Rachel Dorsey
As you fly from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Ilulissat, Greenland, on a tiny 37-seater plane, you may think you’re soaring over a never-ending cloud formation. But look a bit closer and you’ll realize that you’re making your way over miles and miles and miles of ice.
Although I count myself incredibly blessed with some of the places that I’ve visited in my years of travel, the immense honor of getting to land at Ilulissat airport wasn’t lost on me. Our flight had 37 seats but because of the landing runway restrictions, only 34 lucky souls per flight are allowed to actually land in this town with a population of about 4,500 permanent residents.
The town itself is dotted with brightly colored houses and the vehicles that make their way up and down the well-traveled roads have nowhere to go beyond the city limits as this is a city completely cut off from the rest of Greenland, except by sea.
The sea is what you come for but the locals stories are what you remember.
We dressed warmly and boarded a small boat to enjoy an evening sailing through the Icefjord with an excellent guide. To glide up next to ever-changing ice structures with ribbons of bright blue water frozen in time is a completely serene experience.
An easy hike took us through Sermermiut Valley, a UNESCO site. Culturally important, this area has hosted settlements for over 4,000 years and leads those who wish to enjoy its wooden path straight to the edge of the Icefjord. We were joined by a local guide and father who provided cultural context about the Greenlandic people who have called the area home and the controversy over the area becoming a UNESCO site, while also entertaining us with stories of his family.
If spending time in Ilulissat, a must is to head to the Oqaatsut settlement and enjoy dinner at H8. This settlement has just 32 inhabitants and the restaurant is run and maintained on a rotating basis by Danish citizens who offer top-notch food. There is only running water in one of the buildings (and not the restaurant) and the settlement is only reachable via boat or a rather long hike.
We also met with vibrant and loving dog kennel owners and made our way to the actively calving Eqi Glacier where we spied whales in the distance.
Each morning I saw a new cruise ship sitting in the harbor and it made me appreciative of the opportunity I had to interact with locals, dine on amazing local cuisine, and simply sit and watch the ice change throughout the day.