An Eagle and a White Hare in Greenland

Greenland, Europe, 2008

After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value.
— G.M. Trevelyan

Traveling in Iceland, I had heard people talk about their experiences in Greenland. Before that I had not realized that you can actually travel independently in Greenland. It was hard to forget the horror-stricken face of an American cruise ship tourist saying “I really cannot imagine how anyone would want to stay more than a few hours in Greenland. The people are so extremely poor and there is nothing to see there at all.” My curiosity had been aroused and the more I heard, the more determined I got. That’s where I wanted to go; I had to see Greenland with my own eyes. By the time I hopped on the flight to Greenland, I still did not know exactly what I was going to do. Little did I know that I would set out on an amazing solo-hike, which would give me some of the most special and happy hours of my life so far.

“It is too early to say if we will be able to reach the glacier”, the guide tells me. “If we cannot reach it, then we simply go as far as we can.”
“Over the past few days the moraine was blocked indeed”, I tell him. He casts me a questioning glance. “I saw it from the other side”, I explain, pointing at the other side of the fjord, adding “but I think we’ll manage to get through.” He glances at where I am pointing at, and then at me. Dumbfounded. “I hiked from Narsaq to Qassiarsuk”, I clarify.
His facial expression rapidly changes and out of pure surprise or terror he jumps back half a metre, while shouting “Was that you?”