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 |
 |
| '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.
No comments:
Post a Comment