An in-between time full of encounters
Once Laurent leaves, there are only three of us left on board — Pierre, Eric and me — for 18 days, before the arrival of the next team. It is quite strange to live at this less hectic pace than usual, when missions follow one another and time always seems to be running out! But we have never spent a winter in Greenland and are happy, for once, to have time to meet people, to live more in tune with those around us.
Pierre takes advantage of it, in the manner of an impressionist reporter, to capture atmospheres, testimonies, or scenes of life — all those ingredients of reality that set the scene and will bring an extra touch of soul to his documentary.
To begin with, one unmissable date: June 21st, Greenland’s National Day and the summer solstice! On the program, among other things: a seal-hunting competition in the morning, won in 9 minutes and 15 seconds after the speedboats had set off (the second hunter returns only after 1 hour and 9 minutes!), then a giant picnic in the valley at the foot of the mountain, where fish and seals are shared and cooked on site, with an outdoor stage and live band. A Greenlandic Woodstock!
We have known Ivalo for two years. She is in charge of culture in Narsaq, and she is the one who organized the June 21st festivities. This time she suggests that we join a kaffemik almost at the end of the Ikersuaq fjord, in honor of her brother Aka’s 45th birthday, who runs the Kangerlua farm there. Having arrived the evening before, weaving between the ice (not forgetting a lovely stop for ice diving and watercolor painting on ice), we find him with his son Saamik, busy bringing down the small drone they use to gather the sheeps! Elisa, his wife, immediately invites us to share the meal. The next day, three speedboats loaded with cousins and friends, as well as a quad from neighboring farmers (from the other side of the mountain), arrive in a joyful atmosphere. Sitting on the floor or on whatever can serve as a seat in the pretty little house, laughter and conversations mix with the children’s games around a round of dishes that keep being refilled: local lamb, mattak sushi, cakes of every kind… Outside, people joke or play frisbee under the gentle summer sun. Although Vagabond is slower, Ivalo is delighted to return to Narsaq with us, accompanied by her two grand daughters and her future daughter-in-law Gigi, heavily pregnant; a geology professor in Narsaq, she appreciates the cliffs we sail past and is not short of comments, both on the job opportunities here and on the burning issue of mining in the area…
Two weeks later, we are invited to the wedding of Gigi and Nanoq, Ivalo’s son! A celebration in the small church standing on a hill in the village, before going to continue the festivities at Ivalo’s house, where we also meet her more urban family, who have come from Qaqortoq or Nuuk.
Shortly before, the church has shown us the face of tragedy. We take part, in sadness and contemplation, in the funeral of a father and his son. With his 8-year-old daughter, now in a wheelchair, the father was taking them toward Qassimiut by speedboat among the icebergs and fog, when what unfortunately happens too often happened again: the boat hit a shallow area, probably at high speed. Only the little girl was found alive the next day, shivering on the shore… For this funeral, the whole village gathers and stands together in pain.
Later, together with our friends Birgitte and Jacky, we decide to visit one of the most isolated farms in the region, Eqaluitilua, as far away as it is enclosed by its barrier of icebergs. Once at anchor, we take the time to have lunch on board before going ashore. The farmer soon comes to meet us, inviting us to come and have coffee… his mother, who has lived much of her life here and has built the farm with her husband, has already prepared a magnificent cake for our arrival! Stories of their settlement, of life through the seasons, photos, drawings, tanning… no idleness here. Jacky’s presence changes everything: in Greenland for more than 30 years, he speaks Greenlandic and, above all, has long communicated by radio with the inhabitants of this farm without ever having met them! They are now switching from sheep farming to potato growing! And just like their “neighbors” across the fjord, they would never want to live in town, in Narsaq!
In Narsaq, for years, there are also Paul and Monica, American and German, who have taken great care of Vagabond during the winter. They come on board with their dog for a few days and show us the places that are dear to them.
In Narsarsuaq, near the airport, there are Birgitte and Jacky — Danish and French (naturalized Greenlandic) — who, for three years now, have been offering us friendship and logistics, lending us their bathroom and washing machine at each stop, as well as countless moments of conviviality and epic stories — dear Jacky!
