November 20th 2019. The last supply ship of the year and the last one for seven long months was about to depart, and it sparked a special celebration in Tasiilaq. As everyone gathered by the old church that houses the local museum, the ship set off to the sound of three cannons. Goodbye supplies, hello winter. Long and cold, and with no fresh produce apart from the limited (and expensive) amounts that are flown in from Iceland.
I consider myself very lucky that I was in Tasiilaq during the ship season (especially as a vegan). I left just one week after the last ship. But for the locals, the celebration of the ship’s departure meant the beginning of months on end with empty shelves in the supermarkets, where something as simple as canned tomatoes and toiletpaper might very well run out. Things that I’ve always taken for granted because they were always available to me.
But it also marks the beginning of the beautiful winter season with snow, festivities and countless winter activities that the locals look forward to all autumn.
The celebration was a joy to witness, a joy to be part of, amongst so many locals celebrating rather than mourning the loss of their supplies and part of their contact to the outside world. I felt the isolation of Tasiilaq much more on this particular day, and I wondered to myself what it must feel like to live there permanently. I was only there for eleven weeks so the isolation never got to me, but I can imagine it would if I had stayed for longer.
On that day, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with happiness and joy as I witnessed such a beautiful event. I got teary-eyed as the ship responded to the cannons with fireworks, making the hundreds of spectators cheer. I cheered too, caught up in the moment, a moment I wished would last just a little bit longer.
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