The evening before, we had marvelled at the big icebergs off Tiniteqilaaq. So we decided to paddle out into the bay by kayak the next morning before sunrise.
Paddling in the morning light
Completely alone we paddled between beautiful ice formations, in the best light on a calm sea, and in the early morning hours the water lay there like a mirror. Back on board we got a little telling-off from Captain Siggi: we should have taken a rifle with us in case a polar bear came. Hmmm, he was right – next time, then.
A view over the fjord
After breakfast we hiked through the village up a nearby mountain, from which a spectacular view opened up over the whole Sermilik Fjord. Then, in glorious sunshine, we sailed through the fjord, past beautiful ice formations, towards the Knud Rasmussen Glacier. Sermilik means “place with glaciers” and is one of the largest fjords on Greenland’s south-east coast, fed among others by the Helheim Glacier; Tiniteqilaaq, now Tiilerilaaq, has only around 100 inhabitants and is served by helicopter on weekdays.
In the kayak near Tiniteqilaaq before sunrise – the camera in front, the icebergs behind.A jagged iceberg in the first morning light, a few birds in the sky.Two icebergs and a thin crescent moon above the calm water.An iceberg with a long overhang mirrored in the water, the moon above.Left, a broad iceberg; right, small towers of ice – the water like a mirror.A turquoise block of ice in front of brown mountains in the morning light.A rounded iceberg, the water almost still.All alone among the ice formations: a broad iceberg and its reflection.A translucent tower of ice with a sharp tip in front of the mountains.A red kayak, tiny on the dark water among splinters of ice.A jagged iceberg with a turquoise fringe in the Sermilik Fjord.Scattered ice floes on dark water, the mountain range behind.A flat iceberg with a glowing turquoise rim.A large block of ice and two smaller chunks on black water.Rocky coast, a few houses and ice everywhere – the Sermilik, “place with glaciers”.An ice floe with a hole in the middle of a field of floes.A floe with a meltwater hole in the dark fjord.Streaks of sun and ice on the fjord, the mountains against the light behind.The houses of Tiniteqilaaq among the rocks – around 100 people live here.Flat ice floes under clouds, snow on the mountains.Scattered pieces of ice on almost black water.Red, blue and weathered wooden houses along the rocky path through the village.Left, a red house in front of the ice; right, a lifebuoy and the sign “1334”.Fish and a pale animal hide on the drying rack.Fish hanging in tight rows to dry.Cotton grass and a washing line in front of the green house with its red gable.A blue house on stilts in the cotton grass, the icebergs behind.Left, a wooden house on the rock; right, the view across the icebergs.Dense blocks of ice in front of dark, snowy mountains.Weathered wooden houses on the slope above the bay.Rocky shore and countless small icebergs under clouds.Flat icebergs in rows, the mountain range behind.From the hill above the village the view opens across the entire Sermilik Fjord.A tall, jagged iceberg and a spike of ice beside it.Mast and rigging of the sailing ship among the icebergs.Looking down from the mast: kayaks and people on deck, the bow ahead facing the ice.A lone iceberg beneath long clouds.A pointed iceberg, its reflection rippling below.A large iceberg with a round arch above the calm water.A massive iceberg with a turquoise fringe of water.Two people up in the rigging, an iceberg with a gap ahead.Left, an iceberg with a hole; right, a steep, pitted wall of ice.Below the surface the iceberg glows turquoise, a larger block behind.A broad iceberg and small floes beneath a heavy sky.The tall, smooth wall of an iceberg, floes in front.An iceberg with a dark hole in front of a brown, snowy mountain.Low ice in front of a dark mountain, the water reflecting it all.Two small pieces of ice beneath a field of clouds.A flat iceberg with a straight edge in front of the snowfields.An iceberg with a low arch – on the way to the Knud Rasmussen Glacier.Cloud patterns in the water, small icebergs on the horizon.A tongue of rock in the fjord, snow on the distant mountains.Red kayaks in front of rocks and icebergs.Kayaks in a line along the rocky coast.Four kayaks beside dark rock among splinters of ice.Rocky islands and narrow channels in the Sermilik Fjord.An iceberg with a tower, ringed by turquoise in the dark water.
