Stranded in Sisimiut

Friday 4th May – Shoveling Snow

It is a bright sunny day so Barry and I decided to get some exercise by shoveling the snow that had accumulated on Jens’ verandah. I must have appeared a little strange to the locals standing out there in my shorts and with no footwear. It was a big pile which must have taken us over an hour to move. Underneath all this snow there were two frozen carpets which are now thawing out.

More exercise was required so we donned some warm clothes and went for a walk into town in an effort to find the tourist shop. We found it opposite the museum but unfortunately it was closed as today is a public holiday. Barry and I wandered the streets for another hour and just enjoyed the serenity of the walk. The inlet below the house is still frozen but you can see that it is starting to break up with the warmer weather.

A nice beer in the sun, some lunch and I was ready for a lie down. Jens had other ideas and rang the mobile number of the tourist office. The manager agreed to meet us at 3.15pm so Barry, Ann and I (Alice rested) hightailed it to the office. We quickly arranged a 4 hour dog sledge ride (1050DK per person) which would be ready to go at 4.00pm. Jens had recommended that we go this afternoon as the weather forecast for tomorrow was predicting rain.

Our sledge was bigger than the one in Ilulissat and as a result more sturdy and comfortable. Sixteen Greenlandic hounds were straining at their harnesses and ready to shoot down the gentle slope with their beasts of burden (great Rolling Stones song) Barry and David. They were soon into a comfortable gait as they sauntered and farted their way over the frozen lake. I cannot believe that they can still run with the rope that tethers them to the sledge between their legs. The snowmobiles were heading in another direction and our handler Johannes told us there was a ski lift over there.

After about 40 minutes we pulled over to give the dogs are rest. Another dog sledge was approaching so Barry decided to get some video footage of the action. There was plenty of action as both sets of dogs became excited. So excited that our team took off in pursuit of the other dogs and left Barry and I stranded on the frozen lake. We could hear the handlers abusing the dogs and after a few failed attempts they stopped them at the other end of the valley. We thought it was quite hilarious as we crunched our way through the slushy snow.

Some of the lake has thawed slightly and there are areas of icy surface water. This does not worry the dogs as they plough straight through as if it wasn’t there. What does worry them is the steep hills that they must pull us up. When we look back down the valley it is hard to believe how high they have taken us. There is some respite as what goes up must come down. When we are on the down slope Johannes throws a rope over the front runner which acts as a brake to slow us down. At the halfway point we are afforded a magnificent view of the second fijord which is still frozen. Perched on the edge of the fijord we can see huts that the locals use for overnight stays in the wilderness. The fishing and hunting are supposed to be very good in these parts.

The trip back was much faster but still highly enjoyable. Grey clouds are staring to roll in and that has lowered the temperature. Our feet are getting colder and we are glad that we did not book a longer trip. Back home by 8.00pm and the little women have prepared us some open sandwiches and hot tea and coffee for dinner. A little red wind and it is off to bed.

Saturday 5th May – Rain and a Cancelled Dinner

Jens has correctly predicted the weather once again as this morning we have rain. This has given us the opportunity to relax and catch up on emails etc. Barry is having trouble with his emails and to ease the frustration has gone for a long walk.

We were going out for dinner tonight to sample the local fare at the Sisimiut Hotel. When Jens rang for a table he was informed that they were completely booked out for the next two nights. How can this be so in a small town like Sisimiut? Jens said the food was good but surely not that good! It turns out that they have been booked out for a couple of months as this is a time when the locals are celebrating their children’s confirmation. Looks like we will cater dinner ourselves which is not disastrous as the local shops have plenty of good tucker. The only problem will be whether we have enough wine to last the next two days. The answer is yes as Ann and Alice have come through with a big supply.

Jens and I have decided to have a sporting afternoon and are flicking between the Giro Italian cycle race and the FA cup final. I went for Liverpool and alas was disappointed when the full time score was 2-1 to Chelsea. I never thought I would watch the FA cup live during daylight hours let alone in Greenland.

Sunday 6th May – Crazy Words

The weather this morning was not as predicted, no sunshine but instead plenty of cloud. It was a good morning for just hanging around and drinking coffee. After lunch the others decided to take a hike to the museum as it was open from 1.00pm. There is a fine collection of older buildings with some good exhibits especially on the construction technique of traditional kayaks. Ann and Barry spent quite a while exploring all the museum had to offer.

As I did not want to view the trappings of the museum I set out about twenty minutes later. Down on the Corner (A great Creedence Clearwater Revival song) the local fisherman was selling the catch of the day. The catch would not have appealed to most Australians as slabs of Seal including the stomachs and intestines would upset our delicate tum tum’s. I finally caught up with everyone and convinced Alice to walk to the shops with me. Along the way we saw signs on shops that just do not sound right to an English ear. A couple of prominent names were “Boghandel” (book shop), “Slut Spur” and so many names that have the word “Fart” embodied within the name.

Prior to checking out the shops we continued on to the Cultural Centre which Jens had recommended. It is a beautiful new building with a coffee shop that overlooks the still frozen lake. Alas, the centre was closed for the 6th May. Spring has well and truly arrived as the snow is now melting very fast. There are rivulets of water cascading down every street. The snow mobiles are being covered with their summer tarpaulins and the boats are being serviced in readiness for another fishing season.

