Ilulissat, Avannaata, GreenlandOUR DOG SLED RIDE
I was absolutely correct when I assumed Alan would not want to partake in our scheduled dog sled ride. The look he gave me when I asked, said it all. The last thing he needed was to get cold and tired - or have any more fainting spells.... And anyway, he is not keen on activities with anything alive that has to pull a sled, or be ridden. He had enough years of experience with my badly behaved horses.... Instead, he insisted that he was content to stay at the guest house and read in the morning sun. Yes, we were so lucky to have yet another gloriously sunny day.
So, it worked out well that Miraida was happy to take his place on the sled ride. And it was a good thing that she offered to pick me up in a taxi, as the dog sledder's (musher's) kennels were about ten km out of town, a few kilometers north of the airport. Directions to our tour departure locations were always vague and with my sense of direction, I could have ended up anywhere. And anyway, how would I recognise the musher's kennels?
As it was, there was quite a number of different tour groups that arrived at the same time. It was yet again, a bit of a surprise there were so many visitors to Greenland in winter. Fortunately, Miraida knew our musher, and in no time we were led to his sleds to meet the dog team.
A friendly, gentle man possibly in his mid-forties, our musher obviously adored his dogs and by the way they reciprocated, they were well treated and well looked after - if more than a bit smelly.
All sled dogs in Greenland are of the breed known as "Greenlandic Dog" or Canis Lupus Familiaris. It is a large breed of huskie-type dog that was initially brought from Siberia to North America by the Thule people more than 1,000 years ago, along with the Canadian Eskimo Dog. The Greenlandic Dog is known for its tremendous willpower. They can pull heavy sleds over long distances, and they can live outside in cold, Arctic weather. Both males and females weigh from 30 to 32 kg; the males being slightly taller than the females.
How the musher disentangled the dogs from their harnesses and leads, then tied them to our sled was beyond me. How he controlled them was even more than a mystery. Several times, he only just made it onto the sled before the dog team set off with gay abandon. These dogs can travel at speeds up to 35 km per hour, making a fast leap onto the sled quite a feat. And as I was to later find out, the musher doesn't always make it back onto the sled....
As mentioned in the last chapter, I don't have a great track record with dog sledding. Hurtling down a mountain side on my own with a crazed team of eight dogs in Magadan, I was absolutely terrified. Even more so, when I hit a tree stump...
And so, I was more than happy that our musher was a calm, sensible man with relatively well-mannered dogs. I guess with three adults, it was quite a load for eight dogs; not helped by a lack of soft snow.
With me at the back of the sled, then Miraida and our musher in the front, we set off amongst groups of other sledders. I must say, it was not exactly comfortable sitting on a hard wooden board with just a few blankets and not much to hold on to. It would have been more uncomfortable for the dogs though. There was very little snow and in places they had to drag us over naked rocks or sheets of re-frozen ice. Occasionally, we had to climb out of the sled and allow our musher to lead the dogs over particularly rocky or icy terrain.
Driving the sleds is like operating a machine by remote control. Only it doesn't always work. The dogs are not guided with reins, like one would with a horse. Instead, they respond to the light motion of a long whip and also voice signals. And to slow them, a primitive brake is engaged whereby a piece of metal digs into the snow, something like a pointed plough blade.
Although it was sunny, it was very cold and I was grateful for the chemical foot and hand warmers thoughtfully provided by Miraida. They certainly make a difference when travelling in the extreme cold.
As we rode along, I became highly conscious of a most unpleasant odor. Something very chemical, it permeated our noses and of course, all our clothing. Goodness know what the dogs were fed on but the stench of hydrogen sulphide and doggy odor farts, was overpowering. I can still remember the actual smell today. And it was exactly what Íris had described the evening before. It was truly awful....
After an hour's ride, we stopped at a point which looked out over distant Disko Bay and the ever-glorious icebergs. It was also an opportunity to give the dogs a rest - and also our back sides! Other teams caught up; their dogs rested as the passengers wandered around the rocky terrain before their return to the base camp.
And that was our dog sled ride. Sadly, it was all a bit contrived and typical of a standard tourist activity. It was a shame though as the snowmobile ride the day before was through wild and interesting country, made even more exciting by being completely on our own with the snowmobiles. All up, our morning was pretty underwhelming, not improved by knowing the dogs had found it very hard going.
AN AFTERNOON IN ILULISSAT
I caught a taxi back with Miraida to her office. We had got on very well, and I was grateful to have her as my guide and someone interesting and fun to chat with. Miraida also provided me with advice about suitable shops for gifts as I needed to buy something for our cat and house sitters Deb and Ian.
I was thinking of hand knitted Greenlandic jumpers but carrying them in our luggage was out of the question - and especially as there was a possibility that Alan's baggage would be returned and we would be carrying three lots of luggage. It didn't bear thinking about.... So, I opted for t-shirts and hats with something Greenlandic to identify where they were from.
Purchasing gifts was no easy matter - mainly because of the constant removal of my boots and cleats. By the end of my shopping, I was exhausted. But I had bought some nice gifts with which I was pleased. And relieved.
A BEAUTIFUL EVENING
I arrived "home" to a much healthier and relaxed Alan. Apparently, David had called in and they had spent a pleasant morning chatting together in our Blue House.
Late in the afternoon, Íris and Halla arrived back at the guesthouse. On a picture-perfect last evening in Ilulissat, we thoroughly enjoyed their company as we sat together enjoying a drink and watching the icebergs move peacefully across the bay. A stunning sunset farewelled another beautiful day.
A fine meal at the Icefjord Hotel restaurant made a perfect ending to our stay in beautiful Ilulissat.
2025-05-22