Sejltur

Sjovt hvor varmt +1°C kan føles, når man blev vant til at have det lidt koldere. De synes Grønlanderne også og sad derfor udenfor på piknikbænk og spillede kort i går. Det varme vejr var ideal til at tage på fisketur og Eeneraq, en af vores Nuiki-kursister, kom og spurgte, om vi havde lyst til at tage med. Vi tøvede ikke, vi havde faktisk håbet på denne mulighed, da ingen af os havde prøvet det før. Han var meget betænksom og havde medbragt en af sine onesies til mig for at jeg ikke skulle fryse. :) Heldigvis havde jeg ikke taget så mange kilos på endnu, at jeg kunne passe den :-P Men den var dejlig varm. Efter vi havde tanket op, sejlede vi på fjorden, hvor vi mødte mange andre fra bygden. Det var hyggeligt at stoppe ved siden af hver båd og få en kort snak indtil vi sejlede videre. Alle var bare på vandet i dag – men faktisk kun mændene, jeg så ingen kvinder eller børn. Stolt fortalte Thomas, bådejeren, at båden kan køre op til 30km/h, men da vi kom igennem isflager, skulle vi sejle meget langsomt og forsigtigt. Når man kører hurtigere, er det ligesom alle tanker bliver blæst væk i et stykke tid og man kan bare nyde tilværelsen. Jeg kan godt forstår, hvorfor de er så vilde med deres både. ;-)

Det var også en god lejlighed til at lære nye grønlandske ord, eksempelvis på alle dyr vi så undervejs: "terianniaq" (polarræv), "naaja" (møve), "nattoralik" (ørn) og ”tuttu” (rensdyr). Jeg var særlig glad for at kunne se rensdyr i fri natur. Vi var selvfølgelig ret langt væk, men med kikkert kunne man rigtig godt se dem. Og så skulle vi også prøve at fange torsk, selvom vi kun brugte 80m af vores snor og ikke 500m som nogle af de andre. Vi blev forklaret, at man ikke plejer at vente længere end 5-10 minutter på fangst, om sommeren helst kun et minut indtil fiskene skal bide. Vi fangede to torsk i dag :) Da vi kom tilbage til Atammik efter tre timer, var en anden fisker i gang med at tømme sin båd for blodet fra en sæl, han havde fanget. Vi fik lov til at prøve nyren – rå og direkte fra dyret. Det var lidt grænseoverskridende for mig, men jeg ville ikke afvise det velmente tilbud og selvfølgelig ville jeg prøve for oplevelsens skyld. Det var ok, men jeg var glad for kun at have spurgt efter et hasselnød-stor stykke. 

I huset havde tanken til vores oliefyret været tom siden fredag aften, så det har været ret kold... Dejligt, at bygdens ’oliesheik’ var med på sejltur, så kom han bagefter og hjalp os til at tanke op, da vi selv manglede en dunk. Nu er det dejligt varmt igen.

Sailing trip

Funny how warm +1°C can feel when you got used to colder temperatures. That’s also what the Greenlandic think, so they were just chillin’ outside on picnic tables playing cards yesterday. The warm weather was also a great condition for a fishing trip and Eeneraq, one of our Nuiki-students, came to ask if we wanted to come. We didn’t hesitate, we had actually been hoping for this opportunity, since none of us had tried that before. Eeneraq was very considerate and brought a onesie for me so I wouldn’t freeze. :)  Fortunately I haven’t gained that many kilos yet as that I would fit it, but it was nice and warm anyways. After we got some gas, we sailed on the fjord and met many other people from the settlement. It was quite cozy to stop next to all the other boats and have a quick chat before we continued. Everyone was just on the water today – well, actually only the men; I saw no women or children. Thomas, the boat owner, told us proudly that it can reach a speed of 30km/h, which we also made use of, but when we were going through ice floes, we had to go very slowly and carefully. When driving faster it feels like all thoughts get blown away by the wind for a while and you can just enjoy simply being. I understand why they love their boats so much. ;-)

It was also a good opportunity to learn new Greenlandic words, such as names of all the animals we saw on the trip: "terianniaq" (polar fox), "naaja" (seagull), "nattoralik" (eagle) and "tuttu'" (reindeer). I was especially excited to see happy and free reindeer. They wouldn’t have survived our visit if it was fall though, but right now it’s closed season. We wanted to give fishing a try though, even though we only used 80m of fishing line and not 500m like some of the others. They explained to us that they don’t wait more than 5-10 minutes for a catch, during summer rather only one minute before the fish are supposed to bite. We caught two cod today :). When we got back to Atammik after three hours, one of the fishermen was emptying his boat from the blood of a seal that he had caught. We were offered the seal’s kidney – raw and warm, directly cut from the animal. I had to overcome some reservation there, but I didn’t want to reject this well-meant offer and also wanted to try it for the experience. It tasted ok, but I was glad that I only asked for a piece in the size of a hazelnut.

Back in the house our gas-tank had been empty since Friday night, so it has been quite cold… It was quite convenient, that the settlements ‘oil sheik’ was on the boat with us and helped us fill it up after the trip, because we didn’t have a container. Now it’s nice and warm again.