Christoffer Petersen blog

This could be a thing, or we could just call it what it is – a self indulgent photo of me and my favourite sledge dog, Nansen. Did I say favourite? Sure, I did. It can’t be helped. There was something about this fella. We spent a lot of time on the mountain. And I spent a lot of that time hoping and praying that he was sufficiently trained not to run off and cause havoc with the other sledge dogs tethered around the island.

There are no dog pets above the Arctic Circle in Greenland, and a loose dog was a potential problem. Taking Nansen and the other dogs for a walk was frowned upon, but I have to admit, I got so much out of it that I made it a big part of having dogs – always on a long lead until we were clear of the village.

Until… Nansen would get wind of something, and then it was a battle of wills to see where his loyalties really lay. In his loins or in some crazy Brit who inherited him along with the rest of his team.

Training dogs is tough.

But the rewards… priceless!

Chris

This is a fun shot of the open water on Uummannaq fjord on May 30, 2009. The tiny red building in the bottom left of the photo is the qajaq clubhouse. Next to it, you can see the gates to the old cemetery, and the picket fences around some of the graves. To the right, a little over halfway, you can see just one of the many, many steps on the island, and below that, one of the many pipes for water and electricity. No pipes underground in Uummannaq! Also, many of the houses, didn’t have water connected to them, but used a tank that was filled up once a week or so. The larger building that you can see the roof of in the centre of the photo is the hospital, Jane’s place of work, and the setting for more than a few scenes in my stories!

Chris

One of the best days of the year. Honestly! Here’s a few photos from the last day of school when school leavers punish their teachers, waking them up with air horns, and banging the walls of their house around 5 a.m. Then, as you can see, we get to drag junk from the scrapyard around town as we collect the other teachers. This year (2009) I had an oil barrel!

The only consolation was, the kids had been up all night collecting the junk. Bless ’em!

And, below, that moment when they charge up the stairs to come and get you!

Stops along the way.

Followed by breakfast in the teachers’ room at school, before the obligatory football match – teachers and police vs pupils – and the dunking in the shower for those teachers not fast enough or smart enough to leave before they grabbed you.

I was neither fast nor smart. Or maybe I just felt they earned it!

Chris

On a grey day in May (the actual day this time in 2008) the first supply ship of the year arrived in Uummannaq.

This was exciting as we had a couple of boxes on that ship, full of provisions that we either couldn’t get in Uummannaq, or wanted to by in bulk. It would take a few days before the boxes were delivered to our door, but just knowing they had arrived was exciting.

We would spend the next few days unpacking, storing, and enjoying everything we had ordered, including some things we had ordered the previous year. Jane’s twin sister and her husband were our lifesavers, buying things in Denmark, and boxing them ready to be shipped the following spring.

Chris

Constable Atii Napa gets her own novella, and it’s out today!

Discover more about Greenland’s favourite sharpshooter in Inter Alia.

There’s more about the book on this webpage, and you can also find it on Amazon.

I love this photo.

It deserves a blurry closeup!