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July 30 - Cruising north along Greenland's west coast. Today we will explore some of the fjords around the Paamuit Region.
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New Journals Posted Sunday 4:00 PM ET
July 30, 2005 - Hello everyone ...
We have just departed Arsuk, Greenland and are cruising up the west coast of Greenland in search of more whales. This morning's visit to the small community of Arsuk was a real highlight of our journey so far! The mayor of the colourful and friendly village of 170 people greeted us personally upon our arrival. We were taken on a walking tour (there are no cars here!), which included visits to the museum, church and around the many houses. Some of the intrepid hikers climbed up to the top of the ridge behind Arsuk for a panoramic view. Then we were all treated to a kayak demonstration by one of the local men. He showed us about 20 different types of rolls, and other very impressive manouevres. Apparently, he is known as one of the best kayakers in Greenland.
We were all surprised and humbled to find out what happened next! In the community hall, the people of Arsuk had prepared a huge feast of many traditional foods for us. There were samples of seal meat, Muskox, whale and fish, as well as coffee, tea, cakes and cookies. It was a wonderful atmosphere of cultures meeting and sharing. Our group of Students on Ice proved themselves to be excellent ambassadors, even staying behind to help clean up.
Before leaving, some of the students led by Ole, our Icelandic student, ran around the village carrying the World Harmony Torch. It was quite a sight to see our students running in their rubber boots with the torch flaming along! All for a great cause!!
We now bid farewell to Greenland and start our journey across the Davis Strait to the Canadian Arctic. This afternoon lecture and workshops are planned, as we turn our attentions back to the issue of Climate Change Impacts on the Arctic. Hope that you are all enjoying our daily journals.
Best regards,
Geoff
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Posted Sat 6:30 AM ET
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We have just departed Uunartoq Island (6:30 pm Friday night ET) where we basked in ancient hotsprings surrounded by icebergs and arctic flowers. In between dips in the hotsprings most of the students also ran down for a chilly dip in the ocean. We have some true Arctic explorers here!
It was a great evening and wrap to another great day. We are now beginning our journey up the west coast of Greenland, and expect to arrive to the small village of Arsuk tomorrow morning for a visit. This afternoon we had one of the best discussions yet about Climate Change and other environmental issues facing the Arctic and the planet in general. Lots more to come on that. Gotta run to dinner.
Geoff
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JOURNAL ENTRIES
July 30th, 2005
July 30, 2005
Hello everyone one back home, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to write earlier we have been very busy. Geoff's idea is to keep everyone on only 7 to 8 hrs of sleep instead of the normal 12 hrs of teenager sleep. We have almost no time to our self from zodiac landings to lectures and the very good meals provided by our chef. I'm glad we made it through the Denmark Strait which was rough for many people as we ran into many 'good' size swells.
Today we awoke to some swells off the south coast of Greenland, and docked for the morning in Nanortalik which is a small town in southern Greenland. After our breakfast buffet we all broke into groups to explore the town. We explored the older part of town and saw how the community started. Everyone in town speaks Greenlandic but there are some who know English. It was surprising to see that even in Summer there were icebergs still floating in the harbor. The town choir welcomed us to the church, and we became guests to a private showing of their talents. The town didn't have much but it was nice to see on our adventure.
It's been almost nothing but fog and rain the whole time in Greenland. By late afternoon we reached our next spot and everyone left to reach the Hot Springs. After a short hike we were greeted with a sight of 4 hot springs, and before I and few went in we made a mad dash to reach the ocean water which was cold and long run. The rocks were not a welcoming site but nonetheless we scrambled down. Kelan and I both counted to 3 before throwing ourselves into the freezing water with icebergs just 100 yards off. The water was so cold all feeling was almost gone, but the air seemed very warm. Then we ran up the bank into the nearest hot spring which was very welcoming. Everyone just floated around for about an hour and a half before we headed back to the ship for dinner.
Don't worry I'm having fun on the ship even if I miss the unmoving island in which I live on. I miss everyone back at Akwesasne, and salt and vinegar chips!
Phillip "Kaneratiio" White-Cree
From Akwesasne, Canada
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Hello!!!
