Everyone's worried about the shrinking ice cap in Greenland. While there, I was told that "everyone in Greenland" is worried about it, too. And yet, locals seem as confident about the future as they are worried about the present. For one thing, the U.S. Geological Survey thinks there may be up to 90 billion barrels of oil and 47 trillion cubic meters of natural gas in the Arctic. Prospecting of nearby seas is already underway, with drilling explorations expected soon.
Meanwhile, the 57,000 inhabitants of this huge island go about their business of fishing, mining, and gently handling the tourists (no fleecing as yet, I hear). And if locals or visitors want sophisticated living, they can find evidence of it in some places that seem impossible to visitors like me.
Dining
The capital of Nuuk may have its nightclub and beefsteak house and Ilulissat its charming Mamartut Restaurant on a hill, but the most ambitious dinner I had in Greenland was at the Rowing Club (Roklubben in Danish), in a former U.S. Air Force club house that was built in 1972. Turned into a restaurant in 1998, the Rowing Club is near the Kangerlussuaq International Airport by a tiny lake at the edge of the Ice Cap.
Head Chef Kim Ernst, a jolly yet thin gentleman who speaks very good English, welcomed us with an à la carte menu featuring four appetizers ("starters" here) and five main courses. This place offered the best meal I had in Greenland. I loved my local shrimp cocktail with an excellent spicy sauce, bread, and butter (78 Dkr, or $16). I felt the same about the fresh local halibut, roasted with veggies, sauce, and rice (178 Dkr, or $36). This place has been visited by the likes of the Danish Crown Prince and miscellaneous royalty from Norway and Sweden, Ernst says. Many people helicopter in, but we took the short and bumpy dirt road from the airport for a 15-minute ride in an old Canadian school bus. One of my colleagues says she spotted some musk ox outside, influenced perhaps by the dish of same she was eating at the time. Good and clean throughout, including restrooms from the U.S. era. (P.O. Box 85, 3910 Kangerlussuaq; contact Chef Ernst at 011/299 52-4526 or e-mail kje@greennet.gl).
Outside Ilulissat and reachable only by boat or helicopter, Restaurant H8 (tel. 011/299 94-8585) is in the tiny village of Oqaatsut (formerly known as Rodebay, from the Dutch for Red Bay). Like many buildings in Greenland, the restaurant bears numbers painted on its roof by the U.S. Air Force during World War II and the ensuing Cold War (the better to identify things in a huge island without many roads to speak of).
Located in a former Danish warehouse, H8 is open from March to October and serves freshly caught halibut, stewed or roasted whale, seal, reindeer, lamb, or musk ox (dishes from 80 Dkr, or $16). The restaurant is known for its huge H8 Fish Platter and homemade sponge cake. My colleagues said their two versions of whale blubber as part of the platter were "interesting." I abstained, having eaten whale a few times in Japan and sworn it off after that. Because the village has no water facilities, the restroom is memorably primitive.
When you clamber from your boat (pray for a high tide to make it easier to reach the dock), walk a few hundred yards to the restaurant past the rest of the village, where many sled dogs are tied up along the path. The dogs seemed quite friendly to visitors, but locals say to be careful, especially if you accidentally separate a mother from her pups. The village is only 18 km (about 11 miles) from Ilulissat but there is no road, so you get here by foot or by boat. In winter, snow scooters deliver groceries and supplies as needed. By motorboat, it's less than an hour. The official population is 50 people and 200 dogs.
There's a restaurant in the Kangerlussuaq Airport terminal, but I can't vouch for it as there was no chance to dine there. The menu looks ambitious (dinner only) with a two-course meal for 285 Dkr ($57), and a dish of musk ox and reindeer with veggies for 298 Dkr ($60).
Lodging
If you're stranded, consider the small Airport Hotel (tel. 011/299 84-1180; www.airporthotels.gl) perched atop the Kangerlussuaq Airport terminal, with double rooms from 1,345 Dkr ($269).
There's also the very small Polar Lodge (tel. 011/299 84-1016; www.worldofgreenland.com) just 300 yards from the airport. Doubles with shared bathrooms start at 850 Dkr ($170).
Activities
You can see the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) year-round, or so locals told me. On one night in Ilulissat, I did see them -- all green and purple in solemn majesty.
You can find mussels on the beach near Oqaatsut, pick berries and mushrooms while hiking, take a kayak out in summer for netting small salmon, and otherwise enjoy the great outdoors. Dog sledding is best here in March and April.
In and around Kangerlussuag, you might wish to book adventures through the World of Greenland (www.worldofgreenland.com). Some excursions: Point 660 Ice Cap trip of five hours for 550 Dkr ($110) or camping out for two days for 1,590 Dkr ($318); a two-hour musk ox safari for 215 Dkr ($43); or a four-hour hike along the foot of the Russell Glacier for 550 Dkr ($110).
More Information
Contact the Greenland Tourism & Business Council (www.greenland.com)
