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We took a 9 passenger helicopter for our
10 minute flight from Kulusuk to the town of Tasiilaq on Angmagssalik
Island.
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Flying over floating ice
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Tasiilaq is the largest city in East Greenland with a population
of 1900.
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We took a sightseeing tour in a 5 passenger helicopter.
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Views from the helicopter
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The helicopter landed on a rocky ledge 3000
feet above a fjord and glacier.
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We walked around the landing site with a
360 degree panoramic view of the surroundings.
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We could see the Greenland icecap across
the fjord.
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More views of the Greenland Icecap
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Glacier
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Views of the rocky shoreline on our return
flight
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Iceberg floats in the fjord below us
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Glaciers flow down the mountains
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Many inland lakes from the glacier runoffs
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Flying back in to Tasiilaq
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We got on a boat for a tour of the fjord
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Huge icebergs still floated on the water
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Remains of the pack ice that fills the fjord
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Approaching an iceberg
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There is more ice below the water than above
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The ice got thicker as we approached the
largest iceberg that we saw.
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To see a short video of our boat ride through
the pack ice to the iceberg, click here.
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Returning to Tasiilaq harbor
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A local man gave us a demonstration of drum
dancing.
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It is different than Indian drumming. The
drum is beaten on the wood surrounding the skin of the drum,
not on the skin.
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Drumming was used in the past to communicate,
celebrate and to settle fights.
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Drumming is a dying art as there are only
23 people in all of Greenland who are currently drum dancers.
To see a short video of one of the drum dances, click here.
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Delicious lunch at the hotel
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"Sunset" over Tasiilaq taken from
hotel room at 2 am
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Walk through "Valley of the Flowers"
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We came upon the cemetery for the village
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The snow had just melted from the hillsides
forming ponds
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Water rushed down creeks
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Small waterfalls cascaded over the rocks
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We donned our head nets to protect us from
the mosquitos and black flies buzzing around.
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Wildflowers covered the ground.
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Heath
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Thrift
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Cotton Grass
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Alpine Bartsia
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Kings Crown
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Alpine Mouse Ear
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Dwarf Willow
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Moss Heather
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River Beauty
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Harebell
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Fields of Cotton Grass
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Returning to the village
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Greenland Husky
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Hotel Ammassalik
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Tasiilaq - our hotel is at the top of the
hill
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View from our hotel window of the children
playing soccer
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Harbor
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Tasiilaq Museum - Longhouse
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Entrance to Longhouse
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Women's Boat - In olden days, women used
to row these boats, carrying supplies, children, etc. to fish
camps
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Men used kayaks as transportation, to fish,
and to hunt whale, seal and polar bear
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Sigrun tries to balance in a practice kayak
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Photo of famous drum dancer whose statue
we saw in Kulusuk and whose grandson gave us a drum dancing
demo.
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Views leaving Tasiilaq by helicopter
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