{"id":2736,"date":"2020-05-04T18:55:45","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T16:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/?p=2736"},"modified":"2026-01-17T23:34:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T21:34:39","slug":"groenlanda-ghid-dintr-o-calatorie-memorabila","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/en\/2020\/05\/groenlanda-ghid-dintr-o-calatorie-memorabila\/","title":{"rendered":"GREENLAND \u2013 guide from the white land"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let the adventure begin!!! That is what I told myself full of enthusiasm at the end of March (a different March\u2026), when I decided to travel on my birthday in a dog sledge. Experience told here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My\nsearch on the internet got me to Greenland, perfect for “dog\nsledding” at the end of winter. I knew so little about Greenland. I had\nbeen to Iceland two years ago. At the time, I realized I could get to Greenland\nunbelievably fast. It could take between an hour and a half and three hours by\nplane from the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik (depending on the coast you choose\nto land on).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I am speaking about Iceland and Greenland, someone there told me their names should be changed between them: “Iceland” is not that “icy” just as “Greenland” is not even remotely “green” \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They say that the Vikings called it “Iceland” to discourage the appearance of other possible inhabitants of this shore. And a man stepped on the land of Greenland and called it “green” just to fool the people with this attractive name and make them come and populate this savage area. Isn’t it cool?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aceast\u0103<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

HOW TO GET TO GREENLAND<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Swimming, if you’re cool \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\nplane, however, is a more doable option\u2026 From Iceland, from spring to autumn,\nby Air Iceland and from Denmark, all year long, by Air Greenland. These are the\noptions I have found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\nship? Nope\u2026 You can travel on water only inside Greenland. Or you might pay for\nsome international transatlantic cruise that has a stop in Greenland too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I flew\nAir Iceland, a regional company that you can use for inside flights in Iceland\nor to the Feroe Island and Greenland. Which I did\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEN TO GO TO GREENLAND<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, I\nwanted to go there on my birthday so I got there at the end on March and the\nbeginning of April. A perfect period! Snow all over the place, minus 15 degrees\nCelsius (but no less than that), fairytale landscapes, blue skies sometimes\ncovered by clouds that bring snow. However I truly felt I had stepped in\nGreenland!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is\nimportant for you as a tourist to decide when you want to go there depending on\nwhat you want to do<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During\nwinter, until April, you have cool options \u2013 the Northern Lights, dog sledding,\na trip among the icebergs by ship, hiking on various paths and a flight in a\nhelicopter over the glacier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During\nsummer, you have the midnight sun, you can travel by ship to see the whales,\nyou can hike on longer trails and you can fly in a helicopter over the glacier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"helicopter%20over%20the%20glacier.jpg\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR LUGGAGE FOR GREENLAND<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reading\nthe guide that I got before leaving, what do you think I did? I started looking\nonline and in the shops around the city to buy clothes for “the North\nPole”\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\nhere I am looking in the dedicated shops for clothes for a Greenland winter:\ncold, but dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Insulating\nlayers” \u2013 this is what the guides say very often. I am supposed to wear a\nfew good layers. To keep me warm, but not sweaty and to be able to take off\nsomething if I need or want\u2026 So I will not wear a T-shirt and over it the\nwarmest pullover I have. This is not good! And no cotton!!! The cotton\nT-shirts, the jeans, the cotton sweaters are a noNoNO for any outdoors activity\nthere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to be obedient and not to leave any piece of skin become a victim of the cold, I start buying tens of caps of different types (a hood as well), socks of all possible animals, super-protection gloves, the five fingers type that are thin, the five fingers type that are warm, to the very warm ones, the mittens, ski glasses, sunglasses, special sunglasses for a very strong sun, snow shoes, special blouses \u2013 short-sleeved, long-sleeved, black, pink, white, ski trousers, under which I will wear polartec trousers, under which I will wear a type of long johns that allow the skin to breathe, keeping the heat inside. I even bought plastic underwear \ud83d\ude42 But they are special, you cannot mess with them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\nthat is all! I stopped before having to have a credit for this type of\nshopping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aceast\u0103<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WHERE TO GO IN GREENLAND<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I let everything to an Iceland travel agency, mountainguides.is<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They organize trips, with hotel accommodation and transportation to Greenland. (I was told later that once in Greenland, I can buy trips there. That is using worldofgreenland.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My\ndestination was Ilulissat<\/strong> \u2013 the most\npopular touristic destination of Greenland, the Ilulissat fjord being a part of\nthe UNESCO Patrimony. I was surprised to find out that the small town founded\nin 1741 as a trade center, is the birth place of the famous Pole explorer Knud Rasmussen<\/strong>. And it is a place where\ntourists from around the world come to see the huge icebergs that come into\nDisko Bay. In fact, the name Ilulissat means “iceberg” in the local\nlanguage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting\nin my bed in Bucharest, I found it difficult to find the town on the map. My\nGod, I cannot believe the location of this town! I discovered that I was going\nto the end of the world! The town is on the west coast of Greenland, somewhere\nbeyond the Polar Circle, very close to\u2026 Canada! It is five hours behind\nRomania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However\nthere are other places where you can go in Greenland \u2013 one being the capital,\nNuuk, which is on the western coast as well, a bit lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for\nthose who are afraid to fly, just like myself, the eastern coast means a\nshorter flight to Reykjavik, of about one four and a half. Here there are too\nsome beautiful places to be seen. And there are enough organized trips. I\nunderstood that the polar bears can be seen here more than in other places.\nThey come from the north, on blocks of ice. And they, poor things, go all the\nway to the south looking for households, as they are hungry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway,\nIlulissat suggested, I said “yes” and\u2026 I am going forward!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a>
\ufeff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the Reykjavik airport, ready for the check-in for Greenland, I look in admiration at some of the people so very well equipped for the arctic areas. I have never seen such boots in my life, but they look very professional. I am an amateur, still I have some boot, two pairs of them even, appropriate for a sort of a more\u2026 Romanian North Pole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aceast\u0103<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I have\nmore than enough time to admire the “outfits” of everybody on the\nsmall airport, I go to the snacks shop too, since they have announced that the\ntake-off will be delayed. It has just snowed abundantly in Reykjavik and they\nhave to defrost the plane\u2026 repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My God,\nwhen I see outside the small plane, with the thin wings, I suddenly feel like\nstaying in Iceland and bathing in the geothermal pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep\nmy mind occupied, I read again the info about the five days stay in Greenland:<\/p>\n\n\n\n