Iceland to Kalaallit Nunaat Expedition 2025 – Youth Blog Collection 3

July 15, 2025

Karam Halabi
My heart raced as we approached the eastern coast of Greenland, knowing I was about to set foot on this beautiful land for the very first time. The moment felt surreal. Everywhere I looked, I was completely mesmerized by the views. As our zodiac landed, we stepped onto the shore and began exploring, soon meeting researchers setting up their field stations. Geologists and marine biologists, there was no shortage of interesting people to talk to! There was so much to take in and even more to learn. I was in awe of it all and deeply honoured to be on the land, engaging in place-based learning.

Livia Lee Amos
Today we went to the hot springs. It was very calming and soothing. It was a nice time to bond with the other people I came with.
Last night we also stayed up very late to pass through the very scenic mountains and crossing.

July 16, 2025

Emma Walkus
Today we visited a gorgeous waterfall in Kuusuasia. We were absolutely BOMBARDED with midges, which are tiny little bugs that don’t bite, but, oh boy, are they ever pesky and persistent little bugs. I lost my sanity for the hour we were out there. The view was stunnin, and the sound of the waterfall was IRL white noise and brought some calm to the storm of midges. 

Maile, Meerab and I watched and assisted Carla Fuenteslopez (Engineer, PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, & member of the Young Explorers club) with her investigation on microbiome diversity. We collected samples of water from a little pond near the waterfall and tested the temperatures.

On our second embarkment to Narsaq Archy, Maile and I followed Edward Sun (BSc, Graduate student at the University of British Columbia & member of the Young Explorers club) and collected local moss samples for his contribution to the DNA and barcode reference library on the under-recognized moss and liverwort data. I learned from him about the different types of moss and liverworts and how they grow and differ in the Arctic environments. He also let me use his bug net while on the journey. Some others from the expedition came over to look at what we were doing, and he was spitting out facts of the history, usage and benefits of different mosses used by communities and other groups around Canada and across the globe. It was fascinating and truly inspiring for me to be in his presence. he is so kind and someone I look up to. In such a short amount of time, I learned so much from him and watched his ability to become a true educator on the spot, especially in this situation when others had approached him, asked him unexpected questions on different topics in plant biology, and watched him answer with such poise, confidence and intelligence.

It is an unexplainable feeling of privilege to watch alongside and help in any way possible with such driven and inspiring individuals.

Meerab Anwar
As we approached our first landing in Kangerluluk, we were debriefed about polar bear guards. I was intrigued by this interesting role. We learnt about perimeter landings and how bear guards are people who establish a safe perimeter for the passengers once they make it to land. We were told, “Do not talk to the bear guards. If they talk to you, they won’t see the bears.” 🐻‍❄️

It was funny because the second before that was said, I was thinking of going up to the polar bear guards and and asking them about their role. The presentation taught me a lot of important things, such as the fact that bear guards are located in high-up locations and we should not be getting too close to the perimeter and therefore, not approaching them. They are armed with some sort of deterrents and, most importantly, binoculars. The team at Adventure Canada also has the rule that we yield to the bears and not the other way around, so if a bear is spotted at a planned landing in advance, the expedition team would rework or cancel the plans to disembark so as not to disturb the bear.

The next day, once our zodiacs landed, the first people I obviously looked for on the land were the bear guards, in their bright red coats, scattered throughout the mountains. Sometimes they were up in very steep places. I was very impressed by the challenging hike that led them there and the patience they had to watch the land for over two to three hours of landing time. I hiked up the terrain to places closer to the bear guards and captured some beautiful pictures of the guards standing tall in the snowy mountains of the Kangerluluk.

Torry Tulurialik
Today I learned Greenland had very few caribou then they introduced Reindeer to Greenland.

July 17, 2025

Torry Tulurialik
Today I learned Greenland had very few caribou then they introduced Reindeer to Greenland.

Jul 18, 2025

Héloïse Soyer
Yesterday, we had workshops, and, with other youth, we went to the Greenlandic language class and learned to introduce ourselves in Kalaallisut. So here is me saying: “Hi, My name is Héloïse, I’m good, thank you, it’s fun, see you later !” : Aluu, uanga ateqarpunga Héloïse ajunngilanga qujanaq nuan takuss !”

To know the word is good, but the pronunciation is still something we are working on. But, tomorrow we are going into Qaqortaq, a Greenlandic community, so it will be a good place to practice!

Emma Walkus
Today we had the option to go on a hike or visit the hot springs – there was just not enough time for folks to do both. I decided to do the hike because I had not had a meaningful stretch in my legs in a while. We started on our hike and here we are 10 minutes in and just outside the perimeter, Kayley our hiking guide and Archaeologist said “okay we are coming up to the moment of no turning back, everyone from this point on must continue on the hike and if you wish to go back, now is the time.” So, I had to turn back. I’ve never been in any kind of hot spring before, and what was I thinking? Hot springs in Greenland vs hike?! I ran back down to the hot springs and jumped out of my hiking gear into my shorts that I had packed in my bag, hours beforehand. So, deep down, I knew I wanted to go to the hot springs, but I was trying to convince myself no, hiking is good for legs. 

I got to enjoy two different hot springs with an AMAZING view.

