(Post 5 of 5) Finnbogi Jóhannsson has been in the background all day, but his leadership is clear. His family has been working these fields for generations, and he has owned this specific farm for 32 years. Finnbogi knows the best course, the right pace, and how to keep his sheep safe. They are very…
Our Journey
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Elves in the City, Reykjavik, Iceland
(Post 1 of 2) This map from an old newspaper tells us where the elves live around Reykjavik, and this is part of my introduction to the country. Dagný Ívarsdottír has brought us to the city park to explain a long standing family tradition. Dagný is 29 years old, and she has been coming to…
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(Post 2 of 2) Welcome to the elf church. “It’s an easy place to let your imagination run wild,” says our guide and host, Dagný Ívarsdottír. This is where Dagný and her family stop to light sparklers and sing songs about the elves. About 20 people come out each year. The kids crawl around on…
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Hello Iceland
(Post 1 of 2) Another transition and another exquisite landscape to explore. Hello Iceland! I’ve arrived from Greenland, and #meetthenorth has two weeks to discover this country through the eyes of those who live here. Iceland sits on the mid-Atlantic ridge and straddles two tectonic plates; to arrive here is to experience the formation of…
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(Post 2 of 2) Eric Guth is here with me in Iceland. Reunion! For those of you following my progress with #meetthenorth, you will remember him from Svalbard back in June. He’s got the camera this week, and I’m happy about that. Here we go!
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Goodbye Greenland
It’s time to leave Greenland. I am really going to miss this place. So long to the summer nights and the exquisite ice. We will meet again. I am bound for Iceland to meet some new friends, find an old friend and begin a most excellent road trip. See you there.
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Ilulissat, Greenland
Karl-Ole Kristensen grew up in a house that overlooked this bay and the masses of icebergs from the glacier next door: Jakobshavn Glacier. Here, aboard the Esle in Ilulissat, Greenland, Karl-Ole holds white ice in his right hand and black ice in his left. “Black ice is like crystal, like a window,” he says. Black…
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Disko Island, Greenland
Paurngaqturumaviit? Would you like some crowberries? Eva Aariak and I gathered so much of this fruit yesterday. While exploring Disko Island in Greenland, we discovered a bumper crop. Joy! We planned on hiking but ended up with our hands in the crowberry bushes much of the time. These berries are perfectly ripe, with the best…
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Qilakitsoq, Greenland
Back to beautiful Greenland. Qilakitsoq, where I am standing, is where the ancient mummies that became known around the world were found. Several graves remain here. I am looking back towards the community of Uummannaq over an inlet scattered with ice.
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Hell Gate, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
(Post 1 of 2) Hell Gate. 2 a.m. We have been traveling way north up the west coast of Ellesmere Island, but it’s time to go. The conditions that allowed us to be here are changing. First, the ice bridge that has been blocking the northern channel between Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg is breaking up,…
