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Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

matduggan.com

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Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#211

Post by mckn1ght »

> So if you've ever wonder "what is a glacier", let me tell you. Greenland has a lot of ice and it pushes out from the land that is covers into the sea. When that happens, a lot of it breaks off.

This is quite inaccurate and incomplete and the cynicism that follows and pervades the article is offputting.

Let me tell you that glaciers are quite fascinating and come in a variety of constructions and have all sorts of interesting and beautiful features like caves and moulins.

Watching one calve off something the size of a 5 story building into the sea just a couple hundred yards from my camp was a thrilling experience, the last time I went backcountry kayaking. And listening to another rumbling in the distance every 30 minutes or so at another camp the following night put me to sleep like a distant thunderstorm.

I think this article just goes to show that you can find beauty and wonder anywhere if you’re open to seeing it. Even the mosquitoes in interior Alaska don’t bother me because it is simply the world I live in.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#212

Post by worik »

mkl wrote: post #204
worik wrote: post #184

What a wasted trip! How rude, especially about Indiana. They never found out where the people were going in their BMWs The only descriptions of the locals were entirely without sympathy. If this is how Icelanders [edit: Greenlanders, duh!]are treated by Danes, I suggest selling out to Trump!

The author is American, and no Icelanders were mentioned.

> The author is American

I assume you mean USAian. Fits my prejudices, which is unfortunate

An arrogant prick, anyway

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#213

Post by osigurdson »

tptacek wrote: post #5

It's funny to me that in portraying Indiana as a "blank state" he's highlighting one of the most beautiful parts of the state (the route through the Dunes along the Michigan lakefront; if you've seen "Road To Perdition", you know what that area looks like). It's not important to the article, a complete tangent, but I can't not call that out.

I've never been to Indiana but I don't like when people say things like this about other places. Yeah, these people are "too tired" to go anywhere else - right. I hope the author enjoyed channeling Hemingway for a bit but seriously what does he know about why people live there?

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#214

Post by [deleted] »

neucoas wrote: post #180
Sammi wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More wind means less mosquitos. One step forward and one step back. Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article. Fly atlantic airways, they have equipment to fly through the fog or they will refuel in iceland and try again same day.

What do you mean with "they have equipment".

[deleted]

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#215

Post by bookofjoe »

Sammi wrote: post #157
marcosscriven wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a similar feeling in the Faroe Islands. Even in mid summer the weather was rather inclement. But the landscape was breathtaking, and the locals friendly in a low key way. I’d love to go back.

More wind means less mosquitos. One step forward and one step back. Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article. Fly atlantic airways, they have equipment to fly through the fog or they will refuel in iceland and try again same day.

>Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article.

To me this is a good reason to fly SAS.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#216

Post by bookofjoe »

dbetteridge wrote: post #182
sandworm101 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And when you want to experiance true issolation in the face of nature, Alaska and Westerm Canada are waiting. Try a drive north through BC in winter. Fish on an Alaskan river only accessible by floatplane. Wake up to watch the northern lights only to realize you are looking south. Or pan for gold only to look up and see a grizzly cub walking cassually past. Norway: 15 people per sq km. Alberta: 6.7 British columbia:…

Another option is Western Australia: 0.2 if you get outside the capital city. You'll see stars you didn't know existed and the distances are something else. Northwest territories is beautiful though.

Altitude is also an excellent force multiplier for visualizing stars. I can still see in my mind's eye the sky at night at 17,000 feet while trekking in Nepal in 1982: it looked like glitter-studded fabric, the stars almost contiguous.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#217

Post by LAC-Tech »

I never understood why Denmark still bothers with Greenland. It seems to cost them a lot of money while at the same time they demand more and more autonomy. Danish isn't even an official language anymore. What does Denmark gain out of the block grant they give to Greenland?

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#218

Post by Sammi »

bookofjoe wrote: post #215
Sammi wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More wind means less mosquitos. One step forward and one step back. Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article. Fly atlantic airways, they have equipment to fly through the fog or they will refuel in iceland and try again same day.

>Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article. To me this is a good reason to fly SAS.

If you want to enjoy a day in an airport hotel and be late for what you are travelling for then sure. Sas plane is full of tourists who don't know. Locals all use atlantic airways cause they know they actually land.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#220

Post by bookofjoe »

iagooar wrote: post #164
planet36 wrote: post #51

"The fact is, that among his hunters at least, the whale would by all hands be considered a noble dish, were there not so much of him; but when you come to sit down before a meat-pie nearly one hundred feet long, it takes away your appetite." Moby-Dick Herman Melville

I've had whale when I went to Norway. Was it good? It was OK. Would I have it again? Probably not. Still a nice experience. Also trying cured reindeer, moose and seal slices was pretty unique.

I recall having whale on a regular basis when I was college in Japan in 1968-69. I liked it, though its grey appearance wasn't appealing. I was always struck by how much it resembled meat in both texture and taste.
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