uummannaq: roundtrip

by the end of day 4, we were already docked at ummannaq. at this point we know that there was an oil leak in the engine, and that we had to get moonlight (our yacht) checked up by some boat mechanic. 

uummannaq is the eleventh largest inhabited town in greenland, so somehow it would be quite a good place to be stranded at. they have cafes and bars and grocery stores and a church and even a nice yellow hospital. there were many foreign boats docked here, including Under the Pole expeditions. these guys are travelling across the Arctic with children in tow. can you imagine?! i wonder how the little ones deal with sea-sickness. maybe if your parents are extreme divers, that's not even a thing.

moonlight chilling next to 'WHY' - the Under the Pole expedition yacht

uummannaq means heart-shaped in greenlandic

i can't recall exactly what the plan was, i think it was that moonlight will bring us to ikerasak where we will do the 2-day hike and then head back to uummannaq for the necessary fix. things didn't quite go as expected, as when we were underway and near storØen, the clutch broke and the engine lost power. this was on top of the oil leak problems too. at first, jan tried to use zodiac as a tugboat but that did not seem fortuitous.

pull, zodiac, pull!

eventually paps had to make a distress call, and luckily we got agot - a fishing vessel - to tow us back to the port of uummannaq. 

there's something about a break down that got everyone excited. in no time everyone was on deck, curious about what's to happen. agot came eventually to the rescue. we took photos of agot, and the folks from agot took photos of us. such an interesting exchange. 

here comes agot

puffins enjoying the rescue mission

there and back

  
not much issue, as there were things to do here. for starters, we visited town, but not really to see the town itself but to come close to the uummannaq twin peaks. it was quite cloudy that afternoon so it felt colder than our previous hike days, and you can see that everybody's quite bundled up as we started.

we took our cookie break while waiting for the clouds to clear, and when it did, it was beautiful.

wait for it..

prachtig!

and then of course we had to climb all the way up to the highest point possible, and rightfully so because the views were spectacular. it's been another difficult hike for me, which is nothing new at this point, but i finally managed to reach the top and voila, we were with the clouds!

come on get higher

on cloud 9

dutordoirs

some even went all the way up the ridge near the 'crack' but that was too ambitious for me. i just stayed put and took photos. at this point the clouds were clearing so it started to get really warm, and the photos more amazing. 

the word 'crack' cracks me up :D

the way back to town was not any easier, surprisingly. starving and parched, i was looking forward to dinner. was not disappointed. dinner never disappointed, it was always good. and that night, we had topnotch entertainment. jan brought a didgeridoo onboard. it still amazes me whenever i wonder about the thought process that led to the decision to bring such an instrument onboard. jan was such a character. here's a video of him playing it.

the other boys tried playing it too, and that proved to be difficult. however, it did produce some really funny videos that i will get to cherish :D 

five days into the trip. everybody's getting to know each other better and having more fun together. totally loving it.  

the village at the end of the world

as per my previous post, the sail to niaqornat was not an easy feat. we sailed overnight, and thank goodness for motion-sickness pills, i managed to sleep it off. what a relief that when i woke up, we were already anchored near our next destination. 

if you're interested, here's a trailer of the movie "the village at the end of the world" that features the locals of niaqornat.

looking at the horizon, you can see how tiny this village is. they apparently only started to have electricity in 1988, but in this modern world even the residents here now have access to phone and internet.

from a distance: niaqornat from where we were anchored

the first thing that most of us did upon reaching the village was to go for groceries at "the shop". we have not set foot on any town since day 1, and we needed to replenish our supplies. cookies are of utmost importance, of course. i bought lovro a little book of numbers 1 to 10. he might be too old for it, but it was such a cute greenlandic souvenir. i wandered around afterwards.

the SHOP

polar bear skin hangs as a trophy outside possibly the village hunter's house

school

a very good looking ride

it is a fact that there are more sled dogs here than people, and as an aftermath of the recent tsunami, residents were also evacuated. it was a ghost town! we saw very few people, but they don't speak english. we waved at them and they waved back. i guess somehow they were curious of us too, it's not everyday that they get visitors.

the pack

i stooped down to take the photo, and was told that this was a sign of aggression. evidently.

the further and higher up i went, the more i adored this quaint little place. it just looked absolutely stunning! i saw a few photographs of it during the winter, and i can imagine how rough those months would be for them. summer is their little slice of heaven. 

guess who else made it here?!

there were rocky hills on both sides of the village, and i went up on the right side. i was too tired to do the other, so i just asked about it from the others. apparently there was a cemetery on that side, and there's an empty hole already dug up. peter said that it's probably in case someone dies in the winter when it will be impossible to dig. sad, but pragmatic i suppose. 

