Arriving in Greenland - Thursday, May 3, 2007
Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
When we first approached Greenland, the mountains looked like a bank of clouds and the water was as clear and blue as the sky. Then, rocky mountains popped through the cloud-like snow banks and the land and water took form.
Once we landed we could see that Kangerlussuaq is a town built around the airport. Everyone in town (all 500 or so) is somehow connected to the airport that was originally built for the US military. We’re also connected to the airport … our hotel’s lobby, cafeteria, and gift shop are used by not only guests of the hotel, but by airport travelers. Greenland, once a colony of Denmark, now has home control.
I see nothing green in Greenland. The town is surrounded by mountains, some snow covered, some covered in rocks and lichens. Water, melted from the ice cap, flows downstream, carrying silt into the fjiord.
Time seems to stand still. It is still light at 11:00 p.m. … dusk-like until about 4:00 a.m. when the sun will pop above the horizon again.
This looks like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
This was my first day in the Arctic. I’m about 3 hours away from the North Pole.