the universe conspired: making the cut for the greenland trip

i clearly remember that early in the year, paps announced that he will be away for a few weeks in greenland for work, and that i have passionately expressed how incredibly jealous i was that he will be there.

fast forward to april, i was informed that one of the passengers for the third group backed out due to schedule conflict. paps asked if i was interested to join and gave me the dates. i have intended to visit belgium in the summer anyway, during lovro's pre-school term break, and the dates were perfect. 

within seconds my mind has already identified all the issues and risks that i have to deal with to make this happen. i will need to be away for 4 weeks from work, so i have to check if i have enough vacation leave. i have to leave lovro in belgium that whole time, so i have to ask mams if that's alright with her (which is a silly question, because it is ALWAYS alright to leave the precious grandson to her). i have to book multiple flights, and ensure that i will not have to wait long in the airports for transit, which meant booking the best schedule regardless of the price. plus, i have never ever taken a cruise before, not even just an overnight trip, and here i'm signing up to stay in a boat for 17 days.  

and yet, deep in my heart, i already know that i need to do this. like, by all means necessary, i will make it happen. greenland is #14 out of 116 places that floris wanted to see, and it's so rugged and remote that having to plan that trip by myself would be so difficult, so i could not see how it's possible to pass up on this opportunity. plus, paps would be in charge of the sailing, so i knew i'd be in good hands. however, not wanting to be hasty, i confirmed that i am interested but have not made a final decision yet.

the days went by and towards end of the month, i received a mail from sofie indicating that the spot was still open. i responded with a lot of questions but she patiently answered all of them. it was then that i started to do some research about greenland, and look for flight options and really make a plan. on the 5th of may, seeing that there was only one more seat left for the copenhagen - kangerlussuaq flight, i panicked and booked it immediately. and so consequently, my fate was sealed.

the funny thing about taking a leap of faith and committing to this trip was how little attention i paid to the fact that it was a sailing and hiking trip. and i don't hike. and i didn't even consider making the necessary preparation for it. and that, my friends, is how my lazy asian ass became a bittersweet hiking tragedy.