I climbed a little way up the side of the mountain behind our house one day. Just having fun in the snow. And then looking back, holding my breath when taking the photos to avoid steaming the lens.
So, the red(ish) dot is our house – not the four-roofed building behind it. That’s a storage building. The green(ish) dot is the police house – not the station, but the house provided for police officers living in Qaanaaq. I guess you could say this is where Maratse would live when taking temporary assignment in Qaanaaq. Fenna had a big fight in this house in The Shaman’s House. 😉
You can see the icebergs locked in the ice. It was always exciting to see which bergs would stay for the winter, hoping it would be an interesting one, as it was going to be part of the view from late October through to July, maybe later.
But through the long summer and pitch black winter, this was our view for two years.
Chris
I love seeing photos of places from the books!
Thanks, Anne! People often wonder how I can write so many stories, and perhaps even wonder about the research. Well, the seven years in Greenland was the research, and with views like these it was hard not to be inspired. Loads more photos on the way! 🙂
Wow! It looks completely desolate! 😱. What does your typical day look like in terms of routine?
Hi Kay. A typical day, back then (several years ago) was pretty much like a typical day anywhere else. I’m not saying that to be clever, it was just a fact really. What makes life in Greenland different is the cold, the distance, the geography, and the extreme nature of all those things and more. However, typically in Qaanaaq (where this photo is from), I would get up early for school, be there at 07:30, and work until around 14:00 or later depending on my schedule. There was often some shopping to do, or we chose to go shopping to “do something”. If there was a kaffemik (birthday or similar celebration) we would go to that – there were lots. But then, because Jane and I didn’t have dogs in Qaanaaq, there wasn’t much else to do. No movie theatre, no selection of shops. So the social calendar was important and you kept busy visiting people. It was different in Uummannaq, we both had a lot more to do, plus the dogs, and Jane worked at the hospital, so we had to negotiate shifts and things. If Jane had a night shift I would often walk to work with her, then listen to the whales on the way home. 🙂 Okay, there weren’t whales every night, but enough to remember them. Now I think about it, we had a tonne of stuff going on in Ummannaq. Not so much in Qaanaaq. So lots of reading. There was a roaring trade in DVD swaps, especially series! 🙂 Not sure that answers your question. I should blog about it sometime.
Oh wow, thanks for sharing Chris, I find your experiences in Greenland very fascinating to read! And yes you should create a blog about it! Would be awesome! Keep up the good work!,👍🏻🙌🏻
Kay 🇬🇧