A good night's sleep. The first thing to do in the morning, here: Pull the curtains to see the splendid view of the fjord. I would be foolish to get rid of that. I appreciate seeing the small colored houses at the bottom of the hotel, seeing the fjord and icebergs. I notice the return of fishing boats. And I can't help opening the window to feel that iced air I love so much. Inside, it's always too hot. I love when that cold caresses my skin's skin and lays giveaways on my rosé cheeks. My day can then begin. And today the wind will play its best solo because I go on cruise see icebergs! I think I'm parked by adding to my winter dress a pair of silk socks and a pair of wool socks and an extra sticker and a white chapka. It seems like I have a dead rabbit crushed on my face because my chapka is too big for my head. Instead of just covering my skull and my ears, the chapka blooms and completely overlooks my face… Ah ah ah! At least the bunny or at least his remains will see a whole bunch of icebergs today. Just like me. Let's go to the port. This place is one of my favorite sites in Ilulissat. It seems to me as the starting point of everything, of all dreams… The time is sublime! Blue sky, no cloud, the sun shines and the boat rings. The cruise begins… waves play with the boat. I'm trying to dance with them by letting all my body feel all of their movement without any additional energy. My knees fold slightly to keep pace with the rhythm of the sea. A divine massage. So relaxing. Meanwhile, nature enchants my mind with impressive visions of icebergs. They are all around us and all different: shape, size, texture, color, personality. Like fingerprints, they are all singular. Some are polite and ludicrous, others are more crude and rugged. Some still seem soft like silk and want to bust their slopes… The colors are everywhere: intense white, bluish white, turquoise zeal… bordered by the blue of the sea. Their silhouette is always a surprise: a hole in the middle of it, a flat summit by there, straight cuts/curves/fractures/"snowballs" at the foot of an iced hill. Greenland likes the land art!
It's a duck cold, most tourists are now inside the boat to warm up around a hot tea. But some are still on the bridge to admire the frosted landscape. I'm one of those who stays outside. My feet are frozen but I want to enjoy as much as possible, enjoy every minute, every second until there is one left. I came to savor Greenland with my eyes, my heart, my lips, my tongue. With all my body. I want to know all his perfumes. Greenland, I waited for you, hoped, I was languished about you. Now, I'm here, I mouse. I hear your song, the one that belongs only to you: the Arctic winter symphony…
Back to port. The cruise's over. I'm walking around. Walking in Ilulissat is tantamount to climbing and rolling hills, there is no flat road. As if the city's DNA was that of a Russian mountain stretching forever. It's time to go back to the hotel to find my friends and go to dinner. A table is reserved for "Mamartut" at 7 p. m. In Greenlandic, it means «it tastes good». What a perfect name! It sharps my appetite. ❍ We are hosted by Danish leader and owner Kim Pedersen! I like his headcover and the style of his restaurant. Warm with Greenlandic decoration. We feel at home right away. I am hungry for a modern Greenlandic kitchen and the menu makes me dirty. " Gabriel and Julia, and if we took an aperitif? " A crowberry kir? " The chef tells us that the berries are picked by hand in the surrounding mountains, close to the restaurant. " It's all chosen for me. Julia follows me. I want to swallow Greenland tonight! Skål! Kasugta! Cheers! Let the Greenland drink make its way into my body and muddle my brain slightly. Julia informs the chef that she is vegetarian. She doesn't eat fish. The Chief replied: Okay. Okay. But what about meat? " It makes me laugh for many long minutes! " So unexpected. It was excellent! Humor in the line of Monty Python! I love it! What a nice introduction. After his joke, he states: " Next time, please let me know before I could anticipate. " Julia adds: " If you have pasta and tomatoes, it'll be perfect. " Kim Pedersen thinks: " I'll see what I have. " He is absent a few seconds from his kitchen. Okay, let me think. " We literally see ideas in his mind. " " It's there, I know. " I'll make a soup with potimarrons by adding this with this [blah blah]. " I don't remember all the description, but it looked great and extremely appetizing. " I'm launching a "We All Want to Be Vegetarian Now!" " This is the first time someone has gotten so bad to meet Julia's palace. " Impressive and very nice. We're going to do it in the kitchen, a wonderful sound! I'm passionate about gastronomy and I'm the angels when this sweet melody is escaped instead of the horrible microwave bip. I like to hear the foods caramelizing in the stove, the sound of icebreaking, the pots that shock each other. The soup arrives and its smoke vibrates my pleasure. Wow! Julia tasts the dish and invites me to do the same, it's so good. I wear the spoon to my mouth wide open, close my lips and swallow the hot liquid. Mmmmm! It's really good, a real delight! Gabriel and I suggest that the chef add the next time on his menu. ; -) My whale carpaccio is equally excellent and the white wine selected by the chef accompanies it so well. Gabriel can't help wondering about the chances of watching the aurora borealis tonight. The leader said: " Um, let me see. "He looks at the window. All of a sudden we see him leaving the restaurant, the door closed behind him. We're alone in the room. No more chief. Where has he gone? What's going on? I smile amid his strange attitude. It comes back: " Chances are pretty good, clear sky with stars. " " Oh! " He was out looking at the sky… I burst out laughing, this guy is really funny.
