Eventually, we headed into town. It was a chilly ride. The temperature was around freezing but there was a definite wind chill and cold spray as we bounced along into town. Ililussat with a population of 4600 is the third-largest city in Greenland, after the capital Nuuk and Sisimiut which we will visit tomorrow. The city is home to almost as many sled-dogs as people. In direct translation, Ilulissat in the native language is the word for ‘Icebergs’. David Pelly walked us to the centre of town as the tourist shuttle wasn’t yet running and gave us an orientation. John, Bruce, and I started walking towards the glacier front and looking for a place to relieve ourselves. We found a little café with a toilet where we had a cup of coffee. When we finished the shuttle arrived and we took it to the boardwalk that led to the ice. It was about a kilometre walk to a fork in the path. To the left we could scramble up some rocks for higher view, which we did. As soon as we did, we spotted an Arctic fox on rocks checking us out. It stayed for about a minute for a great photo op before retreating to a hiding place. We continued up the rock where we met Dr Marc St-Onge who gave us some information about the glacier. We continued on and Bruce stayed on the path as John, and I headed further up over a rock outcrop. It was a bit of a challenging climb, and I stopped after the second hill, but John continued further and got right to the end of the rock peninsula. The views of the log jam of ice and icebergs that have calved from the glacier and have choked the fjord for over 20 kilometres were incredible, absolutely stunning. I met up with Bruce and we took the path back towards the very modern Icefjord Centre. The building is shaped like a twisted structure which according to the architect, mimes the wingspan of a snow owl. It provides some interpretive information about the area and the fjord and houses some works of art. I left Bruce there and walked back to town rather than taking the shuttle as I was looking for a shop to buy a t-shirt. I was surprised by the lack of tourist t-shirts and none with the name of either the town or the glacier on it. What they had was in short supply as it is the end of the season. It took a while, but I finally found a Greenland shirt that was the last one of my size. After that I walked down to the harbour and sat watching the boats, gulls and people going about their business. I got on one of the last zodiacs and headed back to the ship where I met up with Bruce and we headed up to the 7th deck to take photos as the captain threaded his way through the icebergs making our way to our next destination. After that we had a panel discussion about climate change and its effect on the Arctic. Then we had the briefing about tomorrow and our last destination, Sisimiut. After dinner there was a ‘costume’ party where guests were invited to come as their favourite type of snow or ice?! I spent the time in the hot tub enjoying the warmth and the quiet of the back deck. When I got out and sat in the Aurora room, I was joined by Alex the purser, or hotel manager. I had seen him but never talked to him. He told me that he liked that I was quietly doing my own thing. We had a great talk about travel by ship in this area and his duties and concerns. He feels the ship is too old and not luxurious enough for the price paid. I told him that wasn’t my issue, I preferred the ‘rough-it-a-bit’ nature of the expedition. After that I went to bed and listened to some music before drifting off to sleep.
Good looking town (seems cozy). And you got some great shots of the harbour ice. Thanks Joe.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pics...and amazing sunset shot! And as always, interesting and informative commentary.
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