At the Brugsen store we purchased a large pork rib roast and of course red cabbage for dinner. Jens was excited of the prospect that we would all get to sample a traditional Danish dinner. He gave Alice instructions on how to get the best crackling for the roast. This entailed having the pork (heavily salted) upside down in a small quantity of water for the first 20 minutes at 220 degrees. The roast is then turned back over and cooked at 180 degrees for an hour depending on the weight and then increase the temperature for the last 30 minutes. Alice was a little doubtful about the water but followed the instructions. The result was a perfect roast with a superb crackling which was completely consumed.

Monday 7th May – Kangerlussuaq or Sequestered in Sisimiut

Today we are on the 10:40am flight to Kangerlussuaq and Jens is shuttling us in convoys to and from the airport so we can avoid paying a taxi fare. We are checking in early and then returning back to Jens where we can wait in comfort.

This was the world’s fastest check in which must have totaled all of five minutes. There is a fair amount of low hanging fog this morning which may result in our flight being delayed. All that means is that we get to spend more time with Jens who has been a fantastic host to all of us.

Airports can be quite fun if you are going somewhere but in our case the prophecy about being delayed has eventuated. We are stranded in Sisimiut until tomorrow as the fog instead of lifting has become a real pea soup. At this stage we will be flying out tomorrow at 11:10am, we hope!

We now have to cancel a night’s accommodation in Kangerlussuaq and hopefully whoever is on reception will check the emails. I always like to reconfirm any bookings that I make via email to ensure everything is on track. Luckily, that I checked for our two nights in Nuuk as they had lost our records from February due to a flooded office. Jens, using his mastery of the Danish language was able to get them to reorganise the booking and as a result we are now in a larger apartment for the same price. Now all we need is for the fog to lift.

Every fog has a silver lining as we are now able to have dinner at the Sisimiut Hotel where we can sample the local delicacies. Dinner time rolled around and at 7:00pm we were seated around our table with a view of the melting roadside snow. It was a set 2 (315DK) or 3 (345DK) course menu which included fresh local caviar, seafood bisque and of course grilled reindeer. The food was exceptionally “plated”, to many master chef programs at our house, and tasted great.

A few nice wines complemented the food and we then finished off with a Greenlandic coffee that was prepared at our table. The waitress has a gas flame which she uses to heat the glasses as she pours in the ingredients. First it is a finger of Kahlua, a finger of Whisky, coffee, whipped cream and the piece de resistance a finger of flaming Grand Mariner. It was so good that Ann wanted a second but Barry said NO as he did not want to carry her to bed.

There is always a good taxi driver story out there in the naked city and tonight was no exception. A taxi was ordered from the hotel and it duly arrived with the sound of crunching gears and carrying the scars of previous encounters. Jens gave him the address and one would expect that in a town of 6000 that a taxi driver would know his way around. A bad assumption as he was soon checking with his base for directions. Jens told him not to worry as he would show him the way. We lurched out of the driveway with the gears protesting and a driver that could barely see over the dashboard. Jens then proceeded to give him directions that included hand signals that would have made a point duty policeman proud. The driver responded with a big toothy grin and nodded his head in understanding that reminded me of Manuel from “Fawlty Towers”. We were soon home and had a good laugh about the experience. A few more fares and he may become a competent driver.

Tuesday 8th May – Pea Soup

After last night’s excursion the intrepid travelers did not bounce out of bed. There really was not much of a hurry as the fog is again like a pea soup and probably worse than yesterday. We checked in our bags nice and early as it pays to be optimistic when you are faced with this type of situation. The flight has already been delayed another 2.5 hours. It is hard to believe that we will be going anywhere today but you never can tell. At around 11:00 am the fog lifted and it looked like we would be on our way later in the day.

Jens received a call at 1:00pm from Air Greenland and it was not welcome news. We had been bumped from the flight as they needed to transport all the passengers who had the connecting flight to Denmark. We did however have a guaranteed flight for Kangerlussuaq at 10:00 tomorrow which of course would be subject to the weather. This would not be suitable as the following day we have to travel to Nuuk which would not leave us any time for an excursion. After some discussion we decided it would be best if we could get a flight to Nuuk later in the day.

Jens worked his magic with the staff at Air Greenland and before you could say up, up and away we were booked on a flight to Nuuk. The only downside is that we have to travel via Ilulissat. For those who want a laugh check out a map of Greenland and check out our flight path from Sisimiut to Nuuk via Ilulissat.

With the change in plans we needed Jens to work his higgery jiggery and find us some accommodation in Nuuk as we will not be arriving until 9:00pm if we are on time. The Nordbo Apartments have a room for us and will leave a key for us at the check in counter at Nuuk. The ever thinking Alice has gone to the shops and we will have a nice cup of soup with some cheese and biscuits when we arrive. That is a far cry from last night’s meal but much appreciated.

Unbelievable! The weather here is great but at 7:00pm we received the news that once again our flight is cancelled due to bad weather at Nuuk. I’m starting to think that we may be jinxed but as Jens says the weather up here can change so quickly. We are now booked on a direct flight to Nuuk tomorrow at 7:25pm and the forecast for tomorrow is snow. Who knows what will happen but we still have a few days before our flight to Iceland. We are all keeping our fingers crossed.