TASIILAQ 65°36’48.6”N 37°38’01.0”W
“Almost nowhere in the world do dogs play such a significant role as they do in Greenland”
We were standing on the deck and could see the first colorful houses in the distance. It still felt like a dream. Some Inuits were already on the ice and helped the captain and crew land the big icebreaker. It is super exciting work and certainly something you don’t see every day. But there was one thing that almost made me forget about all of this, something that caught all my attention, and brought tears of happiness to my eyes because it felt so right and so beautiful. The howling of hundreds of Greenland dogs, who were standing on the shore, happy about our arrival. Full of excitement I tried to take the first photos of the dogs with my telephoto lens. Later the same day, we went on the ice, and full of anticipation, we walked into the city. We were met by friendly and curious faces, because as exciting and unique Greenland and this beautiful village seemed to us, we and our ship were at least as interesting to the people of Tasiilaq. The colorful traditional houses, the narrow streets, the friendly people, and probably the fabulous good weather filled me immediately with joy. Greenland and the far north is a place that is said to be one of the harshest and most unforgiving on this planet. Life here can be anything but a fairytale and yet the locals spread a positive energy, a kind of energy I have never experienced or seen before. If I had been asked at that moment where I wanted to spend the rest of my life, I probably would have said “Tasiilaq!” without hesitation. After an extensive exploration of the village and its surroundings, we returned to our ship in the evening. In the meantime, half the city had gathered around the boat to watch the spectacle. Children played soccer on the ice with our crew members, even the mayor was there, and some mushers joined us with their dogs. I quickly found myself in the middle of a pack of dogs. The dogs in Tasiilaq do very well given the conditions in Greenland; they are well cared for, well fed, and treated humanely. I had secretly thought I would get the opportunity to cuddle one of the dogs a little, but I couldn’t have hoped for this – I ended up in the middle of all the dogs, they were climbing on top of me and slobbering all over my face. These animals are just overwhelming. After almost an hour of cuddling, my husband reminded me I had to eat something. Happy and at peace, we left our adventure on the ice and ended the evening onboard our ship. The next day would be a big one.
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MOTHER VOLUME ONE
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