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Greenland
Greenland is a country of
contrasts, with its rocky landscapes, its lush green valleys
and hills, it consists mainly of a very large, imposing
icecap. This island is the largest stretch of ice in the
Northern hemisphere. Its dimensions are impressive – 2,400
km long, between 60°N and 80°N. It has a surface area of
1,755,657 km2, i.e. 85% of the total size of the country.
With an average height of 2135 m, that represents an overall
volume of two million cubic kilometres of ice, which is
equal to 10% of the total fresh water on the surface of the
earth (the rest is almost entirely represented by the
Antarctic icecap, apart for 2% in lakes and rivers).
Following on from the cold and
the polar nights, the endless days of summer sparkle under
the rays of an ever-present sun. It’s the period when the
revitalised vegetation, such as lichen and other ferns which
hug the rocks, recovers the land
On the sea bottom, and on
the ice of a thousand shades, seals, whales, snow moufflons,
musk oxen, elks, lynx, wolves, eagles, foxes, and polar
bears offer many possibilities for unexpected encounters.
On this land, where an ancient
tradition states that « no one can own the land, and that
the land belongs to everyone », the most promising encounter
is with its culture, with those who are involved daily in
its evolution – the Greenlanders.
It is among them and in this splendid scenery, aware of the
changes currently taking place in our world, that our
expedition by sea kayak will travel for 600 nautical miles,
totally independent.
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