Sorry we have been really busy so we are going to tell you briefly what has happened over the last 2 days.
July 27
After what we have previously written we went into the most beautiful landscape. We all got into some of our warmest clothes and hopped into the zodiacs. We were in a small bay in the south of Greenland which came out of a gorge. The bay was filled with the most spectacular waterfalls, icebergs, bergie-bits and mountains. On each one of the massive mountains, glaciers
were pouring through just like in the ice age. It was one of the most spectacular sights I have every seen! We also saw 2 bearded seals that were taking a rest on a patch of ice. I (Rebecca) put my hand in and grabbed really small pieces of ice that were floating in the water, and ate them. Those were the best ice cubes I ever had. We went back to the ship, and found out that Justin Trudeau and others had jumped off the ship, and went swimming. Unfortunately, we were informed too late.
July 28
Right after breakfast, we attended a lecture by Carol on Erik the Red. It was very interesting and informative. We boarded the Zodiacs to explore an ancient Viking village. Jessica and Alison climbed up a ridge, and found a human skull and bone. We all sat alone to immerse ourselves in daydreams, and to breathe in the sights around us. We went back to the ship, had lunch, and went to a briefing. After break we went to a lecture on climate change by John Streicker, which was a lot of recap from YC3, but great as a refresher course. Then Alysia talked about YC3 and her life. Then Jessica, Alison, and I got ready to go on the long hike, instead of the short hike. It was raining hard, but our waterproof gear kept us dry. I (Rebecca)
started off great, but I fell in the raging river twice. Once I almost got swept away, and it really scared me. The water went up to my crotch, and I wasn't even touching bottom! I wasn't happy about being wet at first, but I got over it fast. After 2 and a half hours we had traveled to the top of the rocky, bush-covered ridge and back. The feeling of accomplishment was great, but we were thoroughly soaked by the time we got back on the Explorer. After dinner and a shower, I came upstairs to look at what was causing the commotion. Turns out that Geoff Green (expedition leader) was pole dancing and doing the worm. Then Fritz Koerner took off his shoes, his belt, and then his pants!!! We then watched Fritz's movie - and learned that he was the fourth person to reach the North Pole!!!!!!! Amazing!
July 29
We were briefed and then docked at Nanortalik close to where there is an active gold mine. We explored the museums where we bought patches, which had polar bears on them. We then walked over to the church where the town had put together a choir for us. It was amazing and they were in such harmony. Rebecca cried because it was so heart touching and it hit home for
her as she remembered her family and her choir. It was great and a moment that we will never forget for the rest of our lives. Afterwards we visited many different shops (and when we mean shops we mean a little shop in the back of someone's house). I (Jessica) bought a really nice necklace made out of reindeer bone and Rebecca bought a seal fur/skin purse which is really soft. We then left went back to the ship and we ate lunch. We then had a lecture by Bets about oil and conservation. It was very informative and we learned a lot about oil. Bets had a long lecture, as so many people were asking questions (including Rebecca and I). Afterward we watched the ACIA (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment) video on climate change in the arctic. Had a quick snack and then learned about the hot springs that we would be traveling too. Once our ship had anchored we took zodiacs over to a small uninhabited island where we traveled a small distance to get to the hot springs. We got changed in change rooms (one for girls one for boys) and then you had a choice to either go to the hot spring right away or to the ocean. Of course the girl I was with and I (Jessica) chose to go to the ocean right away. We had to run (it was sooo cold) through a field and down a steep hill with many rocks. After going through the rocks and falling many, many times you were at the very rocky beach. I ran into the water, froze up, and then ran quickly out. Now very fast we all ran back into the
hot spring. Justin led most of the runs however by the end he got out and we had to run by ourselves. I only cut myself a couple times as I was trying to be very careful; however I kept falling down in the steep slope. Unfortunately some one lost his glasses and everyone was trying to find them. The water was colder than 40°F so you couldn't stay in for more than a few seconds. On my third run they asked me to look for them so I went waist deep and then stopped for about 5 seconds, started panting because I couldn't breathe, turned to the girl beside me said ok one, two, three duck and than ran out. It was really cold, really, really cold! Most of the SOI students are now part of the arctic swim team! Once back on the ship we got ready for dinner and I ate so much, including 1 soup 2 meals of beef tenderloin and 1 ½ deserts! I was such a hover! We then had story time and everyone was really touched by Skid's and Justin's stories! We were all dead tired and everyone went to sleep right away.