July 19, 2025

Emma Walkus
Today we went to Hvalsey and toured the ancient sites. We didn’t see any whales there, but we did see the Hvalsey church. It was quite large for the population of the Norse that lived there at the time. There were only about 10 or so people who were thought to live there, so why the big church? This location had a lot of traffic that came through from parts of Europe. Religion was a huge part of their lifestyle, and so many people passing by would stop in at the church. Some even came great distances just to worship. With many travellers from Europe, there was trade. There were fancy, expensive outfits that the Norse wore that were from France. We saw the remains of the second-largest feasting hall. The largest one was in Garðar, a similar Norse community with another large church. At the feasting hall, many people would gather there to celebrate holidays, political gatherings and other social events. When others would come to visit, this is where they would sit, visit, and eat. It was quite foggy when we arrived. I’m glad I stayed for the whole duration of our time there because I was able to watch the fog burn off to reveal the gorgeous mountain behind us. As we were leaving, we saw some locals from a nearby farm on their boat, and I said “Aluu!” to them. I got nervous to say more, but I am excited to see more locals to practice the Greenlandic language and say a few sentences the next time!

Aluu means hello in Greenlandic

Sipula
In Qaqortoq I got to try their country food – we were invited to come for tea, mattaaq, dried seal, cod fish and a good cup of Sprite, which was awesome and very welcoming. We also went on a tour around the community in Qaqortoq & also got to visit where they sell their local arts & crafts.

July 20, 2025

Emma Walkus
We started this morning bright and early to visit Brattahlid, where we did a lovely hike along the water and saw many sheep and lambs. The weather was warmer than the places we have stopped before, and much greener. This is what was meant by Erik when he named it Greenland, because it is mostly green and grassy here. And here we are, in the greenery of it all. We stopped by a little museum which used to be the house of Otto Frediksen and his wife Elizabeth. We saw many photos of him and his wife Elizabeth. We visited Erik the Red in his statue form, and I did a handstand beside him.

Fredi Anne Inuktalik
Yesterday we went to our first community. It was an amazing experience. I think a lot of us were expecting to play soccer with younger kids. The “kids” that were playing soccer with us were 18-30 year olds. But I fell in love with the vibrant houses, and sculptures/art. I love the souvenir that the pottery shop gave all of us SOI participants.
Last night, the water had metre swells for a couple of hours, and it made my Inuk instinct wake up, as we don’t usually travel in that kind of water, and I couldn’t sleep until it got calmer.

As the days to going home get closer, I can’t wait to get back home for a while. It has been an experience for sure. I miss my family and my dog.

I look forward to meeting more Inuuqatiks from Greenland.

July 21, 2025

Beau Taptuna
July 16 we went to Igutsaat Fjords, which had a beautiful waterfall. This week was so much fun. On Thursday we went for a zodiac cruise looking for wildlife. While on the zodiac, the driver shut off the motor, and we had a couple minutes of silence. In the afternoon, I went to the Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) language lesson. On July 18, we had a choice to go hiking or go to the hot springs, the only hot spring in Greenland. It had me thinking all day, if I should go on the hike or to the hot spring. I was thinking, ‘I should go to the hot spring. I can get a picture from whoever went on the hike. You can’t get a picture of yourself in the hot spring if you went on the hike. July 19, we went to the Hvalso Ruins. It was a foggy day. We all thought we landed on a hill. After we were heading back to the ship, all of us looked back and it turned out to be a HUGE mountain. We were surprised by how big the mountain was. In the afternoon, most of us went to play soccer, the others went to go have tea and snack, Me, Robert, and Darius scored a goal in soccer. We lost to Greenlanders 5-3. It was FUN. In the evening, after supper, some of the students were demonstrating 4 Inuit games: Alaskan high kick, muskox push, leg wrestle, arm pull. July 20, We went to a small village called Qassiaruk/Brattahlid. There is a farm and I got to see baby sheep and In the evening, they had an auction. After the auction, they had a costume party that I attended with some of my other friends. It is our last 3 days on the ship. I am looking forward to going Nuuk! That’s my second blog and if we do another blog, I will update y’all. Until then.
Peace.

Mackenzie porter
3 more days left to go! I came to the conclusion that someday I will possibly work on a ship. Other participants and I were given the opportunity to introduce Inuit games and overall spread knowledge about Inuit culture. This has taught me to push myself harder to decolonize, and overall put more of an effort to relearn my native language. Also, I would love to mention how welcoming the people of Qaqortoq, Greenland, are! This community was the first I set foot on, and the moment I explored, I immediately loved it. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity, as I have built a lot of lifelong friendships, lessons and memories so far, and overall learned a lot about archaeological history along with knowledge about the Greenland tradition. I will continue to put my efforts to make these last few days be memorable. Thanks to Adventure Canada for making it possible

Emma Walkus
Paamiut: I did a lovely moderate hike up the mountain. The bugs came along for the hike too. Afterwards, I filled up my water bottle with the waterfall, and the water was delish. Meerab got stuck in the middle of the waterfall, and Héloïse was in a spacesuit 👩🏼‍🚀 I saw a local on his boat on the zodiac ride back to the ship!

Aleqa and Nauja had an amazing talk with the group about decolonization, deep-hearted and touching to everyone. I have many takeaways for myself, and a movement on my outlook. I am different after this talk and feel so deeply about it all. I love Aleqa