"so, you think you can live here?" one of the guys asked me. i said maybe 3 days. one week tops. honestly, i'm too depraved by the modern life for this to work for me.  

the rest of the day was spent sailing towards uummannaq, where things were about to get even more interesting.

day 3: rafting and rough waters

during our morning briefing we were informed that today was pack-rafting day! everyone was thrilled! i have never done pack rafting before, though i did kayak a few times and wild-water rafting in thailand (we did not have to paddle) so this was another first. 

we were given an orientation on how to set up our rafts. they come with a 'bag' that you use to catch air, close and roll down to push the air into the raft. pretty neat, i must say. you'd have been more impressed if i took a photo, but i was focused on getting it done. after willem's inspection and some manual air blowing, i was good to go. we were warned that we have to be out of the water by noon as the wind will pick up and it'll be more difficult to paddle about. 

my sturdy, yellow pack-raft

group 3 puffins

at some point peter went back onboard, as he had a brilliant idea to take out his drone and make a nice movie. brilliant idea indeed, because not only would our colorful pack-rafts against the giant icebergs make for an awesome cinematography, the best part was that we spotted whales! momma and baby! that was definitely something unforgettable.   

(here's that short video taken by my roommate peter vancoillie and posted in puffins facebook page. enjoy!)




the next morning we were gonna head out towards niaqornat. it's a tiny, remote village that was featured in a movie called "the village at the end of the world" which centers on lars - the youngest teenager in the village - and about his remote life and desires to leave for a better life somewhere else. it was a reflection of the simple and isolated and sometimes difficult life of the inuits in this side of greenland. you can read more about it here. 

since we were sailing, the plan for the evening was to watch this movie at the lower deck. however, the waters got pretty rough. one by one the puffins disappeared into their quarters to call it a day quite early. sea sickness is no fun.

day 2: smooth sailing and shock hiking

in the evening of our first day we started sailing overnight from ilulissat, and i had the best sleep in a long time. smooth sailing, baby! if the waters are always as calm as that, i could live in a boat.

after breakfast, i hung out at the deck to marvel at everything. like, man, i'm really here. far away from home. not having to be at work for 'push to live' support. no developers who enjoy being told what to do pinging me for help. no lovro asking for puzzle time with mama. just me, with a few people, the vastness of the arctic, and a lot of time on my hands. exactly what i needed.

good mystical morning!

we made a pit stop while traversing somewhere along sarqaq. anchored, the captain dared "anybody up for a swim?". four people changed to swim suits and completed the challenge.

i remember that in the packing checklist, it was indeed mentioned to bring swim suits. i somehow imagined there would be a hot tub and thought wow, that is some luxury yacht! but no, apparently it was for ice swimming. the closest thing i ever did: during my first belgian winter, my friend siti and i took a cold, outdoor shower at tante tine's but then we ran straight to the sauna for refuge. ice swimming is a whole new league for my tropics-raised self. maybe someday when i grow a pair?

karel, our ultra-running iron man. of course he had to do it.

just watching them do this made me shiver. i took out my bottle of sake and had my morning alcohol while aptly reading a murakami book. olivier and pieter looked like they needed warmth, so i gave them shots. potential drinking buddies? check.

we sailed further up along sullorsuaq strait, and around late afternoon, we docked somewhere along that stretch on the island (see map below) and did what i can only describe as shock hiking. it was walking on a flat surface for maybe ten minutes, and then suddenly walking up on a 30-45 degree incline. luckily this was just a two-hour ordeal. 

day 2 sailing route via snap.ocens.com

short and steep

when we had our break, willem gave us a bit of history/geology lesson. he talked about how qeqertaq literally means island in greenlandic. the big, isolated island where we were facing is called qeqertarsuaq which meant large island. the rocks in the area are the oldest in the history of earth, more than 2 billion years old, he said. and we're walking over them. how cool is that?!

edge of glory

side story: i used google image search to try and figure out exactly what this place is called. i uploaded the photo below. google doesn't know WHERE it is, but at least it knows WHAT it is :D

THE cliff

well played, google.