July 30
We all woke up this morning to the sweet sound of an aboriginal flute, truly amazing. We had a great breakfast which included pancakes, fruit and many other treats. Afterward we were told that we had anchored on a tiny island in a small village with no cars and other luxuries. We all rode over on our zodiacs in full gear as it was pouring rain outside. We split up into groups and went into town and had a kayak demonstration and went shopping. We watched a man play an organ and he was the Priest's helper. At the end we all went into a hall (it was small as the population of the village is only 150 people). We tried different food such as whale jerky, whale fat, seal meat and whale meat. This was a different experience and it was very rude and disrespectful if we were going to throw away food. Rebecca and I were going to try whale fat at the same time so I counted down three, two, one and I put it in my mouth however Rebecca didn't. All the other girls at my table watched me as I was gagging and trying to cover up that this was very different from what I am used too. I could see all the girls kind of push the blubber aside on their plate. It was different and you definitely had to acquire the taste. After I was finished drinking about a gallon of water everyone looked at me and no one else tried it after. I was a little apprehensive to try anything else after my horrific experience but I tried the whale jerky. This wasn't so bad; I only needed a liter of water. We then enjoyed many, many cookies and juice. On this trip we are carrying a torch for the world harmony run and today we got to run through Greenland with it. I was one of the people who wanted to run with the torch along with Rebecca and our friend Alison. It was a very short run, however we were huffing and puffing as we had so many clothes on. After taking pictures we all returned to the ship. We had a little lecture by Fritz about ice cores and then were doing workshops. That's all for now bye.
Jessica and Rebecca
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Today and yesterday was a little harder to wake up than other days; I do not know how it's going to be when I have to do the wake up call. Sleeping also helps me with my headaches and sea sickness, so I get a little extra sleep. So I am okay!
Other than seasickness and headaches which I can live with, we have Arctic Idol. We each go into groups and sing a song. Now I cannot wait to see this, tonight which is the boys turn to try their singing skills, tomorrow is the girls turn to try out our singing skills. Right now I am listening to the Yellow Submarine and high voices. I have no idea what my group is doing. I think most want to do Barbie Girl. I want to be Ken, and be all weird. I hope we end up doing this. To me it's not about being the best, but just getting a good laugh at what the other groups have come up with.
The group also saw whales which was pretty cool. No matter how old and how many times you have seen these creatures you would still have the feeling the time when you first saw them. Well I hope most of the people feel like this, I know I will. I took some good pictures of some of the whales and I can not wait until I get them.
For now I want to watch the Idols on stage in the lounge. And this is to my mom. I miss you and everyone else very much and watch out for the mail. Any ways I love you and everyone of my friends and family reading this.
Victoria Ransom
Akwesasne, On, Canada
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Here we are again, out on open water, and on the way to Canada. Today we spent the morning in the village of Arsuk. There are about 150 people living there, and the first thing we did was get a tour around town by two local boys. We saw the church, the museum and met some locals that were selling their crafts. In the end we had the Greenlandic champion in Kayaking perform for us. He was just amazing, and even though the weather has been quite bad today, he still amazed all of us in the cold water. They had also arranged for us to try real traditional food. There was mattak, suassat, skibskiks, dried fish and muskoxen, fresh whale meat and many other kind of food I don't remember right now. Most of it I had tried before, cuz we sometimes have it for snacks at home, but there were also new things on the menu :-) The rest of the day today we are doing workshops and lectures... not always too much fun when the boat is rocking like crazy.
