Greenland: Taking Off & Landing

Kulusuk, July 2014

gazing out of my plane window

This is definitely the best flight I've ever experienced thus it deserves one whole individual blog post. You may already know that I hate flying so it's just unusual for me to say I enjoy my flight. So what did beat my fear of flying? Come join me in this journey and you will find out.

Welcome aboard, fasten your seat belt and I hope you enjoy the flight :)

Air Iceland Fokker

I couldn't sleep before my flight to Kulusuk because the weather in Reykjavik was kinda crazy. It was raining hard the whole night and I kept waking up to the wind howling strong and heavy outside my window. The sound of tumbling aluminium chairs and tables from the outdoor cafe making it even more daunting. I was quite sure my morning flight on a small plane (Fokker) would be very bumpy or it could be canceled due to the bad weather.

well, hello Greenland! 

But no, I was wrong. Who am I to judge the weather anyway? Turned out the flight was very smooth and pleasant. As my plane was descending towards Kulusuk, my eyes widened in awe. There were countless of icebergs floating in the crystal blue ocean, bounded by a row of brown rocky mountains covered with snow. I noticed a couple of whales were floating on surface, perhaps it was their sunbathing session. I wish I had a telephoto lens to capture them. The view from above was too beautiful it felt surreal to me.

approaching Kulusuk

it felt surreal!

Wow! We are going to land on the gravel runway! I was telling myself....still in awe. I don't know about you but this is my first time landing on an unpaved runway.  As expected the landing was a bit rough and bumpy with a sudden brake because the runway is short. I would normally cringe in this situation but I didn't because I was lulled by the stunning views.

gravel runway at Kulusuk airport

Kulusuk International airport is only a small terminal building which host a tiny cafeteria and a duty free stand. Passengers are only allowed to pass through the hall immediately before boarding or after the arriving passengers have been cleared from the hall. Quite an amusing experience to me. The airport is on a mountainous island surrounded by ice filled waters in the least populated part of Greenland. And to make it even unique, all passengers have to walk to Kulusuk hotel (the only hotel in the island) because the hotel van just for transporting the luggage and disable people. It took me 15 minutes to walk to the hotel because I kept stopping to take pictures. I really love this quirky experience!

greeted by this gorgeous scenery at the airport

walking to my hotel

almost there

Kulusuk hotel

view from my room

summer sunbathing, Greenland style :p

airport window

taking off

it's hard to say goodbye

till we meet again, Greenland

On the day of departure, I left Kulusuk with a heavy heart. I really want to stay longer. I even consider about getting a job in the hotel and stay there maybe for 6 months to learn more about Inuit people (population of 250 people in Kulusuk village) and their culture. Greenland is really a fascinating place. I will definitely come back to explore other cities. It's not a goodbye but it won't long until we meet again, Greenland :)