Christoffer Petersen blog

And on the last day, there’s that black granite rising up out of the Arctic grass and sedge(ish), with the crusty lichen you might have read about in my books. Add a bit of low fog, and you’ve got a classic summer day in the Arctic.

 

We snuck under the fog and paddled the last 8km home. No photos, just focused on paddling and thinking of all the modern amenities we had missed, such as our toilet bucket that, all things considered, felt like a little slice of luxury. We might have fantasized about twice-fried French fries at the grill bar, and something fizzy to drink from the store. But that was after we got home and wheeled our kayak back up the hill.

Spending 12 days in the backyard was fun. And it was also fun to discover that most people went on holiday in the summer. Now, I understand why the locals might want to go to Spain, but for the Danes in town, they went back to Denmark each summer. Jane and I did things differently. We would spend a few weeks each Christmas (at least every other year) in Denmark or the UK. There was simply too much to do in Greenland in the summer!

And, if you’re thinking I really should go to Greenland then you can take a cheap trip this July with something new to discover each day as Petra searches for a missing narcotics dog called Blitzen, in the summer advent calendar A Dog called Blitzen, available to subscribers on Patreon. A new episode is delivered to your mailbox every day in July. Today is July 3rd.

Chris

On the last stretch we paddled back up the length of Salliaruseq Island. leaving us a single crossing of 7-8km for the last day to get home. There are burial mounds here with old Inuit bones and skulls. It’s quite moving to find them, and to feel the energy of the place. But we had to get here first.

It’s like they say, the only way out is through. Or, in our case, to get home we had to paddle through the ice field! Exciting, and even more so as the fog creeps down the mountain. You don’t really want to be pinched between bergs and the shore, but that’s exactly where we were… Pinched!

But then, there was no going back. We had to get home. This was the last remaining piece of toilet paper! Side note: we brought all our trash home, so, technically, it wasn’t the last piece, just the last clean piece! Small pocket camera case for scale! 😉

And then, before you know it, it’s the last night.

One more sleep before home.

And, while thinking about home, thoughts of relaxing with a book in an actual chair remind me that it is July 2, and, if you’re curious, you can check out how Petra’s doing in A Dog called Blitzen in this year’s summer advent calendar on Patreon!

Told you I’d be plugging the story! 😉

Chris

We did everything in reverse, of course, paddling in the early hours of each morning when it was still, and cool, resting during the heat of the day. The midnight sun takes some getting used to, but it is fabulous!

Of course, “resting” meant exploring, and as we paddled closer and closer to home, it felt important to explore more and more. I can’t remember how many iceberg photos I took that trip. I mean I could count them, but how long have you got? I caught the one above when it was calving. 😉

Spotting Arctic foxes was always a pleasure, as was wandering through those “tough Arctic grasses” I often write about in my stories. Can you spot the fox below? The birds usually gave them away, which helped!

We often had pasta around breakfast time, then a game of something before sleeping for a bit. Then breakfast in the afternoon. All messed up, really. But fun! I miss the games, too as iPads and smartphones seem to dominate a lot of free time these days.

As mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, the Christmas in July summer calendar goes live today! The first chapter of A Dog called Blitzen is live and you can read it by signing up on my patreon page. A new chapter/episode will be delivered to your email every day in July (2023), or you can log on to Patreon and it there, together with a tonne more stories, too.

More kayaking tomorrow!

Chris

Overcast days are good days for taking iceberg photos. That’s the kind of thing I thought about when greeting each day in Greenland.

Snacks are important too, and if you’re going to snack, then snack with a view! Really, it’s a thing. 😉

Heading into fog, with BBBs (a.k.a. Bloody Big Bergs) was always exciting. And the other people around… Wait. What people? Maybe a distant outboard motor, or the blow of a whale, but that’s about it. Fabulous!

Back on land, though, and the foxes often stop by for a chat. Slinking into the tent to see if we’re awake.

Before wandering off again! The photos are fuzzy because of the mosquito nets. The bugs were bigger than the foxes!

But when a fox does visit, it’s only polite to go out and greet them.

And, in a rather subtle segue… from one four-legged animal to another. 😉 If you fancy spending even more time in Greenland, you might want to check out my Christmas in July summer calendar. The first chapter of A Dog called Blitzen is live tomorrow and subscribers can read it by signing up on my patreon page. A new chapter/episode will be delivered to your email every day in July (2023), or you can log on to Patreon and read A Dog called Blitzen there, including access to a tonne more stories, too.

The story is a typical (for me) Advent calendar with an episode of about 1,000 words each day. The basic premise of this summer advent calendar is about Petra searching for a missing police narcotics dog and enlisting the help of a certain dog expert many readers will know to help her.

Will Petra find Blitzen by the end of July?

Ah, that would be telling! No spoilers here. But I will tag a little teaser about the story onto each blog post in July. You have been warned. 😉

Chris

I have no idea why we only have a photo of red-eyed me for day 8, but there you go. Obviously there was nothing better to look at… No icebergs, foxes, glaciers, whales… etc. Just me. Sorry. Youthful though, eh?

Chris

The mossies were still bad, so we cooked inside the tent. I think every camping book ever written tells you not to cook inside a tent. But we’ve been cooking inside tents for the past few decades. The food of choice? Fresh bannock bread on the pan with tuna from a packet.

Then, braving the bugs for a closer look at the glacier.

More cheesy photos…

And then back to the boat. What’s difficult to describe is how peaceful it is. This was day 7 and we had yet to see a soul since leaving Uummannaq.