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Greenland

Greenland is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark

We arrived from Reykjavik to Kulusuk, East Greenland on July 1, 2014. Our first attempt to fly to Kulusuk, the day before, our flight was cancelled, unable to land, due to bad weather conditions in Kulusuk.

Kulusuk airport is on a mountainous island surrounded by ice-filled waters in the least populated part of the country. The airport town is not a roaring metropolis, but just a small settlement with a population of 250 people, for whom income gained from hunting and fishing is as important as any income from the airport.

The airport was built by the US Air force in 1956 as part of the early warning system. Kulususk is the gateway to East Greenland, and the opportunities for adventures on and around the island cover everything from cultural encounters to extreme expeditions in summer as well as in winter.

A helicopter similar to the one we are flying on just came in as we were leaving.

We are flying by helicpoter to our next destination, Tasiilaq. Tasiilaq, the largest town on the east coast, is only ten minutes by air from Kulusuk with an Air Greenland helicopter, or an hour by boat, if the weather conditions are optimal.

A US Coast Guard Lockheed Martin aircraft landed at Kulusuk the same when we arrived. Here the crew is returning to the aircraft. .

The passenger airport terminal at Kulusuk. Notice all the snow around. This is the first of July too.

The US Coast Guard aircraft that had arrived.recently

Our helicopter ride this afternoon takes us to Angmagssalik Island at the mouth of the Angmssalik Fjord and landing in Tasiilaq.. We have incredible views of the ice filled sea below.

Approaching Tasiilaq

Large chunks of former icebergs floating int he bay off Tasiilaq.

Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,985 inhabitants it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Greenland. The Sermilik Station, dedicated to the research of the nearby Mittivakkat Glacier, is located near the town.

Tasiilaq is located approximately 70 miles south of the Arctic Circle, on the southeastern coast of Ammassalik Island, on the shore of a natural harbour in Tasiilaq Fjord, The fjord is an inlet of the long Ammassalik Fjord emptying into the North Atlantic to the east of the town.

With 1,985 inhabitants Tasiilaq is one of the fastest-growing towns in Greenland, with migrants from the smaller towns and settlements reinforcing the trend.

There are no roads far outside Tasiilaq.

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