*****

that was a good way to work up an appetite. dinner was nice again, and i'm beginning to find that as my favorite part of the day. as it's a full-board cruise, meals are provided for the whole trip. the best thing about it, every dinner comes with a carafe of wine. woot!

i was feeling good, so one carafe was not enough that night. after dinner i headed to my favorite spot - the front deck - and brought with me the floating bottle of red wine. pieter and olivier came to hang out, and we shared the bottle. to celebrate the midnight sun, we took this photo at exactly midnight!

at some point, pieter pointed out that he saw a whale far away, puffing through its blowhole. olivier and i looked at each other and agreed that maybe pieter had too much wine. the next day we learnt that someone else saw the said whale, and pieter was proud to have been proven wrong.

an hour on and we were gently reminded that the crew's sleeping quarters are in fact, directly underneath where we were, and at 1 in the morning it's okay to have fun but a bit of vocal restraint is appreciated. oopsie. 

and with that we had to wrap up day two. at this point, sleeping with the sun out still felt weird, but there's nothing that a good day's hike and night cap couldn't fix.   

first day funk: the breathtaking ilulissat icefjord

after a series of unfortunate events, we got settled in the yacht for our very first briefing. quick introduction, room assignments, house rules, itinerary for our first day. exhausted, i settled in and skipped the meet and greet over drinks, or whatever the guys did.

i woke up early the next day, like i normally do when i'm travelling (this quickly changed after two days), and found daniel already up and ready for breakfast. it was officially our first day in this trip! it was going to be a day-long hike and i was quite excited, not having the faintest idea of what's to come. 

as we got ready, i quickly realized two things:
1. my shoes were flat. theirs were like hard-core hiking shoes.
2. sofie and willem (hike guides) both have hiking poles. some hikers didn't, but if the ones guiding are using them, they must've been necessary.

assembling the ensemble (photo from pieter)

and so we started to walk. as we reached the edge of the town and started to make our way uphill, we saw some sled dogs chilling, and we made our first stop to take photos. "the dogs always score!", sofie announced. they're husky-like but not as fluffy and they don't bark like normal dogs, they kind of squeal. we tried not to disturb their sunbathing too much.

wherever you go in the world, puppies are always adorable.

at the start of ascent, we could see the beauty from the horizon. you could just imagine how much better it was from the vantage point. it was such a lovely day, a far cry from the day prior's weather. there were barely any clouds, and while that was so great for sightseeing and photo-taking, it wasn't so great on the (lightly sunblock-applied) face. 

very promising views

the omni-present sun

before the trip, i asked to 'host' our organization's mascot and bring it to greenland. we have a monthly newsletter at work, and the mascot is being featured making its way around the world. here it is in camouflage.    

say hello to CPI-clops

halfway into the hike, i realized that i should:
1. kick myself for not having the right hiking shoes
2. kick myself for not having hiking poles

looking back, this first hike was actually the mildest of all the other hikes to come, and it was already difficult for me! things could have really been better had i been more prepared. nevertheless, the regular breaks for hot tea, cookies or chocolates and water were helpful. it also helped that there's always something amazing to see.  

amazing views throughout the hike

post lunch, i could already see the pattern that i'm always behind. from time to time one of the guys would slow down and walk with me, though for the most part i also enjoyed walking alone. 

we finally got to the vantage point where it's 180 degrees of pure magic. that was a view worth hiking for! 

behold, the mighty ilulissat icefjord

lone ranger, perhaps out fishing?

somewhere while everybody's busy admiring the views, i had to hide and wail. i thought of floris. how could he not be here to see this? how could i be doing this alone?

but really, i wasn't. i was there with a bunch of nice people, though at that point i didn't know them well yet. also, there's CPI-clops. what good is a mascot if not to entertain its host, right? 

it's got to be the coolest CPI-clops out there, conquering the largest island in the world

after i recuperated from my self-imposed drama, and after everybody's had their fill of enjoying the scenery that was to be stowed forever in their minds and memory cards, we proceeded to walk back towards town. we did not run out of nice things to see. there was a never-ending trail of icebergs, more sled dogs, and the constant supply of mosquitoes. the notorious arctic mosquitoes. i have never been so violated by tiny creatures in my life, but that's a story for later. you never get truly annoyed of anything yet at day 1. we will come to that soon. 

bye for now, giant icebergs

more sled dogs

almost back in town! i could almost taste my victory Coke

we did pass by a grocery store and i zeroed in on addressing my parched throat and got a 500ml coke, and other goodies to share with the group. as i queued to pay, i realized i did not bring my wallet! of course someone came to rescue and lent me a hundred bucks :D 

'EPAL' is a Tagalog slang for a busybody (or its Singlish equivalent "Kiasu"). the more you know!

  
back in our luxury yacht, everyone settled down to relax. while having our first dinner - some really delicious chicken tikka (i didn't want to be too asian, so i didn't take food photos :( if only jasmine was there haha) and we were advised not to drink alcohol yet (noooooo!) because... we were about to take a trip around the icebergs via zodiac. 

yeaaahhhh!

the best surprise was that i get to do this little cruise with my beloved father in law. double yay!

the cruise was done in batches of 3, and while the rest were doing theirs, daniel and i were already winning by wining at the deck. later that night we started to sail out to our next destination.  

all in all, first day of the trip was so bloody awesome! it was a perfect start to my love affair with greenland. 

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.