We left home at 0340 on Sunday 16th August and headed to Luton airport by taxi. At that time in the morning it was quite a fast trip which was lucky as the airport was getting busier but there were only a few of us in the Easy Jet self serve baggage drop albeit there was an enormous queue when we we had finished. The fast track purchase was worthwhile as that was also seamless and we were soon after having breakfast at Starbucks.
Our flight to Copenhagen departed a little later than the scheduled 7.15 but we still arrived by 1000am.
We quickly linked to the airport Hilton and tried to catch up on some sleep before heading back into the airport for something to eat - not a cheap experience!
On Sunday morning we woke early and went to breakfast before meeting the Quark cruise company who escorted us back to the terminal to check us in for the SAS Kangerlussuaq charter flight.
Our 4 hour plus flight left at 1140 but due to the time difference we arrived in Greenland at 1225pm. Enroute we had unusually, according to the pilot, great views of the Faroe Islands which are normally cloud covered and the Greenland ice sheet.
Kangerlussuaq airport ( today's photo) was built by the U.S. in 1940 with them finally leaving in 1992 and selling everything to Greenland for $1 now the town has 650 inhabitants - 150 aged 0-18 with most employed in and around the airport,
We got onto rugged buses for a tour to the icecap - we passed enroute, the golf course in a flat sandy basin- no grass some vegetation and all the greens and holes looking more like sand traps - apparently there are 8 members paying $100 per year which then allows them access to courses worldwide, and the wreckage of an aircraft - from which the pilot ejected when the fuel ran out while awaiting a window in the weather to land which never came. Of the 8 planes that left with him only 5 made it and 2 others suffered the same fate but luckily with all the pilots making it back with only a few scratches.
We also saw a camp with waving Greenlanders - every summer an extended family visit for 3 weeks to hunt musk oxen and reindeer. The musk oxen now number some 17,000; they started from a base of 27 released from Copenhagen zoo - clearly a success story as their only predator is man.
The landscape was glacial with a river running from the glaciers and icecap, most of the vegetation was small bushes with a few dwarf trees - the cold and lack of rainfall definitely stunts their growth and many were no doubt older than they looked!
When we got close to the icecap most of us alighted and did the 30 minute walk to a waterfall and then to the icecap edge where it was noticeably colder - well freezing as the winds we coming straight off the ice.
Next stop was collecting our parka on the wharf side before alighting onto the zodiacs to take us to the Sea Explorer.
We had much needed tea and cake followed by briefings, life boat drill and then dinner.
We were all very tired as our time zone said it was close to midnight - needless to say sleep came easily as we wended our way up the 80 mile fjord to the sea.
We were now above the arctic circle...in summer.