GREENLAND - REMOTE & UNTOUCHED

This is one of the most remote and untouched places on the planet Earth. It is cold, unpredictable and so weird. Setting foot in Oqaatsut – a tiny settlement on the west coast of Greenland in the Disko Bay, gives you a feeling of awe and humility at the same time.

A few bright and colourful houses are scattered across this rocky terrain. You can describe this place through the sounds: the calls of seabirds, the crunch of the ice, and the roaring silence. Every element of the surrounding landscape sharpens your senses and magnify emotions. There is a bench on the small hill so sit down and listen.

OQAATSUT - (EXTRA)ORDINARY LIFE

Oqaatsut is a home to 38 residents (5 kids incl.) They all seem to be completely oblivious to the ideals of the western world. The life here is solely dependent on fishing and a bit of tourism. There is a single small grocery, a tiny restaurant, a hotel, a church and a schoolhouse in the village. The kids have old toys, bikes and a trampoline. There is no sewage system. There are no roads, no cars, just a few pathways.

The settlement is accessible from Ilulissat (the name of the town – Ilulissat literally translates to “Icebergs”) by boat or kayak in the summer or hiking 21 km path. In winter only by snowmobile or dog sledding. In fact kayaking among the impressive icebergs and exploring the artic nature is the main goal of the visit in Oqaatsut.

THE BENCH

But meeting a local family and sharing the meal - a bowl of the home made fish soup (and seconds) served in a dining/living room, decorated with family photos, balloons and the Greenlandic flags’ chains (the youngest member of the family got baptised the day before) and overlooking the surreal pieces of the ice emerging from the sea, and that single bench on the hill, is how you understand: this is their reality (so different than ours) and the life they have chosen. As odd it might sound, they are happy, genuinely. Are you?