected she was the whole time, because that was definitely creepy. yet also, super funny. (sorry sofie, i had to tell this story!)

anyway, basically the doctor told me it's just common flu and that i just need some rest and everything will be fine. she gave me some medication (just in case) and she did not charge me because she said it's too complicated. fine by me!

back in the yacht, the nice people were preparing dinner. emma said that they made a special dessert. i told them some time back that paps makes the best chocolate mousse, and they asked for the recipe and made it! god, i love that woman.

finger.licking.good.

after dinner the guys wanted to stretch their legs so they walked about. it seemed that they went to the cafe/bar but it was already closed, so they came back to get booze and planned to find a spot somewhere to drink. "wanna come?", pieter asked. one of the hardest things to say no to, was a good drinking time. "why not?", i obliged. of course i'm going. 

we saw a couple of teenagers and asked them for a good spot to drink. the guy pointed to an area uphill, and he said "look for the orange box". it's always smart to ask the locals. especially the young ones.

here comes trouble

THE orange box 

on the way there we saw two danish guys - the owner and boatman of wilda! we invited them to join us for drinks and we were told about a birthday party the next day. since we don't have anything else planned, that seemed to fit right into our calendar. it got pretty cold, and i guess everybody wanted to catch up on some sleep, so we headed back before midnight. 

camping in ikerasak

breakfast at 10 did not even cut it.

as each of us emerged from our rooms looking obviously hung over, we couldn't help but laugh at each other and ourselves. what a brilliant idea to get piss drunk a day before a planned 2-day hike, eh? what. were. we. thinking. 

"i'm kinda hoping we're not going to do this today", grunted emma, whose barbie moves were perfected with rakki the night prior. i'm totally with her on this; just the thought of hiking without enough sleep and with alcohol in your blood already hurts. also, i just discovered that i lost my voice. flu was coming.

alas, sofie and willem came around to announce that we ARE going to ikerasak today. ai. 

sofie held a quick briefing to show the minimal stuff required for the overnight camp. as peter and i are roommates onboard, we'd also be tent-mates. he was nice enough to carry the tent materials. following instructions to a t, i brought only what is necessary save for some stash of dried fruits and cookies, because i was pretty sure that a heavy backpack would give me a bad time.

today's premium cut

we headed out post lunch. it was going to be a 2-hour ride with wilda to get there. the plan was to hike for a few hours and find a good spot to settle and camp, have dinner and continue the next day towards the town, covering a total walk of 20 kilometers. 

round 2 with wilda

the landscape was beautiful as usual, terrain rugged. i'm pretty sure i had the lightest backpack amongst the group as the boys had to carry communal items like boiling pots and thermos and food. sofie and willem even had to carry guns. that's right, we're heading to polar bear region and for safety purposes we have a couple of shot guns. but even though it's light, the backpack - which of course belonged to Floris - was half my height! 

me and the F heritage bag

the rock

we hiked for about an hour before we had our first cookie break. willem took this opportunity to bring out the big-boy toy. he too has a drone. here's him taking it for a spin.

we did another 2 hours of hike before we finally found the spot. "we have to camp here!" willem announced, excitedly. no qualms from anyone, it was indeed special. we were instructed on how to set up our tents, and once we're done, it'll be dinner time.

the five-star view from our camp

our tent, which we set up near the mosquito-larvae-infested pond :D

happy campers

here's another nice video from peter vancoillie as shared in puffins facebook page: 




i think that the last time i ever did an overnight camp was for girls' scouts eons ago. i don't even remember what camp food was like. it's my first time to try freeze-dried expedition food. and you know what, i liked it. 

i think now is the perfect time to tell you about these arctic mosquitoes. i don't even know how to begin describing the exasperation these little buggers brought upon me. they are terrorists. they're humongous - they're as big as baby flies. i kid you not. the mosquito sprays and patches that i brought don't work on them! they're like the Vin Diesel of mosquitoes! 

their motto: come one, come all

they are like these gang of pickpockets where a few of them would try to distract you by nuisance (they'll be buzzing around, all over your face, go inside your nose or ears) while the rest focus on sucking you dry (literally). i remember that after camp dinner, while we were all chatting, peter tried to relax by reclining sideways a la 'draw me like one of your french models' kind of pose. i told him off, "peter, you leaning like that is almost telling the mosquitoes 'bon apetit'!". it was exactly what they had throughout our journey: a buffet.

anyway, as i mentioned, we were in polar bear region, and while the chances of polar bear attacks were close to impossible, our dear hike masters would not take the risk. so we had to do polar bear watch that evening. each of us would have to look after the camp for an hour, and if we do spot a polar bear, we need to wake sofie/willem up and perhaps be ready to run for our lives. we drew lots and of course the ever-so-lucky me got the 3-4 am shift. the only good thing about it: the mosquitoes were nowhere! the wind was too strong for them, so they were hovering low. 

safe and sound and polar bear-free at 3:30

wake-up call was 8:30 the next morning. as you can see in the photos the tents do not, in any way, fend off the eternal sunlight. i had to sleep with 2 eye patches to shut the light out. peter woke me up, and it took me a good five minutes before i could completely open my eyes. 

the combination of this difficult night, and the difficult hike the next day, has left me too exhausted. i couldn't eat much, and peter constantly reminded me that i do need to eat as i need that energy, but my body was ready to shut down. sofie has authoritatively decided that my bag has to be emptied and distributed to the nice volunteers (always olivier, pieter and peter) and she put some anti-blister patches on my feet to help ease the pain (did i tell you guys that i did not have the right shoes??). finally, willem and her talked to me about options. either they would get jan to come and pick me up near where we were at that moment and let the rest of the group finish off in town, or to let the rest of the group go first, and sofie would stay with me and we'll walk my pace to the town. 

sofie told me some tales of encouragement, and i can see that she believed i can do it. i did want to finish the walk to town, but i didn't want to hold the group. so the latter option worked. it was just a good kilometer to go; just a little bit of push. so i took an energy bar and had some water and walked slowly with her. olivier stayed too. 

almost there!

when we arrived, the puffins cheered for me. they're really a sweet bunch, always encouraging. i guess given the circumstances, it was nice that i didn't give up. somebody had a brilliant idea to get some ice cream pops. talk about poetic justice!

we were back in moonlight around past 8 and had late dinner. emma, our resident barbie and baker, made some really nice rice pudding that night. this time, i took a photo. 

yummy in my tummy

and so, with that, we have completed 8 days of our journey. the fate of moonlight was uncertain at that point, having no direct solution available just yet. we did not have any itinerary the next day, which was quite a relief in fact, as by the end of that evening i already knew that there was no way i would wake up early the next day.