KFC Travelblog: 2023 Greenland Expedition

Why Greenland? Tiny colorful towns and puppies.

No big iceberg photos today. For those of you who are tired of them, you are welcome.

There are only two permanent settlements on East Greenland. We visited the more northerly today. Ittoqqortoormiit is a tumble of crayola colored corrugated houses scattered along a low hill.

The village was established in 1924 by Ejnar Mikkelsen and 80 Inuit settlers. Denmark encouraged the settlement, wanting to expand their colonial toehold in Greenland. For the Inuit, the new location offered improved hunting and living conditions, and the settlement thrived. Archeological ruins confirm that there had been a decent population of Inuit here in the past.

(Brief digression on Greenland history: Norway and Denmark bickered over claim to East Greenland after Norway regained full independence in 1905, as it had been a Norwegian possession prior to 1815. Greenland was officially made part of Denmark in 1953, and granted home rule by Denmark in 1979.)

Ittoqqortoormiit is one of the most remote settlements in the world, separated by ice from the rest of the world for nine months every year. There were 345 residents in 2020. Today there is excitement and anticipation in town, as the first cargo ship of the year arrived yesterday. A second ship will arrive in a few months, and that’s it for 2023. The arrival of a cargo ship is a big deal. The inventory in the sole store can be replenished, a new ATV or house kit may arrive, and supplies and fuel are set in for the winter.

Twice a day, at 11 AM and 11 PM, a weather balloon is launched from a hill north of town. The balloon is used to forecast European weather patterns. Nils suggested that anyone interested should arrive several minutes early to watch them fill and then launch the balloon. Greg and I dutifully landed early and hiked up to the launching site, a broad deck on the back of a building We heard someone enter the building from the other side. A few minutes later, a big door opened, a guy burst out with the fully inflated balloon and practically shoved it up and away from him. I started laughing. There was such a complete absence of ceremony, and no warning whatsoever. If I hadn’t happened to have my camera in hand, or glanced away for a second, I would have missed it. (We later found out that the passengers who landed after us were told there would be no weather balloon launch today, so not to bother with the long walk up.). The balloon ascended rapidly to begin it’s journey across the Atlantic. It’s made of a type of quick-degrading plastic, and will dissolve in a year or two.

There were other interesting things to see on the hill, though. A forty year old dish antenna and a smaller, newer one brings communications into town. (We had cellular service as soon as our ship docked.), and a large orb contained hardware and a satellite antenna providing the town with Internet service. Greg and I climbed up to peer into the dome, and the operator invited us in to look around. (You can see the dome in the cargo ship photo above, mid-picture, 1/3 from the left side)

We walked back down into the town, and crossed to the other side of a melting stream, where most of the community was located.

Teams of working (sled) dogs were chained on each side of the stream. They’d been quite excited when we first landed, but now were chilling after being fed their morning allotment of seal meat. We’d been cautioned not to approach, much less touch, any of these dogs. They are not pets.

Six dogs lolling

Nils, one of expedition guides, grew up here. He spent today taking the 8 boat groups on walking tours around his village. We saw the water treatment plant, a generator plant (with solar as well as diesel power), a community meeting hall. There are schools for both K-12, and for adult and older students who want to take classes in English or other academic subjects. There are playgrounds, two cemeteries, a church, a sports hall, a little TI office, and of course the community store.

Photos weren’t permitted in the store, but it reminded me of an updated general store from prairie times: fresh, frozen, canned and dry produce, shoes, toys, guns, fabric, clothing, chain saws, a bakery counter, frozen meats and treats. It was a cross between a grocery, dry goods store, and hardware store. Shelves were being restocked with goods from the cargo ship. Little kids walked around town with bags of chips and other long-awaited treats.

Greg and I climbed a long hill to search for the only geocache in East Greenland (he found it!). I went a little further to look over the hill and saw an astroturf playing field, complete with grandstand.

We knew enough not to approach the working dogs chained along the river, but this trio of inquisitive puppies was hard to resist. They clearly hadn’t yet been read the rule book on How To Be An Antisocial Sled Dog. They headed directly to Greg (of course) who completely ignored them, and then turned to the few others of us walking by.