What a day.
Down to breakfast at around 0800, sat outside in the sun, 4C. Icebergs floating by. No-one else was game enough to sit outside, but it wasn’t that cold with the jacket on, so I had the terrace to myself after Song went inside. Put on some earphones and listened to some music while looking out over the bay, blue water, white icebergs, blue sky with the occasional boat zipping by. Magical.
Headed out, decided to try a different way and saw an old couple walking in the same direction who looked as if they had a plan so thought we’d follow them for a while.
Walked around the outskirts of the town, past some unsightly rubbish that was just dumped in a pond, very disappointing. I think most tourists who come here would be environmentally conscious and not drop rubbish, so I suspect it’s the locals. That and the fact that not many tourists will carry car tires or old boat motors with them.
There were hundreds of dogs chained up in the fields and on the hills surrounding the town. These are the sled dogs used in the winter, and apparently there are the same number of dogs as people here. They looked healthy, if a bit grubby, and most had kennels although I don’t know how much protection they get in Winter when it gets down to -12C or colder.
Carried on following the old couple, who then veered off along a dodgy looking path, so we carried on and ended up at the start of the walking tracks.
I had intended to investigate these on another day, but since we were here we picked one, following the yellow markers, climbing slightly, across rocks covered in lichen with the odd pool here and there. It was still cold, but we were wrapped up so it was fine, and it was an easy walk with just a couple of places where a bit of a leap was required.
After about 15 minutes we could see some peaks of the Icefjord – the icebergs that break off the main icecap and form an ice sea. Looking back, we could see the town. Photos were taken.
We carried on along the path, went over a rise, and saw the entire Icefjord – unbelievably spectacular. It’s basically a river of ice, made up of some massive chunks and lots of small ones. The fjord was in a valley, with the ice feeding into the sea to the right. Just an incredible view. We took tons of photos, then just sat on a rock taking it all in.
When Song said we should go to Greenland I wondered what there was to do. The answer is not much, except see something like this. Amazing.
There were some clouds, and it was a bit windy so it felt a bit cold now. We took more pictures then headed back to the hotel. There was another path that went closer to the Icefjord, we’ll do that another day.
After some time in the hotel decided to venture out again, back to the bay where I fell in yesterday. Took more photos and managed not to fall in, then back again to the hotel to eat in the restaurant there – the No. 1 restaurant in all of Ilulissat.
I had the Musk Ox pot, a stew with mash and a bit of onion and capsicum. Song had a Thai fish dish.
Mine was OK – hard to describe. If you had it you’d know it wasn’t beef, and it wasn’t really gamey. I wouldn’t rush to order it again to be honest.
Song said hers was a bit bland. I also had a beer. It cost about 100 AUD, a bit steep for 2 mains and a beer but things cost a bit more here.
Had difficulty climbing the stairs back to the room, a combination of the food and the walking, so will probably take it easy tomorrow, plus we’ve booked a midnight cruise to the icebergs.
