After an amazing day exploring the Ilulissat Icefjord yesterday and a good night’s sleep, we arrived in Itilleq.
Itilleq is a very small community within the Qeqqata region of Greenland. It’s on its own little island, just shy of mainland Greenland and near the Arctic Circle border.
Itilleq is small, just in case you wondered. There are about 20 houses in total (and less than 100 people who call it home), but what it lacks in houses, it makes up for with colours. It’s so picturesque.
Our ship, Ocean Albatros, anchored just offshore, and we hopped on a Zodiac to Itilleq Harbour. The town is gorgeous, so we took the opportunity to stroll around the community and explore the wider island.
One thing I was really excited about during our visit to Itilleq was having a traditional Kaffemik. I must admit, I didn’t know what a Kaffemik was before arriving in Greenland, but I loved the concept once I heard all about it.
For the unfamiliar, a Kaffemik is a sort of ‘get-together’ that’s deeply embedded in Greenlandic tradition. It typically surrounds a particular life event that requires the wider community to come together. The number of people can be anything from 10 to 50, but there are no hard-set rules.
After gathering, the hosts of the Kaffemik brew fresh coffee and maybe a few sweet treats. The whole Kaffemik becomes a cosy and warm social space for the community. I loved this idea.
Thankfully, the expedition team onboard Ocean Albatros arranged for us to attend a hosted Kaffemik during our visit to Itilleq.
With a short stroll, we headed to our hosts home, who were so welcoming and opened their home for us to have a cosy brew and chats. It all felt so special and lasted around 20-30 minutes.
It was such a heart-warming experience and the whole community were so friendly and welcoming. Itilleq is beautiful and we’re so glad we made a stop here during our Greenlandic expedition.
Not only that, the local community all came out to play a game of football (soccer) with the visitors to the island. It was so incredible and it was so much fun.
In no time at all, it was time to head back to Ocean Albatros, our ship, for our visit to Greenland. The day was already so incredible; but we had much more to come.
After hopping back onboard Ocean Albatros, we awaited our call for the next optional ‘excursion’: a polar plunge in the Arctic Circle.
Now, I absolutely detest cold water with a passion. Even a crisp pool on a hot day will stop me from taking a dip. Yaya, on the ohterhad, is very different. He jumped at the changed at taking part in a polar plunge, espeically after doing the same thing in Antarctica 0000 during our trip there.
As Yaya’s group was called, I headed to the top deck to watch Yaya jump into the chilly Labrador Sea from Ocean Albatros itself. After securing a safety line, Yaya jumped straight in. I was chilly just looking at him, but he still managed to make around a 10-15-second dip in the Arctic Circle. I’m so glad that one of us did it – I was just thrilled it wasn’t me.
After a warm shower back onboard Ocean Albatros, it was time for our final evening in Greenland. We hopped straight for dinner and were joined by some of the expedition team members onboard. It was lovely, and we had a great catch-up on today’s adventures.
In no time, we’d set sail deeper into Kangerlussuaq Fjord, which is over 100 miles long. It’s colossal, and the views along the fjord are so beautiful. We headed straight for the top deck of our ship with a hot tea in hand.
The views of the glacial valleys, waterfalls and colossal mountains were mind-blowing. It was such a perfect end to the day.
By the next monring, we’d sailed to the end of Kangerlussuaq Fjord, where we would depart Ocean Albatros. It was bitter-sweet as we wished we could have stayed longer in Greenland and onboard the ship. But we were also so thankful that we’d managed to experience an expedition we’d waited many years for.
It was so special.
After our final goodbyes to the expedition team and friendly staff onboard, we hopped on our final zodiac to reach Kangerlussuaq Airport. Albatros Expeditions helped all passengers then book onto a direct flight from Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen via Air Greenland, which would take 4.5 hours.
The whole trip was incredible, and Greenland is truly a fantastic place to visit. It is certainly a core memory that won’t be forgotten.
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