Authentic Arctic Thrillers
Just a few pics from a particularly cold day in Uummannaq (2008). I’ve walked up that road many, many times.
Here’s a shot of the church. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the few, if only stone churches in northern Greenland.
The harbour, with the fish factory in the background. They used dynamite in the spring to blow up the ice when a supply ship was on its way.
The hospital where Jane worked, and I’ve set quite a few scenes from my books.
And we’ll finish off with a shot of the heliport.
We’ll start off with a pretty picture of a transparent lump of blue ice in the bay, just outside Uummannaq harbour.
Followed by pancake ice in the sea as floes are slowly formed in the fjord.
And to finish off, a shot of the cargo ship Pajuttaat in mid-November, one of the last, if not the last cargo ship of the year in Uummannaq.
And the all important cargo offloaded onto the docks.
Chris
Remember Simba’s dog house? Well, a little less than a month after I built it for her, she made a sun roof, with her teeth!
It was all downhill from that point onwards. If I find the photos of the dog house’s demise, I’ll be sure to post them.
Chris
Title says it all, really!
It’s getting closer!
Jane fished. I just took photos! Actually, that’s not entirely true. Jane made me dig the hole in the sea ice first.
The mittens Jane is using are made of sealskin. They have opposable thumbs – meaning there is a thumb on both sides of the mitten. When fishing like this you pull a wet line – freezing cold – through your mittens. When one side is sopping wet, you switch them around and use the other side. The gloves were made locally, and the woman who sewed them also gave Jane a pair of wool mittens to wear inside – also with two thumbs!
I just do the grunt work, using the tuk or ‘ice staff’ to dig the hole in the ice. On a good day such as this chilly January 25th, it can get busy on the ice.
But it’s really about not about catching fish – thankfully. Because until we got the hang of it it was slim pickings!