Yesterday we were in Nanortalik. It was a great feeling to see people again, since we had been quite isolated the past couple of days. Everyone was nice and welcoming and a lot of people bought souvenirs there. I also met someone I know from home so that was nice! In the afternoon we sailed to a place called Uunartoq. Here there are natural hot springs, and we all got into our swimsuits and jumped in. It was such a surreal sight. Here on this little island on the south coast of Greenland, there were suddenly about a 100 people running around half naked, from hot spring to hot spring, and some in the actual ocean. I think everyone had lots of fun though! :-)
Hej til jer derhjemme! Haaber at I har bedre vejr end os hernede, det har faktisk vaeret overskyet hverdag mens vi har vaeret I GL. Jeg er efter haanden lidt traet af at vaere paa en baad, nyder bare naar vi endelig er paa land. Jeg er vist ikke den foedte soemand. Glaeder mig til at komme til Canada... puha, har lidt kvalme nu saa vil gaa ned og ligge mig lidt. Knus
Anne-Katrine
Nuuk, Greenland
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My pen seemed to have died. There's still ink, but it's not coming out for some reason. Well, this morning I woke up early and typed up yesterday's entry since I had no time yesterday. My poem was featured in the Daily Icecap (daily paper for the ship) today. Unfortunately, there were a few typos which broke the flow of the poem. But I guess my handwriting is hard to read so I can't blame the editor. So far I have had one comment on the poem. The problem with the typos and flow really changed it. Anyway, today we arrived in Arsuk, a small fishing village in Western Greenland. We walked around the town and then saw a kayaking demonstration done by the Greenland champion of kayaking. He was rolling over and over and doing various types of rolls in the water for over half an hour. Oddly, he didn't turn into a Greenlandic popsicle. After that, we went to try some Greenlandic food. The two choices were seal meat or whale meat. I tried the seal meat because I don't eat seafood. I don't consider seal as seafood because it also lives on land. It tasted kind of like steak. A mix of steak and chicken. Yes it tasted like chicken, just like everything else. The desserts were really good. Greenlanders know how to finish meals. Then again they are part of Denmark so maybe they were Danish pastries instead. Oh well, after our "brunch" we went on our World Harmony Run. I don't think I explained this before but the WHR is kind of like the Olympic torch run. A group of people
carry the torch throughout many countries to promote peace and harmony. It's our job to bring it from Iceland to Greenland to Northern Canada. I participated in this run since it is our last stop in Greenland. After the run, we headed back for the ship and set sail for Canada. Fritz then gave a lecture about ice caps and ice cores and climate change. It was pretty good. After that, we had our workshops again. I went to journal writing. It seems like they want us to do more drawing even though we are bad drawers. It's supposedly a good way to express yourself, but I disagree. I never feel like I'm expressing anything in a journal when I draw. Oh well. We then went to the lecture hall for a lecture about mitigation and adaptation to climate change. During the lecture, three humpback whales started following our ship. We took a break and watched these amazing creatures follow us. Very curious creatures they be. Sound like Yoda, I do. The lecture eventually finished, and we split off into separate groups to come up with ideas to solve the problem of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. By the way, in the morning we were told that we were going to do an Arctic Idol. American Idol is getting far too popular. Even the Canadians want to copy it. We were split up into 8 groups, 4 boys 4 girls. After the workshop, we had our first "rehearsal". There are 7 students in my group and out of the 7 only 2 (including me) wanted to do anything. So I decided to pull out an old school favorite. Jingle Bell Rock. The way I did it with three of my friends at a show in school. It left two audiences cracking up like crazy, and it was no different this time. After dinner, the boys' competition took place and we didn't win but people still liked ours. I guess that's what you get when you have basically a 28.6% participation. After the competition, we watched a famous Canadian documentary called "Being Caribou".
Ankur Gupta
San Jose, CA
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Hello everybody!!!
We're on our way to Pangnirtung, Nunavut!!! After having left behind experiences and memories from Iceland and Greenland, we now have about two days at sea across the Davis Strait to Canada. It is extremely hard to believe that this expedition is more than half way through, and I am already getting the sense that it will be hard to say goodbye after such a worthwhile and absolutely incredible Arctic experience.
