NARSARSUAQ TO NARSAQ

The plane taxis to Narsarsuaq's terminal, jet stairs brought into position. It looks as if ours may be the only flight arriving this afternoon.

We're well tended to and get off quickly. Walking down the steps and across the tarmac I experience a great feeling of arrival. At last. Mountains rise from behind the airport's buildings.. The air is fresh and clean.

Our luggage is delivered in minutes and we meet Mark’s Greenlandic partner, Peter. Grinning ear to ear, Peter looks every bit the part of Arctic mineral hunter. Some of us feel more like fat white men on summer holiday, but are warmly greeted despite.

With translations by Peter, we board the shuttle bus for the 2-minute ride to the dock, where Peter’s boat waits to take us on to Narsaq, our main base for the duration of the trip. I'll admit being surprised on first seeing Peter’s boat. Mark, Howie, and I, with our ‘expedition’ luggage, amount to some serious weight, and with Peter’s high-speed piloting, a serious challenge for his barely 16-foot long ‘Baysider’. No matter. We are in Greenland now.

Peter warns us that the wind has picked up this afternoon and we’d better get going, before it gets any worse. The engine quickly starts. We make our way out into the blue of Tunulliarfik fjord.

Ice is everywhere. Great masses of ice, translucent bergs of white, aqua and bright blue; chunks of every size and shape litter the fjord. Peter expertly dodges them all as we head out into the wind.

Though these waves are only 2-3 feet high, we point nearly straight into them, with much weight, and the ride becomes a succession of bang-bang-bangs that I’m pleased to report do not end in tragedy. The north and south sides of the fjord along the way are lined with spectacular brown outcrops of Precambrian rocks; mixed sediment and volcanics. I valiantly attempt photography from an open flap, but capture mostly spray.

After a 40 minute ride, the distinctive ridge named Killavaat (‘The Comb’) appears off to our left in the distance. It’s a narrow crest rising magnificently above the surrounding peaks, just beyond the southern edge of the Ilímaussaq complex, near neighboring Kangerluarsuk fjord.

The sun is just now illuminating its upper reaches as we speed past, further west, along Tunulliarfik fjord.

And then, suddenly, stark, clear evidence that we have entered the famed Ilímaussaq complex itself: on both sides of our boat loom bluffs of electric gray rock, hundreds of meters high.

No green here. As we draw close, we can see banding in sections of Ilímaussaq’s outcrop. Some areas are darker, almost black; some more rust-colored than gray. Along the north coast, on our right, we also see large white blocks, naujaite, entrained within the darker lujavrite rock. All along the cliff face are obvious signs of erosion. Small streams and rivulets become waterfalls and tumble down to meet us in the Fjord.

Just a few minutes farther on and the rocks change back to brown—we have left the Ilímaussaq complex and are back in a zone of scenic, but mineralogically barren, mixed country rock again.

We reach the mouth of Tunulliarfik fjord where a point of land, with some brightly colored tents, appears off on our right. We round the bend, turning north, and make our way for a final few minutes to the village of Narsaq. Much ice is here. Later, we’ll spot seal in these waters and eat delicious Artic char taken from them as well.

Soon the parti-colored houses of Narsaq village can be seen, nestled against the foot of Nunarflik mountain, and running right down to the sea.

Just past some large icebergs, an opening appears on our right. We take it and head straight into Narsaq harbor. Our boat is quickly tied up, gear gathered, and all carried swiftly off the dock. Peter’s brother, Finn, greets us at shore. He's waiting with a truck to transport us to our hotel. Finn is a great help to all of us, and can be counted on at any hour, as we find out later.

Fully loaded, Finn’s truck lurches out of the dock’s parking area and on up the road to our base camp: ‘hotel’ Rock Hut. We pass the local museum, a prominently placed church with graveyard, village grocery store, and the homes of villagers on our way.

Less than five minutes later the truck stops and we all pile out. Here stands a bright yellow building looking rather like a large tool shed, seemingly without windows. We have arrived. Sure enough, Harry, a colorful local turned hotelier, stands outside, beaming, holding up the key.

There is a cement stoop, and above it a wooden door. Inside are three dark rooms, an odd bathroom, a kitchen area with a table and two chairs, and a hallway joining all together and containing a kitchen towards its back end. There are not, however, any signs of towels or soap. Both of which sound pretty handy right about now. Peter has a few quick words with Harry, and in minutes towels and soap arrive. The place is basic—but functional. In fact, for this team of fluorescent mineral explorers, it is perfect. This yellow ‘Rock Hut’ will be a welcome home during the days ahead.

It is now after six p.m. on Tuesday night here in Narsaq Greenland. Starting in the US, we’d had a long day-night-day. But it is not over yet.

One of the fascinating things about a summer visit to high latitudes is that the sun almost never sets. This makes many outdoor activities sensible at the most unlikely of hours. For instance, golfing at midnight is suddenly a possibility. We, however, plan no golf for Greenland. We plan to hunt minerals that glow in the dark. The endless sun will make that endeavor tricky, but not impossible.

And we’ll get our first crack at it fresh off the boat.

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