It’s the classic mix of old and new tech! Fishing boats and dog sledges!
And Uummannaq mountain in the background. ๐
Authentic Arctic Thrillers
It’s the classic mix of old and new tech! Fishing boats and dog sledges!
And Uummannaq mountain in the background. ๐
The team, from right to left starting with the sometime lead dog Kaassassuk, then Simba (female), and Vitus. Oh, and me – younger but slightly frustrated. You can see the tips of Jane’s boots at the bottom of the photo. She’s all right. Maybe a little cold. (Edit: Jane says she wasn’t cold, which just takes this to a whole new level. She was comfortable. Nice for some, eh?) ๐
I was not cold.
Someone had to encourage the dogs. ๐
But you know what they say about teaching dogs to pull sledges?
You can run, but you’ll just die tired. ๐
Oh, and sweaty!
Chris
A few blog posts from now – that would be Monday – you’ll see how I go down the hill with my dogs. Today? Well, this is how I wanted to do it. ๐
Of course, the stretch past the dump is flat. Just saying. Blurry photos as they’re were booking it! ๐
Some of my best days in Greenland were when Nansen and I went for a walk on the sea ice. We visited his favourite island, which I dubbed Whale Island as it was littered with whale bones. We went there often!
The icebergs were “locked in” for winter, and we had to check them out, of course.
Then back to the island in search of another snack!
There’s not really many places to just walk in Qaanaaq. You can climb the mountains, but as they say in action movies, you’ll just die tired. Okay, bit dramatic, but not entirely wrong. This was polar bear denning territory after all. However, Jane and I walked to and from the airport to keep fit. When it was dark we took a shotgun.
When the sun had returned, like on this day in March, views of Herbert Island kept us entertained on the walk to the airport.
And, on the way back, the different coloured houses of Qaanaaq gave us something pretty to look at on the way home. Now, if you’re thinking that seems quite boring, with the same trip out and the same trip back again, sure, it was “samey” but at minus 20C plus windchill, it was like your daily walk or treadmill at the gym, but with the added motivation of keeping moving lest ye fall prey to exposure, bears, or both. ๐
Chris
So, we stayed up late, but not really later than usual – I get a lot of things done around 3 a.m. And Oppenheimer did pretty well. But I think the highlight was Arnold Schwarzenegger presenting one of the awards. I’m not a huge fan of Schwarzenegger, but if you’ve been reading this blog in 2024, you might have noticed more than a few references to The Terminator. ๐ It was fun to see him and Devito and Keaton having a Batman moment.
Honestly, though, the Academy Awards jokes are usually pretty lame. I watch it for good karma, and to get in training for when a Maratse or Petra book is adapted into a movie. ๐
Chris