ARCTIC CIRCLE TRAIL_2014
POSTAMBLE: ILULISSAT ICEFJORDS
After completing the Arctic Circle Trail, we flew from Sisimiut to Illulissat for a 3 day/4 night visit. Illulissat, located at 69 degrees latitude north, is 220 miles beyond the Arctic Circle and is the northern most point we have ever visited. The town is situated next to the Illulissat Icefjords, a UNESCO world heritage site and where the Jakobshavn glacier empties into Baffin Bay.
We stayed at Paa & Jannik's, a clean and comfortable bed and breakfast with a picturesque view of iceberg-dotted Disko Bay from the kitchen and living room. We bought groceries to make most of our meals, e.g., pasta, rice, fish, soup, frozen vegetables, bread, butter, milk, jam, hot cocoa, etc. The weight we lost during the ACT trek was easily gained back.
We went on a few day hikes along the icefjord. The close-up views of the icebergs were mesmerizing, and there weren't as many visitors as one would expect for a UNESCO world heritage site once we wandered away from the boardwalk. We saw many garrishly painted cairns and laughed at how the trails were excessively marked. Periodically, the calving glacier caused dull thundering sounds and we saw a few icebergs go under, then flip over.
On our second night, we took a 2.5 hour boat trip into Disko Bay and saw countless icebergs, some as big as big-box stores, and other suitcase-to-car sized ones floating densely together. The boat ride was windy and extremely cold, but the views of the setting sun over the endless horizon of ice was well worth it.
The next day, we spent an educational morning at the Illulissat-Knud Rasmussen Musem, where we learned about Greenlandic history and culture, pre-historic artifacts, and the migration of ancient civilizations. We ran into Debra and Dominic, the Swiss couple, who told us they got very sea sick on the ferry from Sisimiut to Illulissat. We saw them again later that night at the Greenlandic seafood buffet at the Hotel Arctic.
During our final full day, we went for a longer day hike along the icefjord. It was extremely windy and cold, but the sun was out. For lunch, we ate two sandwiches (egg and shrimp, and pork and cheese), sipped wine from a nalgene bottle, and munched on a granny smith apple, chocolate, and crowberries and blueberries picked from our feet. We enjoyed the great view of the icebergs while we ate. Hiking back towards town, we ran into D&D again, going in the opposite direction. We chatted a bit and said our final goodbyes.
On our last day, we made a big breakfast (fried fish omlette), cleaned up, packed, and hiked 1 to 1.5 hours to the airport. We flew back to Kangerlussuaq, stayed at the hostel (but should have camped in hindsight), and flew back to Copenhagen the next morning.