Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc
how interesting.
i take you went there for more than just a partial eclipse??
did you see any polar bears or whales?
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This is a work trip (it's not clear to me that it's possible to visit Greenland as a tourist at the moment anyway). I'm quarantining in Kangerlussuaq for another 2 days, then flying onto the ice for 5 weeks to deploy an experiment. While there are flights from Copenhagen (and then to the myriad small villages of Greenland), I came on a C-130 from Scotia NY, after quarantining in a hotel in a mall for far too long. If you've never been on one, a C-130 definitely has both advantages (more room to walk around) and disadvantages (no food service, crappy bathroom with a curtain, few windows, have to wear ear plugs) compared to a commercial flight:
Here is the toilet (there's also a urinal in the front with a curtain, although that was out of service this flight..). Conveniently placed next to the pallet of our checked bags (fortunately with a plastic cover...).
I will be traveling in one of these skiers (aka LC-130, or C-130s with skis). They were doing some sort of test flights (I think changing propellers, based on the skiers with missing propellers I saw when I landed). These are the very same skiers that we take to get to the South Pole (or from CHC to MCM when only Willy Field is open). They are extremely old and always have mechanical trouble.
As for polar bears and wolves, Polar bears were spotted about 10 miles away a little while ago, but fortunately I have not seen one. We are required to carry bear spray and sat phones on our solo walks. Since they're solo walks, the bear spray is not super useful except as flavoring for the polar bear. Evidently, the best way to use bear spray against a polar bear is to spray your companion. Arctic wolves I think don't live in this part of Greenland. Instead, I present you a picture of the Polar Bear Inn
However, I am not completely devoid of large land mammals. I saw a caribou today!
I kept scanning the hills with my telephoto for musk ox (which are delicious, by the way). But did not see any. I was told that about a week ago there was a herd here (and hey, there's even a sign!)
Well I didn't see any... live musk ox. This guy did drive by at some point... I've heard of a car having an aux port, but not a musk ox port.
Does anybody know what this facility might be? Can't tell if it's live or not. Might bring my SDR up tomorrow, though I suspect it might be way out of range if it's live. I'm not sure if it's some cold war relic or some sort of point to point communication system with Sisimut or something.
And here's a faraway shot of what I assume is the Kangerlussuaq Church:
