"Dog Sledgging In Greenland" a Greenland Travel Page by astroboy72

I have always wanted to visit Greenland. I guess it is because Greenland is not a country that a lot of Singaporean would even consider visiting. In fact a lot of my friends and colleagues thought I must be crazy to travel so far to a country that have nothing but ice.

I am glad that I have not listened to them as this trip was really an unforgettable experience for me.

The trip did not started well for me - firstly my flight from Singapore to Denmark was delayed for 4 hours. Followed by another 4 to 5 hours delayed from Copenhagen airport to Greenland.

When I finally reached Greenland, I was taken aback by the temperature. It was -27 degree celsius. For someone coming from a country with only 1 season - summer, it was rather hard for me to visualise what -27 degree celsius was liked. I was really getting cold feet then as I was really worried about the 4 days of dog sledgging in the wilderness at such temperature.

However, there was no turning back for me. All I could do was to enjoy myself and not worry too much.

After all the hassle, I have finally reached the hotel for a good rest to get ready for the next 4 days of sledgging.

Truth to be told, I was still having butterflies in my stomach. That evening, I got to meet up with my team mates for the next 4 days. We were assured by the agent that we would be led by very experienced guides.

The following day, after getting our seal clothing, we were off to meet the guides. They were native Inuit. For the next four days, they would be our drivers, cooks & guides.

The ride on the sledge was really exciting, especially when we were going down slope. That was not the case, however, when going up slope. We have to help "push" the sledge up the slope. It was quite daunting and exhausting to walk on soft snow. In most cases, we were just "hanging" on to the sledge for the poor dogs to pull us up.

There were 2 persons per sledge and each sledge was pulled by a pack of twelve dogs. We travelled along the route taken by the native during the fishing trip. It really left me awe and also deep respect for the natives to be able to endure such weather and terrains.

Our guides brought us to the inland ice cap and we even have the opportunity to visit a small village (only 50 inhabitants) and have coffee in of the villager's home.

Along the way, we passed by glacier, ice cap and even villages. What strike me the most was the quietness of the place. I have never in my life experience such a "no noise" environment. It was pure bliss. I really felt apologetic to my ears to have to suffer the noise pollution for all these years.

The trip was not without its cons. We did not have the opportunity to bathe or wash our face for 4 days. Answering nature calls were no longer a simple fare. The weather was good but it was still very cold - between -27 to -50 degree celsius. We stayed in tents (2 per tent) and hunter cabins.

Despite the discomfort, the trip was still very enjoyable. And on the last night of our trip, we finally got to see the Northern Lights. It was really amazing to see this green light "dancing" in the dark sky. It was as if the lights were celebrating our success in finishing the 4 days ride. A wonderful end to our dog sledge ride.

End of trip.

Flying back home.

I was left with a full bag of wonderful memories. Definitely has to come back again to Greenland.