Christoffer Petersen

Authentic Arctic Thrillers

greenland

We lived here!

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I miss this house! There are steps everywhere on the island of Uummannaq (and Greenland in general). Everything is built on the rocks. The steps were our early warning system for guests, but more importantly, we got a few seconds warning when the guys came to collect the toilet bucket. As soon as you heard the first rumble on the steps… well, you can imagine.

The toilet crew had a key to every house in the village, and they let themselves in. It’s one of those awkward dilemmas. You don’t want to be disturbed, but you really want them to take the bucket – can’t leave it outside as it will freeze!

Anyway, you’ve got the picture now. Thankfully, I don’t have the photo of when I was cutting my hair (naked) in the bathroom when the toilet crew arrived. They had a new member of the team – lighter, no rumble on the steps. And then… Surprise! 🙂

Yep. Greenland.

Chris

Petra lives here!

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Moving south to Nuuk, here’s a photo from February (2013). The apartment block is one of five in a row in Qinngorput, a new (at the time) area in Nuuk across the fjord from the city centre. I took the photo from my balcony in an identical apartment block.

When I needed a place for Petra to live in Nuuk, it made sense to put her in my apartment. So this was her view looking to the right from her balcony.

Chris

The hill!

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A few blogs ago I mentioned a hill that I carried dog food and water up and down when we had the dogs camped on the ice. Well, in the photo above you can seen our spare room more or less dead centre in the photo. The crazy piping is for electricity and water.

The photo below is the hill zigzagging down to the heliport and the ice where we had our dogs.

Yep, it’s a as slippy as it looks. But when not sweating, slipping, and cursing, the view is quite good. 😉

Chris

Sewing for the family

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Jane and I did a lot of sewing when we lived in Uummannaq. While I sewed harnesses and sledge bags, Jane made sealskin gloves, and these small mittens and booties for a baby in the family – sorry, can’t for the life of me remember which one, just now. Jane took sewing classes run by some amazingly talented Greenlanders in Uummannaq.

Jane also made big mitts with thick liners for me to use when sledging, but these mittens were gifts, so even though they were really warm, they were definitely not working gloves. It was one of those “hands off” moments!

However, we used the same needles and sinew to sew with, as sealskin just ain’t easy to work with. The darker fur is sealskin. The white ruff is rabbit. Polar bear fur is often used instead of rabbit fur, and sometimes even dog fur is used.

I’m writing this thinking that some readers might have a problem with this, but then I hope it’s also a little fascinating. It’s another world, and in many ways a far more sustainable one than most other countries.

Chris

Muscles!

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Helicopters are a part of daily life in Greenland, especially in the more remote areas. It makes me think of travel in Greenland being very muscular, requiring lots of power, and fuel to get around. It’s exciting, of course.

But it’s a stark contrast to travelling by dog sledge and qajaq.

The helicopter above was not our normal chopper, but this one brought friends for a much-anticipated winter visit.

Chris