On October 15th at 2.20 PM, it was time to head back to Nuuk after an amazing trip to South Greenland. I lost my heart to that place. I went on a six-day journey, spending the two first days on the ferry from Nuuk to Narsaq, with a three-hour stopover in Qaqortoq. There, I decided to climb a mountain to see the sunset, which was incredible despite the battle with time.
In Narsaq, I spent two full days exploring the mountains, the agricultural lands and ancient Norse ruins on a nearby island. On the first day, I hiked 30 kilometers (!) to see a mine and was lucky to meet a mineral collector! He showed me one of the good spots to find minerals, where we found some tuttupit, a rare gemstone that’s only found in Narsaq and on the Kola Peninsula in Russia! The next day, he took me sailing to the nearby island and arranged for me to meet with the museum curator of Narsaq Museum for a private tour of the museums and an important Norse ruin! My stay in Narsaq ended at the local pub for a Greenlandic beer with my new friends.
The last two days of my trip were spent in Narsarsuaq, where the international airport of South Greenland is located. Narsarsuaq is a small village that most travellers simply pass through on their way to other places, but I wanted to explore it. I spent a day hiking to the ice sheet (!), which was incredible, and my last day was spent exploring one of the only forests in Greenland! And I saw an Arctic fox!!!!
But even though I was flying away, the adventures did not end there. Because I was flying the most beautiful route I’ve ever experienced. From Narsarsuaq to Nuuk, over the Greenlandic ice sheet.
A local had told me to sit in the back to the left for the best view, and he was so incredibly right! I had the best view. I could see Narsarsuaq and its nearby glacier, which I hiked to a few days earlier. I could see the mountains, the fjords and the few colourful houses. As we flew further away, the mountains disappeared and all that was left was an enormous white sheet of ice. It was all I could see, and on the other side of it was East Greenland. If only the earth didn’t curve so I could actually see over there – because with the incredible weather that we had, I’m sure I would’ve been able to. The visibility was fantastic – at least for the first part of the flight.
Because as soon as we had left South Greenland behind, thick clouds rolled in and I could see nothing. The adventure was over, but I was going home. Home to snowy Nuuk.
Leave a Comment