We continue our discussions and appreciate the dishes when the chef writes: " Aurora Boreal! " ". We rush outside, a green glimmer all the dancing curve in the sky. Excellent timing, dinner came to an end, we pay the addition and thank the chef for this sweet and fun evening before going out once and for all. Gabriel runs towards the hotel to search for his tripod. Julia and I go down the hill quietly walking. We stop in a vague terrain to lie on the snow-covered ground so soft, comfortably installed to watch the magic spectacle of Arctic lights. We feel so good. The aurora boreal is dancing and stretching right before our eyes. A beautiful colorful band among the stars… When she leaves, the night is not over yet. I have planned to listen to live music at the Naleraq and Julia wants to accompany me. We stand up, wipe snow from our ski trousers and go straight to the local pub. The fare for the concert ticket is minimal (20 DKK). There is not much world, it's a little too early (23 h) but the young Greenlandic group is already playing rock on stage. Great! We choose our table, let us remove our doughnuts and appreciate being there. Julia tells me: This is great! An authentic local experience. I'm happy to live this. " Yes, that's so true. " That's exactly what I came to look for.
What if we drink a mojito? We go to the bar and pass our order to the very very young bartender. He seems to be 14 years old. He has no idea what a mojito is, he looks in the drinks map and doesn't see it. We have been amused to see him so interloded and lost because of our strange demand. He calls a older woman (his mother?) who sits in the room. She approaches and informs us that they do not have mojito but show us the list of cocktails. When I take a panoramic look at the big room, I see bottles of beers everywhere on the tables. Cocktails don't look very popular. Nevertheless, we select a random cocktail from all the unknown names, hoping that ours will not be too sweet. The women of Greenland are very friendly and serve our glasses with a huge smile. We go back to our table and beat the rhythm of music with our feet. The singer really has a warm voice and… oh! It carries the t-shirt "Mojo Blues Bar København"! That is not possible! This is my favorite bar in Copenhagen! They play acoustic music there. I was still there before I left for Greenland! Sometimes, in life, events move forward in a circular way and that's fantastic! I recommend this place to Julia because I know that she and Gabriel will spend a few days in the Danish capital after their travel Greenlandic. The room is starting to fill. It seems tonight we are the only two tourists. Greenlandic faces everywhere, smiling. We are on Friday, the last day of the working week so everyone wants to have fun. A festive spirit is spreading. The dance floor is animated. No inhibition, just the joy of moving in rhythm. Free like the air. A couple, not so young, starts a particularly sensual dance. Their hearts are happy. Alcohol has already begun to rotate a few heads and two people sitting on their chairs fell into a deep sleep… Julia and I certainly drank much more than they but their constitution is less resistant. A security man looks after them so that everything goes well. They are not violent for a penny but I think he must fear loss of knowledge or an ethyl coma. It is also one of the major problems in Greenland, alcoholism. Julia and I find the situation a little sad when we see them in this state. But who am I to judge? The French are no better. We are the first to use anxiolytics and antidepressants to try to reduce psychological suffering. So I decide to stop feeling sad. How can I know what is good or not for people? I don't have that power. They have it. The only thing I can say is that in this room there are smiles everywhere and people want to communicate. Two women sit next to our table. Julia's at the bar. They're starting to talk to me. I see their faces enlighten when I say in Danish that I come from France and my friend comes from Brazil. They tell me their name, I tell them mine. I would add: I love Greenland. I would have liked to say more. Few words are exchanged between us. They shake my hand and look intensely into mine, my eyes are in theirs. Time suspended. Joy between us. A pure joy. Communication of heart to heart. The purest one.
Julia's a little tired. We decide to go back to the hotel. But before that, I ask Julia if it would tell him to take a tour at the Murphy's discotheque with me? Just to take a look. I heard it's for a younger audience, but I'm too curious… it's nodding. Oh, Julia, you're great! Let's open the door to this place. The music is for young people. The bar looks pretty bad. Electric spots give a colorful atmosphere to the room. The public is made up of local young people. A Greenlander is undertaking a sexy type dance pole dance but without the famous bar! The man who accompanied him abandoned him on the dance floor and she continued alone, very involved in his choreography! It's time for us to go.
In the Hvide Falk corridor, we wish you a good night's sleep. I close my door, look at my watch: it indicates 2 h. Oh, it's already so late!
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