Dosed heavily with cold and flu medication, Alan managed to sleep well through the night. Pale, thin and weak, he looked awful but at least his vertigo had subsided, and he even managed to walk to the Nasaasaaq restaurant for our last breakfast.  

We loved Sisimiut. It is probably more accurate to say I did, as poor Alan saw only a limited amount of the place as he spent so much time in our hotel room. It was such a shame he had been so ill, going from one health crisis to another. And losing his luggage certainly didn't help his stress levels. Although having it returned was probably even more stressful....

I was sorry we were leaving Sisimiut and would have enjoyed another few days there to really get to know the city. In hindsight, it would have been nice to have rented an apartment for another week but of course, at that stage it was not possible. To be quite honest, before we embarked on our journey, we could find very little about this rather "out of the way" destination. And having to travel there and back via Kangerlussuaq, we sometimes wondered why we were bothering at all to travel there. But it certainly was worthwhile.

Breakfast was a simple affair, with fresh fruit, freshly baked bread and pastries. We said farewell to Martin, a wonderful old style, very professional waiter who knew all about service, and who had made our stay very special. 

  

We also ran into Big Denis who had helped Julia with her snowcat on our first day in Sisimiut. Denis was accompanied by a very friendly, handsome young man who we later found out was Julia's boyfriend. During our short stay, we had met some very pleasant and helpful people.

We would also highly recommend the Sisimiut Hotel. Sisi and her friendly professional staff could not have been more helpful. It may sound strange for such a short stay, but we felt quite sad saying goodbye to everyone. I would definitely go back to Sisimiut.

One of the hotel staff kindly drove us to the airport. Our flight to Kangerlussuaq departed at a convenient time of 10:50 am and was just a mere half an hour's flying time. Once again, we were lucky in not being charged additional fees for our extra suitcase, although it was a bit touch and go with the not-overly-personable-check-in staff....  

We were staying in Kangerlussuaq for just one night before flying on to Copenhagen, Denmark the next afternoon. After one night in transit in Copenhagen Airport, we were flying on to Bergen, Norway where we would spend three days before catching a long distance train to Oslo. Supposedly one of the most scenic train journeys in Europe, it was a trip I had been looking forward to for some time.

At the airport we ran into our Indian family friends. A gregarious man, the father of the family made much of seeing us, and his wife and family were also very friendly. "Now where are you planning to go to on your next trip?" he asked. We looked at each other. The last thing we needed right now was to think of another trip. 

Looking at a sickly, bedraggled Alan whose clothes were literally hanging off him because he had lost so much weight, I wondered to myself how I would get him home from this trip, let alone contemplate another journey in the near future.

Thankfully, our buoyant friend didn't seem to notice our dismayed looks, chatting away about the numerous trips he and his family were planning for the rest of the year. I was pleased for them, but the very thought of more travel so soon made me feel somewhat nauseous. 

Oh god, let's just get home from this one, I thought....

Kangerlussuaq was beginning to feel like home. After all, we had landed there on three occasions, firstly en route to Ilulissat and then on our way to Sisimiut. 

We may have been unlucky with luggage and Alan's health, but we were blessed with good weather. Once again, our day was bright and clear with virtually no wind. And our flight was actually early in departing and very pleasant, flying out over Sisimiut town and the pretty ice laced Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay, before heading east over mountainous terrain before descending into Kangerlussuaq.

Once again, the Kangerlussuaq Hotel didn't disappoint.... One thing it excelled in was lack of service. Admittedly, there were some pleasant staff, but in general the reception people were unfriendly and positively unhelpful. 

It was only 11:40 am when we arrived at the hotel and to our disappointment, the hotel check-in was not until 2:30 pm, leaving us with a waiting time of some three hours. At least we could wait in the bar area, so we decided to have a beer while we sat there. Oh no - that was not possible... "The bar is not open until 12:00 pm. Most people can wait...." snapped the reception person-come-drinks-waiter; the inference being we were total alcoholics.... 

While we waited, I had a brain flash that we just may be able to mail Alan's spare bag home. The friendly Greenland Air staff told me the post office was just across the road, so I hot-footed it there with Alan's bag - only to find that they do not ship internationally from Kangerlussuaq. The staff suggested however, that I try Air Greenland Cargo. It was within the airport grounds, they said pointing vaguely to a building that looked about a kilometer away - on the other side of what looked like a swamp. Well, I had gone this far and it was I thought, well worth a try.

What I had forgotten was that I had not thought to put my cleats on. Far from being a swamp, the conditions were like a skating rink with no clear pathway to the illusive building. Snow had melted and re-frozen making the conditions for walking treacherous. Two falls later, and I finally made it - only to find the building was closed and the entrance door locked. 

A kind Greenland Cargo employee must have seen my plight, as the door miraculously unlocked. "We are closed. But in any case, we do not freight to Australia" he informed. It was the last straw. As far as I was concerned, Mission Freight Alan's Bag Home was finished. 

As I skidded back to the hotel, I noticed other people sliding and falling as well. Some had found a fence to which they clung to steady themselves. It was to be my saviour. 

Arriving harassed and somewhat breathless back at the hotel, I was at least able to enjoy a cool beer with Alan.... "You seemed to be a long time, darling" remarked my friend. It was not worthwhile dignifying a response. I just took a gulp of beer. 

Despite a miserable introduction to our hotel, to our delight we were allocated a room in the new section. 

Spacious, well furnished and sparkling new, our room boasted huge windows with splendid views over the airport and surrounding snow capped mountains. On a beautiful sunny afternoon, it was a long last a joy to be able to relax and gaze out of our comfortable room. 

During our last stay at Kangerlussuaq, we had pre-booked at the hotel's fine dining restaurant The Muskox. There were two choices of main courses: lamb or beef rib eye. The lamb was sold out, and so we had the rib eye. We are not big meat eaters but the meal was delicious, beautifully cooked and well presented. And even Alan ate a small amount.

You tend to forget while you are in Greenland that it is such a remote location and that just about everything has to be freighted in from overseas - although I guess muskox isn't.... Running out of a certain line of food is common - and understandable.It is something as we found in Russia, you just get used to.... We had enjoyed our afternoon and the day had ended well, considering. 

Perhaps our cloud did have a silver lining?