Iceland and Greenland Day 5 - Ilulissat

In the morning we looked out the window and found that Disko Bay looked pretty similar to last night. It is light all of the time day and night. The one change we noticed is that a cruise ship had come in overnight and anchored among the ice. After eating a delightful breakfast overlooking Disko Bay we headed out to explore.

We started right near the Hotel Arctic. There is a wooden pathway leading out to a viewpoint that we could see from our room. From this viewpoint, we could look out over Disko Bay. The sight is breathtaking. 

We wanted to go hiking today. There are three main trails near Ilulissat. They are color-coded - red, blue, and yellow. All three start at the same point. The starting point is on the other side of Ilulissat from our hotel. So we had to walk through town to get to our hikes. This walk through town was much longer than we expected. The upside of this long walk through town is it allowed us to get the lay of the land. We passed the dock area, the cafes and shops, and the area where most of the sled dogs live. Sled dogs live all over, but there is one area near the trailhead where there are so many sled dogs. As we were walking through this area one puppy wanted to be Alison’s friend. It was a cute little puppy. 

As we were walking rain was drizzling off and on. It was annoying, but not bad. Then as we approached the trailhead the rain started to pick up. Fortunately, the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre is located near the trailhead. We retreated inside to escape the rain. Inside there is an exhibit telling the “Story of Ice”. This exhibit includes a film on the lifecycle of ice and other visual and tactile exhibits on ice. At the center of the exhibit are ice cores from the ice sheet telling humankind’s story from today back to 124,000 years BC. It was quite fascinating. 

By the time we were done inside the center, the rain had cleared up. We headed outside to explore the area around the Icefjord Center. The center itself is a beautiful building that compliments its surroundings. The twisted roof is built so that visitors can climb up and have views of the surrounding landscape. We climbed up and enjoyed the views of the nearby ice fjord. 

From there we headed to the trailhead. We started with the red trail. This is the shortest hiking path and leads right to the ice fjord. These trails are well designed. We would see a few other hikers while we were out and about, but that was the exception there were large stretches where we were the only people in sight. The trail would have been hard to follow, except for colored markers (painted rocks) denoting the trail. We just had to look for the red rocks to know we were on the right track. We followed the path right to the ice fjord. The size and scope of the ice field is impressive. We hiked down and marveled at the expanse of ice before us. I took out my drone and flew it out over the ice. Seeing the colors, cracks, and shapes of the ice below enhanced our experience. 

One side note on bugs in Greenland. You will notice in a picture I am wearing a head net. Mosquitos in Greenland have a reputation for being quite fierce during the summertime. We have seen quite a few mosquitoes around, but they haven’t been too annoying yet. In most of the places, we have spent our time (our hotel, viewpoints, etc.) we haven’t noticed them. On our hike, while we are moving, they also don’t seem to be an issue. However, if you stay still too long (such as when I was flying the drone) they tended to swarm, hence my head net. Alison and I would each end up with a  couple of mosquito bites at the end of day 1, but overall our experience is that the mosquitoes were less of a problem than we expected. 

The temperature around here is also noteworthy. Things change quickly. One minute it feels quite cold and we need our puffer coats and the next it is sunny and warm (warm meaning 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit) and we lose the coats. The winds coming off of the ice and water though were frigid. Overall the temperatures are comfortable. Layering is key to staying warm, but not overheating. 

The end of the red trail meets up with the blue trail so we took the blue trail back to the trailhead. Along the way, we enjoyed truly stunning views of the ice fjord. Then we decided to hike the yellow trail (the full blue trail is quite long and we didn’t have time for both today). The yellow trail climbs up onto a ridge where there are viewpoints that provide views of both the ice fjord and Disko Bay. It was amazing. We really took our time to enjoy these unique landscapes. The yellow trail loops around and ends at the far south end of Ilulissat. 

By the time we finished, we were quite hungry so we charted a course for a cafe in town. Along the way, I saw an iceberg fairly close to shore so I walked down as near as I could to take a picture of it. We also saw a momma dog cleaning off her litter of puppies - one puppy, in particular, looked like he had been playing in the mud. We ate dinner at a cafe in town. Alison had a local fish dish and I tried a musk ox burger - it was good. Alison also ordered a hot chocolate, which hit the spot. 

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel to change into warmer clothes to prepare for our night's activity - kayaking in Disko Bay. Our tour operator, World of Greenland, picked us up at  8 pm at our hotel. We headed back to their offices where we put on our gear - a wool undergarment, a dry suit, a lifejacket, and neoprene gloves. Then we walked to the hospital where the kayaks were being stored and we launched them into the bay. We spent the next couple of hours kayaking among the icebergs. We couldn’t get too close because if one of the icebergs rolled it could crush our small kayaks or create a wave that would tip us over, but as long as we kept a little bit of distance we were fine. Even with the distance, we were up close and personal with these large chunks of ice. It was a cloudy evening which gave the bay a moody look. Halfway through our experience, we gathered up together and our guides handed around a beverage of hot cider. It was quite tasty and warmed us up. They also told us a little bit about glaciers and icebergs. One of our guides had fished out two small chunks of ice so she could show us the difference between regular and black ice. We had a little more time to explore among the icebergs before heading back in. We finished around 11pm. While it was cloudy and felt like dusk, it was still light outside. The midnight sun is wild. 

Even though it was still light we called it a night. What a great first day in Greenland. This place is special and we are so excited to continue to explore.