I have not been writing for the past couple days so let me recap. Yesterday was filled with wonderful memories...lots of firsts to say the least. We started out the morning with a visit to Nanortalik, on the west coast of Greenland. We had the opportunity to talk to a few locals, explore community highlights such as the outdoor museum and also enjoy a few songs by some local Greenlandic people. Sitting in the church, listening to the locals sing Amazing Grace to us, really allowed me to think that everybody in this world are (more or less) the same. We are all connected to each other, even though there may be geographical separation. After a visit to this small Greenlandic community, we set sail once again to a hot spring on an island. This was another chance to become a member of the Arctic Swim Team and I was more than excited. Trekking across the plains of Greenland to the Arctic waters, I ripped off my clothes, standing there in my bathing suit, ready to run into the chilly Arctic waters and then into the hot spring. I walked carefully, numbed by the freezing icy water, out a little deeper until I could get a dive in. This was awesome! One student, David, lost his glasses amongst the rocks in the water and we started up a team in search of them. I guess I was no help to David and his glasses...a case of what felt like hypothermia after nearly fifteen to twenty minutes of wading in the cold water...four big cuts on the feet...a deep cut and a few stitches in the
hand...and a purple knee...
Today, we awoke and had a visit in Arsuk before beginning our trek to Canada. This was probably one of the kindest and sweetest communities I have ever visited. They were more than thrilled to have visitors like us come to see them! We enjoyed a traditional kayaking demonstration, had the opportunity to do a little shopping, and then we all settled into the community hall for a feast of traditional country food. This feast was complete with muktuk (whale skin), seal meat, muskox meat, seal fat, seal soup, whale fat, dried fish and much more. It was actually pretty tasty and it tasted a lot different than the food that I originally tried in Pond Inlet, Nunavut last June. Just this afternoon, we set sail and have been traveling across the Davis Strait ever since. I am so excited to arrive to Pangnirtung, but I really do not want this journey to end! I will write again later, and I hope all is well back at home.
- Kelsi Prince
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We had hit rocky seas last night which left a lot of the expeditioners with queasy stomachs and some headed to their beds early and wearily. But we awoke to calm waters and I believe all were feeling much better. Anyways, this morning, we arrived to Arsuk, Greenland in the wet weather. We docked to the settlement homed by about 150 people. We all first spent some time at the church listening to some organ tunes and learned a small history of the town.
We then visited the tiny museum where they showcased Kalaalliit (or Inuit) artifacts from the past which included qulliit, hair brush, tools, as well as some old pictures.
Some time after the museum, we headed to the shore again but this time to witness one of the best qajaq rollers you can find. The guy spent at least half an hour skillfully and amazingly rolling around in the water and he even paddled upside down!!
The visit was topped off with a feast at what appeared to be their community centre. On the middle table lay bowls of seal, musk-ox, whale, fish, and fat along with their condiments (soya sauce, aroma salt, etc.). I was introduced to the mayor then we thanked the community for their welcoming efforts. I got nice and full on the natural (country) food that was very much similar to the stuff found in Nunavut.
Tonight, we'll be heading to Canada which will be even more familiar than the communities we've just visited. The language barrier for sure will become much more at ease and I look forward to our last and final country that we will be traveling to and for some, it means going back home but for others, another while more of travel until they find their homes.
Oh! And we finally got to see some humpback whales in the late afternoon a little while after viewing a magnificent picture of the last of Greenland that we'll be seeing.
David Joanasie
Chaperone/educational team member
Ottawa/Cape Dorset, Canada
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Aloha Everyone,
Well, we are on our way to Baffin Island right now. We set sail this afternoon around lunch time and will be out in the open ocean all day to tomorrow. This morning we visited our last village in Greenland. A very small village that has 150 people living in it. My highlight of this visit was the feast they provided for us. It was a "traditional Greenland Feast". There was whale, seal, and fish cooked in all different ways; fried, raw, etc. To me, the seal tasted the best. The whale was EXTREMELY oily. When you put it in your mouth you feel like you are eating oil. The seal soup was my favorite; it was seal broth with rice inside. For dessert there were different assortments of cookies. This was very familiar to me and I enjoyed eating them.
Lisa Fox,
(Honolulu, Hawaii)
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Hey MOM, DAD, AND EVERYBODY ELSE WHO KNOWS ME,
I love and miss you guys so much. One more week of this trip left, it has gone by so fast and I am excited to come home. I have experienced so many things and have a new outlook on life and can't wait to share it with you in person. Anyway, love all you guys and will see you in a week.
Love Always, Lisa
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