Authentic Arctic Thrillers
I’m cheating a little, as this photo is from earlier in November, but it is the day I brought my kayak home for the winter. I figured that when the ropes froze to the deck it was a tad too cold to paddle.
That’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it … literally!
And the sledge was the easiest way to get the kayak up the hill.
Still got the kayak but I miss that sledge!
Chris
I’ll let the pictures do the talking for this one.
But, when paddling with my colleague, Dan, I discovered I was a noisy paddler. 🙂
I was slow, too. But the views made up for it.
Of course, they were the same views from the house, the school, and the store, but it was fun to paddle where we would soon be walking when the ice returned.
Chris
It’s a tough life! We took our first sea kayaking trip in our own backyard, putting the kayak into the water on the slipway beside the hospital – Jane’s workplace, and simply heading south.
One of the best campsites we found is at the bottom of Salliaruseq Island, about 25-30 km from our house on Uummannaq Island. There’s a lovely little bay of sand and tiny lumps of gravel and a semicircle of granite protecting the campsite. You still have to drag the kayak a fair way up the beach in case a wave from calving iceberg drags the kayak out to sea. But otherwise, you’re good.
Fresh water is a million or so years old, and easily plucked from the sea as brash from the same icebergs that we paddled past. And entertainment is provided by the birds nesting in the rock walls. Of course, when something “bigger” comes along, the birds give you a heads up to grab the camera.
Life is tough and I miss this life!
Chris
We dubbed our double kayak Bombus Polaris, after the Arctic bumblebee. Yellow was our preferred colour, with the idea that if we got into trouble we would be easy to spot.
Unfortunately, the hull was black, so if we capsized, we would be nigh on impossible to find.
Hmm.
We decided not to capsize.
But that’s another story for another blog. The top photo is a sneak preview from one of our summer trips – more on the way.
Oh, and if you’re counting the kayaks, we had three in Greenland. And we built all of them in the living room, just for fun.
Chris
I warned you about the deluge of kayaking photos coming your way. Remember? I did. Honestly. Well, I’ll start you off gently, as gentle paddling was what we did at the end of May when there was still plenty of ice about.
These colours though – I’m not manipulating the photos at all. It’s like everything else about Greenland – a land of contrasts and opposites. I always found it odd to think I had been running dogs across the ice where I was suddenly sitting in my kayak.
Damn, I miss it!
I’ll just have to go and write another book!
Chris
Seasons change. If you’re following this blog you’ll have been bombarded with winter pics these past few months. Well, with the break up of the ice, the dogs could enjoy a summer off, and I switched to a kayak to explore the fjord and to go looking for whales.
More … lots more… kayak photos on the way.
You’ve been warned. 😉
Chris
