Hiking Eastern Greenland and Iceland's Westfjords - Wilderness Travel tour
July 1-13, 2022
Part One - Eastern Greenland
Greenland is an island country that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between
the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. It is the world's largest island and is one of 3 constituent
countries that form the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark and the Faroe Islands.
The citizens of these countries are Danish nationals. Though a part of the North American
continent, it has been associated with Europe (Norway and Denmark) since 986. The majority
of its residents are Inuit. Their ancestors migrated from Alaska through northern Canada.
Three-fourths of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. It
has a population of just over 56,000, the least densely populated area in the world. About 1/3
of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital, which is in western Greenland. In 1979, Denmark
granted home rule to Greenland. In 2008, Greenlanders voted for the Self Government Act that
transferred more power from the Danish government to the Greenland government. Greenland
has gradually assumed responsibilityfor policing, accounting, auditing, the judicial system,
family regulation, the working environment, immigration control, etc. Denmark retains control
of monetary policy, citizenship, and foreign affairs. Greenland has one of the highest shares
of renewable in the world, mostly coming from hydropower. The early Norse settlers named
the island Greenland. Allegedly, the Norwegian born Icelander, Erik the Red, was exiled
from Iceland for manslaughter. He and his extended family and slaves left Iceland in ships
to explore the icy land to the northwest. After settling there, he named it Greenland,
supposedly hoping the nice name would attract settlers.
Page One - First two hikes from Tasiilaq
Map of Greenland. We flew from Reykjavik to Kulusuk, then boarded
a helicopter to fly to Tasiilaq, where we stayed for 4 nights.
Tasiilaq is just south of the Arctic Circle.
It has a population of
about 2,000 people.
Pat in front of helicopter after arriving in Tasiilaq at the heliport.
Helicopter taking off to head back to Kulusuk Airport
View from our room in Tasiilaq
Another view from the room. Tasiilaq's tiny houses are painted
in bright colors, a tradition from its early days as a colony of Denmark.
On our first hike, we started from the hotel and walked up from Tasiilaq
toward a mountain above the town.
Surprised to see moss campion in Greenland. We saw a lot of flowers,
including lots of dandelions.
Looking down on Tasiilaq, with icebergs drifting
along the coast.
We saw a lot of pretty moss.
A view seen on our hike the second day
We had to hike on snow in a number of spots
but didn't need traction devices.
Arctic Cottongrass
Beautiful icebergs floating in the water
Jeff and Pat - As we got up higher, we could see
stunning views of mountains, icebergs, and fjords for miles.
Lots of icebergs
Pat
Jeff
Crossing a snow field while returning to Tasiilaq
Link to Page Two - More hiking and fjord cruise
Pat's Home Page