Sep 27, 2009

Kulusuk Inhabitants

The inhabitants of Kulusuk are almost all Inuits. We saw 2 Danes only in the 2 days we were there, a hotel staff and an airline staff.

The hotel and airport seem to be the major source of income for this settlement, as they employ a few local people.

In a place were life is so simple, children roam around worry free.
Inuit Boy

Best friends

Waiting for his buddy to come out and play.
Waiting

The luckier ones have bicycles to play around with.
Bicycle in Kulusuk

Bicycle Girl

The younger ones play under watchful eyes.
Twins in Kulusuk

Inuit Boy

Inuit Girl

Inuit Boy

This group of mothers were watching the little ones playing from top of a small hill.
I asked the woman standing on the right if I can take a photo of her, and she agreed, but didn't know exactly how to pose. I love her unnatural pose, as it shows how they are free from the complexity of our modern world.
Inuit family and friends

Some men are working on fixing their homes during the summer, in preparation for the long and cold winters. These two were giving their house a fresh coat of paint.
Painting in Kulusuk

Dogs were chained down on the side of the hills. They are used as sleigh dogs during the snow season.
Sleigh Dog

This Danish guy was one of two persons on the hotel staff who spoke English. He and his English speaking friend greeted us at the airport, drove the Hummer that hauled our luggage to the hotel, checked us in at the hotel reception, went through our hotel rooms to check if we were missing teapots, pillows, etc., served us at the restaurant, and took us on tours to the settlement and on a mountain top. They seem to be busy all the time, but when I asked him, he said it is much slower this summer compared to previous years, because of the slow economy. He actually returns to Denmark every year when the tourist season is over.
Caucasian in Kulusuk

Kulusuk Settlement

Kulusuk Settlement is a short walk from Kulusuk Hotel. The colorful houses of the settlement are home to over 300 Intuits.
The beauty of this place cannot be described in words.

The Village of Kulusuk

House in Kulusuk

Clothesline in Kulusuk

Graveyard in Kulusuk

Kulusuk

Kulusuk

Kulusuk

Kulusuk Houses

Kulusuk

Kulusuk

Kulusuk

Kulusuk

Sep 26, 2009

Kulusuk, Greenland

Once we came out of the little Kulusuk airport, everyone was overwhelmed by the breathtaking view outside.

Our hotel, the only hotel and restaurant in Kulusuk, was only a short minute walk away from the airport. There was only a Hummer sent by the hotel to haul our luggage, while we walk to the hotel.
We took longer time to walk to the hotel, admiring the view and taking a lot of photos along the way.

Here are a couple of photos taken on the way to the hotel. As you will see in the next few postings, the mountain on the right will appear in a few other photos from different angles.
Kulusuk

Kulusuk

This hummer carried our luggage to our hotel, the blue building. The hummer and the van are 2 out of 3 cars we spotted in Kulusuk. The only other car was a security jeep in the village.
Kulusuk Hotel

Our hotel room is a small double bedroom, with a small toilet with shower. My son said the room resembled a slightly bigger version of our cabin on the boat from Helsinki to Stockholm. However, the view outside our room is very different, as seen in the photo below.
View from my hotel room at Kulusuk

Here are a few photos taken near the hotel. Here is the same mountain again.
Kulusuk

Kulusuk


Kulusuk

Kulusuk


The arrow points to our hotel, with the airport dirt runway visible in the bottom right of the map.

View Larger Map



Sep 24, 2009

Flight to Greenland

We took a flight late morning of July 16, 2009 from a small airport in Reykjavik, Iceland (not the main International Airport) to Kulusuk, Greenland.

While waiting for our flight, some workers at the airport were bored, so they started to have a pull-up competition.
Pull-up

This is our airplane, which is better than I thought. With the exception of very few passengers, everyone on board was part of our 35 people tour. The flight was about 1/3 empty.
Airplane to Greenland

The city of Reykjavik, Iceland
Reykjavik

As we approached Greenland, passengers got excited by what we see through the window: million of icebergs of different sizes on the ocean surface.
Greenland

Greenland

Greenland

Just before landing, we flew over the little village of Kulusuk
Kulusuk, Greenland

Kulusuk Airport, where the runway is flat dirt
Kulusuk Airport

Flag of Greenland
Greenland Flag



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Sep 17, 2009

Reykjavik, Iceland

These are photos are taken on the morning of July 16, 2009 in Reykjavik, Iceland.

This is the staircase of the hotel we stayed in, from the 8th floor.
Staircase,

Stairs

The same staircase, from 1st floor looking up
Stairs


Höfði, a house in Reykjavik, which is the site of a Summit between Reagan and Gorbachev in 1986. The summit is considered by some to be the start of end of Cold War.
Höfði

Modern glass building
Reykjavik

Reykjavik

From the pond in front of City Hall
Reykjavik

Lake behind City Hall
Reykjavik

Reykjavik

Volunteers promoting tourism in Hafnarfjörður (don't ask me where it is)
Icelandic Volunteers